Apr 15, 20 plantinga aims to clarify their thinking. The premise in gfe, plantinga sets out to briefly compare the merits of both natural atheology the study of the irrationality of gods existence and. Here and elsewhere in his writings, van til merges ethical and. Christian philosopher alvin plantinga offers up two dozen or so theistic arguments. In reason and belief in god i mention a bunch of circumstances that according to calvinand i think hes rightcall forth belief in god. In the actual world i am writing up this blog post, but i could have decid. Another reason one might have for not believing that god exists is that science. He argues that a belief in god can be rational without proofs of gods existence. He says, what reformed thinkers really mean to hold, i think, is that belief in god need not be based on argument or evidence from other propositions at all. May 15, 2017 plantinga notes, however, that a basic belief in god is potentially defeasible. Reason and belief in god alvin plantinga belief in god is the heart and center of the christian religion as it is of judaism and islam. Articles 2016 law, cause, and occasionalism, in reason and faith. Plantinga argues that belief in god can, like perceptual or memory belief, be properly basic. The following is a brief synopsis of alvin plantinga s argumentation for the basic tenet of reformed epistemology.
Alvin carl plantinga born november 15, 1932 is an american philosopher and holder of the jellema chair in philosophy at calvin college. A study of theological responses to alvin plantingas aquinas. Alvin plantinga asserted the validity of a second form of anselms argument. On plantinga s view, the degree of warrant for a basic belief doesnt depend on objective evidence. Plantinga, alvin, 1983, reason and belief in god, in plantinga and wolterstorff 1983, 1693. Jan 08, 20 when searching for god, majority opinion counts for little. But first we must achieve a deeper understanding of the evidentialist. Rather, plantinga merely provides a defense, which is a possible reason in which an allpowerful and allgood god finds it perfectly reasonable to allow evil, thus proving that there is at least one possible scenario in which the three propositions that mackie claims are contradictory are actually consistent with one another. His family is from the dutch province of friesland, they lived on a relatively low income until he secured a teaching job in michigan in 1941. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics and christian apologetics quotes. The god delusion is an extended diatribe against religion in general and belief in god in particular. Heres episode 36, in honour of the recent retirement of alvin plantinga as the john obrien professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame.
Dawkins and daniel dennett whose recent breaking the spell is his contribution to this genre are the touchdown twins of current academic atheism. This leads to trouble with the previous explanation of goodness for an argument. Three of its leading proponents are alvin plantinga 1932, nicholas wolterstorff. Of course christians may disagree, at least in emphasis, as to how to think of god. Should atheists accept god as a properly basic belief argument as proposed by alvin plantinga. Plantinga s father was a firstgeneration immigrant, born in the netherlands. His modal ontological argument for foundational religious necessity is seen as an almost. You may find, as i did, that it is a very enjoyable read. He spent nineteen years as a professor at calvin college, then eighteen years at the university of notre dame, and returned to calvin college in 2010. Obrien professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. Alvin plantingas reformed epistemology includes two arguments against classical foundationalism. The bestknown defender of reformed epistemology is alvin plantinga. The stronger ones unevidenced commitment to belief in god, the stronger one would require the anti god evidence to be before abandoning belief. Plantinga was born on november 15, 1932, in ann arbor, michigan, to cornelius a.
The first essay is plantinga s reason and belief in god. Reassessing plantingas ontological argument for god. Plantinga says he accepts the scientific theory of evolution, as all christians should. God s existence and the amount of moral evil 190 10. God, freedom, and evil by alvin plantinga, 1977 online. Alvin plantinga s magisterial warranted christian belief is one of the most important works on the epistemology of religious belief within the last century. In reason and belief in god i mention a bunch of circumstances that according to calvin and i think hes rightcall forth belief in god. His externalist epistemology, called proper functionalism, is a form of epistemological reliabilism. He is also editor with matthew davidson of essays in the metaphysics of modality 2003 michael tooley is distinguished college professor of philosophy at. Pdf is belief in god properly basic alvin plantinga.
