Back in the late 1970s, I found a copy of a book called The Faith of a Heretic, by Walter Kaufmann.  The book is currently out of print, though I have retained my copy.  Walter Kaufmann is well-known as a translator of virtually all of Nietzsche’s works. Back in the 1970’s, I found the Faith of a Heretic to be well-written and, at many points, inspirational.  After re-reading portions of this work recently, I was again impressed.

What is a “heretic”?  According to Kaufmann:

Heresy is a set of opinions at variance with established or generally received principles.  In this sense, heresy is the price of all originality and innovation.

When Kaufman speaks of “faith,” he is not referring to close-minded beliefs that contravene evidence.  Instead, he is using “faith” to describe the attitude of a person who cares intensely yet has “sufficient interest to concern himself with issues, facts and arguments that have a vital bearing on what he believes.” Kauffman argues that there are at least two types of faith: the faith of the true believer and the faith of a heretic.

Kaufman argued that although morality

cannot be based on religion, religion can be used to help prop it up. It may supply additional motives for being moral and for not being immoral.  But to determine in the first place what is moral and immoral, we cannot settle the matter by relying on a deeply felt religious faith.

Here are some excerpts from Kaufmann’s writings regarding …