Convergent Epistemology
Multiple independent lines of evidence converging on truth
Analytical Theism employs Convergent Epistemology—a multi-source approach to knowledge that recognizes truth can be approached from multiple directions. When independent lines of evidence from different disciplines point toward the same conclusion, confidence in that conclusion increases dramatically.
This approach rejects both naive scientism (only empirical science yields knowledge) and fideism (faith requires no rational support). Instead, it recognizes that different domains of inquiry contribute different types of evidence, all of which can be integrated into a coherent picture.
Sources of Evidence
Natural Sciences
Physics, cosmology, biology, neuroscience—empirical investigation of the natural world reveals fine-tuning, emergence, and the intelligibility of nature.
Formal Sciences
Mathematics, logic, information theory—abstract structures that underlie reality and point to necessary truths transcending physical instantiation.
Social Sciences
Psychology, sociology, anthropology—human behavior patterns, religious experience, and the universality of moral intuitions.
Humanities
Philosophy, history, literature—conceptual analysis, historical evidence, and the human search for meaning across cultures.
Interdisciplinary
Cognitive science of religion, philosophy of mind, complexity theory—cross-domain insights that emerge at disciplinary boundaries.
Cumulative Case Methodology
Rather than seeking a single decisive proof, Analytical Theism builds a cumulative case where multiple independent arguments each contribute probabilistic weight:
- No single argument need be conclusive on its own
- Arguments from different domains provide independent confirmation
- The combined weight exceeds the sum of individual arguments
- Counter-arguments must address the entire web of evidence, not just isolated strands
This mirrors how knowledge works in other domains: a detective builds a case from multiple clues, a scientist integrates multiple experiments, a historian weighs multiple sources. The convergence of independent evidence is itself evidence.