philosophy

Jordan Howard Sobel (1929-2010)

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Sadly, another (belated) obituary for an important figure in philosophy of religion: Jordan Howard Sobel, who many of us will recognize as the author of Logic and Theism, passed away on March 26, 2010, at the age of 81. A full obituary is posted at The Prosblogion.

Antony Flew’s Passing

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Antony Flew died the other day. Like many secular people, I have mixed feelings. At the end of his life he was declared a theist. I say “was declared” because it is not clear to what extent in his final two or three years he was not simply in a state of senescent confusion. The … Antony Flew’s Passing

Craig on Philo

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First, sorry I have been away from S.O. for so long. Very busy. Anyway, I just noticed a small thing that I should probably ignore, but it irks me sufficiently that I am going to vent. In a footnote to his article “Theistic Critiques of Atheism,” in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Michael … Craig on Philo

Flew obituaries

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Obituaries for Antony Flew: Times, Telegraph. Perhaps I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead and all that, but I remain pissed off at the support the doddering Flew lent to a transparently naive form of the “intelligent design” argument.

The Possibility of Proving the Non-Existence of Something

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In a recent blog entry, theistic philosopher William Vallicella criticizes a statement made by psychologist Paul Vitz, in which Vitz asserted that it is “intrinsically impossible” to “prove the non-existence of anything.” As Vallicelli correctly points out: “But surely there are things whose nonexistence can be proven. The nonexistence of a round square can be … The Possibility of Proving the Non-Existence of Something

The greatest philosophers: theists or atheists?

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William Vallicella ranks the greatest philosophers, asking whether they were theists or atheists–and his list puts at least seven theists in the top ten. I think he’s asking the wrong question–an alternative question which would put things in a different perspective is Were the greatest philosophers advocates of the mainstream religious views of the population … The greatest philosophers: theists or atheists?