Don Cupitt, an English theologian, argues that realism belongs to the pre-critical world before modernity, while anti-realism belongs to the critical era after modernity. He holds that God, religion, and the world do not exist as realities independent of mind and language; human knowledge of the world is always mediated through theories. This article examines Cupitt's anti-realist viewpoint, analyzing its philosophical foundations in existential, epistemological, and theological fields, with emphasis on pioneers of modern thought. It critiques Cupitt's anti-realist faith, suggesting this perspective may help understand the roots of skepticism in the modern era and offer a new analysis of the realistic search inherent in today's human skepticism.
Husserl's phenomenology grapples with the identity of the transcendental ego, which is the subjective source of all experience. The theory faces criticisms for ambiguities, especially concerning the relationship between the pure transcendental ego and the empirical ego (the self as an object in the world). Husserl argues that the experimental ego can recognize itself in multiple ways and produce new egos with unique streams of consciousness. He posits a coexistence of transcendental and empirical ego, emphasizing two perspectives: viewing the ego as a worldly object or analyzing experience to uncover its inherent structures. The transcendental ego, revealed through transcendental reduction, provides access to an absolute realm of existence.