In Defense of Moral Non-Cognitivism, a Response to Neil Shenvi
I found Neil Shenvi’s interesting article entitled “Do Objective Moral Values Exist?” while reading Dangerous Idea. In his article, Shenvi argues for the position that objective moral values exist, which he defines as “moral values that are true independent of the beliefs of human beings”. This piece started out as a comment on the blog, … In Defense of Moral Non-Cognitivism, a Response to Neil Shenvi
Peter van Inwagen’s Miracle Monkeys
Let me preface this by saying that in most other aspects of philosophy, I have an enormous respect for Peter van Inwagen. His work is extraordinarily insightful and often brings a great deal of relevant discussion to the topic at hand. This is precisely why I find his attempt to rectify our understanding of the … Peter van Inwagen’s Miracle Monkeys
The Argument from Silence, Part 5: W.L. Craig on the Absence of Competing Burial Traditions as Evidence for the pre-Markan Burial Tradition
In this post, I want to revisit an argument from silence used by William Lane Craig in his case for the historicity of the empty tomb. According to Craig, the absence of competing burial traditions (to the pre-Markan burial story) is evidence for the historicity of the pre-Markan burial story. Craig then argues that the … The Argument from Silence, Part 5: W.L. Craig on the Absence of Competing Burial Traditions as Evidence for the pre-Markan Burial Tradition
Tax Atheists!
http://www.examiner.com/article/christian-leader-wants-to-tax-atheists-for-not-going-to-church Well, if it comes to that, atheists should go to church! They should go to the local fundamentalist barn and sit on the front row in gym shorts and T-shirts. The T-shirt will read: “I won’t teach evolution in your church if you don’t teach creation in my school.” Or maybe: “Jesus, protect me … Tax Atheists!
The Argument from Silence, Part 4: Absence of Denials of Jesus’ Historicity as Evidence for Jesus’ Historicity
When one thinks about the historicity of Jesus and arguments from silence, one usually thinks of various arguments from silence against the historicity of Jesus. In this post, I want to sketch an argument from silence for the historicity of Jesus. The Argument Formulated B: The Relevant Background Evidence B1.Both Christian and non-Christian sources in … The Argument from Silence, Part 4: Absence of Denials of Jesus’ Historicity as Evidence for Jesus’ Historicity
The Argument from Silence: Related Resources
(Note: this section will be updated over time.) Academic Publications Brooks, E. Bruce. “Arguments from Silence.” Warring States Papers 4 (2013). Carrier, Richard C. “Did Jesus Exist? Earl Doherty and the Argument to Ahistoricity” The Secular Web (2002). —. Proving History. Buffalo: Prometheus, 2012, 117-19. Garraghan, G.J., S.J. A Guide to Historical Method. J. Delanglez, … The Argument from Silence: Related Resources
The Argument from Silence, Part 3: Peter Kirby’s Second Argument from Silence Against the Empty Tomb
Now that I have evaluated Peter Kirby’s first argument from silence against the historicity of the empty tomb of Jesus, I now want to consider his second argument from silence against the historicity of the empty tomb of Jesus (hereafter, “Kirby’s second argument”). According to that argument, the absence of evidence that Christians venerated Jesus’ … The Argument from Silence, Part 3: Peter Kirby’s Second Argument from Silence Against the Empty Tomb
The Argument from Silence, Part 2: Peter Kirby’s First Argument from Silence Against the Empty Tomb
Now that I have provided a Bayesian interpretation of arguments from silence, I want to evaluate my friend Peter Kirby’s argument from silence against the historicity of the empty tomb of Jesus (hereafter, “Kirby’s argument”). To be precise, in his essay, Kirby considers two arguments from silence. The first is based upon the silence of … The Argument from Silence, Part 2: Peter Kirby’s First Argument from Silence Against the Empty Tomb
Index: The Argument from Silence
The purpose this post is to provide an index for all of my Secular Outpost articles regarding the argument from silence. “Part 1: The Bayesian Interpretation“: the logical form of an explanatory argument from silence “Part 2: Peter Kirby’s First Argument from Silence Against the Empty Tomb“: a formal analysis and critique of Kirby’s argument … Index: The Argument from Silence
The Argument from Silence, Part 1: The Bayesian Interpretation
I want to provide a Bayesian interpretation of the argument from silence. Let S be some truth about the silence of a potential source of evidence fact and H1 and H2 be rival explanatory hypotheses. (1) S is known to be true, i.e., Pr(S) is close to 1. (2) H1 is not intrinsically much more … The Argument from Silence, Part 1: The Bayesian Interpretation