The Argument from Scale (AS) Revisited, Part 6
In Part 1 of this series, I critically reviewed Nicholas Everitt’s formulation of the argument from scale (AS). In Part 5, I critically reviewed John Loftus’s defense of AS on his blog. In this post, I want to review Loftus’s defense of Everitt’s formulation of AS in his (Loftus’s) book, Why I Became an Atheist: … The Argument from Scale (AS) Revisited, Part 6
When is a Debate “Win” Significant?
A reader asked me if I had watched the debate between William Lane Craig and Alex Rosenberg. Here is my reply. No, I haven’t seen it. I’ve read some of Rosenberg’s book, The Atheist’s Guide to Reality, however. My prediction is that WLC not only “won” the debate, but that Rosenberg did awful. Why would … When is a Debate “Win” Significant?
More on Bad Reasons to Reject the Christian Faith
John Loftus has written a reply to my last post. As we’ve seen recently, John seems determined to make a genuine philosophical disagreement into some sort of personal attack, which, of course, it isn’t. In spite of himself, he actually comes close to getting my motivation right. Because John is a prominent critic of Christianity, … More on Bad Reasons to Reject the Christian Faith
Can There Be Bad Reasons to Reject a False Belief? A Reply to John Loftus
According to John Loftus, “There isn’t a bad reason to reject the Christian faith.” Now such a claim seems to me not only false, but obviously false. Anyone who has taken an introductory course in logic knows that you can have invalid deductive arguments and logically incorrect (or weak) inductive arguments for a true conclusion. … Can There Be Bad Reasons to Reject a False Belief? A Reply to John Loftus
Jeff Lowder Speaking in London
I will be speaking to the Central London Humanist Group. Here are the details: Topic: Evidence about God: What Apologists Don’t Want You to Know When: Thursday, 28 March at 7pm Where: Conway Hall in central London LINK Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
An Argument from Scale — Poster Style
HT: Adam Taylor As a nitpick, theism by itself does not say anything about God having a personal relationship with anyone. Only sectarian versions of theism, such as Christian theism, make such claims. Putting that aside, another worry I have about this graphic is that it seems to attack a caricature of what theists believe. … An Argument from Scale — Poster Style
Scalar Connection to Meaning of Life?
Because I’ve written so much about arguments from scale lately, the following statement in Dennis Prager’s op-ed on atheism and consolation caught my eye. “‘And we promise to work for more gun control. But the truth is we don’t have a single consoling thing to say to you because we atheists recognize that the human … Scalar Connection to Meaning of Life?
Atheistic Criticism of Atheistic Scholarship
Here are several examples of criticism of atheistic scholarship, by fellow atheists. Keith Augustine: Julian Baggini: Richard Carrier: Paul Draper: Graham Oppy: Mark Vuletic: Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
Did the Cosmological Principle Get Knocked Down?
This looks relevant to arguments from scale. LINK Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
The Argument from Scale (AS) Revisited, Part 2 (Revised)
(Note: the revised version of this post begins in the third paragraph after the section title, “The Ratio of Explanatory Powers.”) In part 1 of my series on the evidential Argument from Scale (AS), I concluded that Everitt’s formulation of AS is unsuccessful. At the same time, however, I said that there is something about … The Argument from Scale (AS) Revisited, Part 2 (Revised)