Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 1
In his essay “Why I Believe God Exists”, William Craig gives three main reasons for believing in God (Why I am a Christian – hereafter: WIAC – edited by Norman Geisler and Paul Hoffman, Baker Books, 2001, p.62-80): One problem with the Kalam cosmological argument is that it fails to establish the existence of a … Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 1
The Atheist named Richard Swinburne
I was reading the Martyrdom of Polycarp recently, which is “the oldest written account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament.” (The Apostolic Fathers, updated edition, edited and revised by Michael Holmes, p.222; hereafter: TAF). Polycarp was killed between 155 and 160 C.E: The Martyrdom of Polycarp sets out quite clearly both the issue … The Atheist named Richard Swinburne
Alex Rosenberg’s 2012 Argument for Nihilism
In his 2012 book, The Atheist’s Guide to Reality, Alex Rosenberg defends an argument for nihilism.[1] In this article I want to evaluate his argument. Definitions Before we turn to his argument, we first need to understand how Rosenberg defines his terms. Let us begin with the word “scientism.” In his own words, Rosenberg defines … Alex Rosenberg’s 2012 Argument for Nihilism
Atheist Ethicist on Evolution and Morality
The Atheist Ethicist has been writing a nice series on morality and evolutionary ethics. Posts (so far) include: Check them out! Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
The Perfect Goodness of God – Again (Part 2)
In my previous post on this topic, I used conditional derivation to try to prove that one statement entailed another statement, to show that ‘There is a person who is omniscient and perfectly free’ entails ‘There is a person who is perfectly good’. But because I’m a bit unclear on how the logic of conditional … The Perfect Goodness of God – Again (Part 2)
Thoughts about Plantinga’s Interesting Paper on “Naturalism, Theism, Obligation, and Supervenience”
I’ve been studying Plantinga’s very interesting paper, “Naturalism, Theism, Obligation, and Supervenience.” (See here for Ex-Apologist’s very brief post about it.) Plantinga’s stated goal is to show that metaphysical naturalism cannot accommodate realism about moral obligation by “displaying the failure of the most natural way of arguing” that metaphysical naturalism can accommodate moral realism, viz., … Thoughts about Plantinga’s Interesting Paper on “Naturalism, Theism, Obligation, and Supervenience”
An Argument Against Moral Facts
In a seminar on Metaethics (h/t John Brunero) , I encountered an argument against moral facts that I hadn’t heard before. Here is a brief sketch: (1) We’re justified in believing in some fact only if it plays a role in the explanation of our observations and other non-moral facts. (2) Moral facts don’t play … An Argument Against Moral Facts
Podcast: Objective morality and atheism; the evil god challenge; risks posed by religion
I did a podcast for Malcontent’s Gambit here. It’s about 45 mins long. Alan and I got into some interesting topics, including: whether atheists can allow for absolute moral values, my evil god challenge, and the potential dangers posed by religion. Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
AdamHazzard’s Quick Parable Comparing Atheistic and Divine Command Theoretic Metaethics
I just read this in the combox on Randal Rauser’s blog. An atheist and a divine-command theorist are approached by someone who says to them, “God is telling me to kill my child. Am I crazy?” The atheist doesn’t hesitate. “Yes! You need to seek help immediately!” While the divine-command theorist shuffles his feet and … AdamHazzard’s Quick Parable Comparing Atheistic and Divine Command Theoretic Metaethics
Louise Antony’s NYT Editorial on Good without God
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