Alvin carl plantinga is an american analytic philosopher, the john a. This is the first in a series of interviews about religion that i will conduct for the stone. Alvin plantinga famously defends a version of the ontological argument that makes use of the notion of possible worlds. Alvin plantinga, reason and belief in god philpapers. The piece showcased christian philosophy professor alvin plantinga and his 2011 book, where the conflict really lies. Alvin plantinga, gods philosopher 3 he resolved to become a philosopher. Abraham perkins school of theology alvin plantingas warranted christian belief is a landmark book on the rationality of christian belief. The conclusion that god exists based on such a case would be much more probable than the conclusion that he does. A philosophically serious yet accessible investigation of the rationality of christian belief in his widely praised warranted christian belief oxford, 2000 alvin plantinga discussed in great depth the question of the rationality, or sensibility, of christian belief. When searching for god, majority opinion counts for little. Belief in god is the heart and center of the christian religionas it is of judaism and islam. In this book plantinga presents the same ideas in a briefer, much more accessible fashion. Contrary to stereotypes, this did not make young alvin a bookish nerd indeed, he was an enthusiastic participant in high school football, basketball and tennis. Two dozen or so theistic arguments by alvin plantinga.
While plantinga s stature in the community of christian philosophers alone makes gaining familiarity with this text a good idea for contemporary analytic. And even then, agnosticism would be the justified attitude, not atheism. Its sort of a nuts and bolts podcast episode on alvin plantinga, introducing the listener to his account of belief in god as a properly basic belief a belief justifiably held, but. On that account as it stands, a good argument could take as premises propositions that have some but less than maximal intuitive support, and take as. It is exciting to see the core ideas of that great work presented here in a more succinct and accessible format. In fact it seems that many religious believers combine full belief with.
A being that necessarily exists cannot coherently be thought not to exist. Reason and belief in god alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff, editors university of notre. Alvin plantinga is one of the worlds top christian philosophers. Should atheists accept god as a properly basic belief as. They hold that it is perfectly rational to accept belief in god without accepting it on the basis of any other beliefs or propositions at all. An evaluation of alvin plantingas religious epistemology. Obrien professor of philosophy and former director of the center for philosophy of religion at the university of notre dame. Carson is the founder of reasons for god and the coeditor of true reason. This book discusses and exemplifies the philosophy of religion, or philosophical reflection on central themes of religion. This hinges upon necessary existence, a property with even higher value than existence. Plantinga defends the argument against a formidable array of criticisms. This splendid shorter rendering of that books proposals makes them accessible to general readers and to students outside the field of philosophy. Alvin plantingas the reformed objection to natural. This is the view of knowledgeenunciated by calvin, further developed by barththat sees belief in god as its own foundation.
Atheists, he argues, are the ones who are misreading darwin. Some natural theologians argue that it is best to combine the various. Yet one is warranted to believe in god, he says, unless compelling evidence against belief is presented. To argue at all would be to admit that the world is designed. Of course, it could be that plantinga is arguing at a level that is well over my head. In a word, they hold that belief in god is properly basic. Alvin plantingas properly basic belief religion refuted. According to reformed epistemology, belief in god can be rational and justified even without arguments or evidence for the existence of god.
Plantinga, alvin 1983, reason and belief in god in plantinga and. Plantinga reason and belief in god pdf reason and belief in god. Feb 09, 2014 this is the first in a series of interviews about religion that i will conduct for the stone. Plantingas argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher j. The interviewee for this installment is alvin plantinga, an emeritus professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame, a former president of both the society of christian philosophers and the american philosophical association, and the author, most recently, of where the conflict really lies. Knowledge and christian belief by alvin plantinga a book. The first grew out of his earlier argument in god and other minds 1967.
Plantingas god, freedom, and evil hereafter, gfe might be compared to one of those little stands they sometimes have set up in walmart or sams club with the free samples, only the free sample in this case is perfectly grilled filet mignon. Evidentialism implies that full religious belief is justified only if there. But before i begin, it is of great import to understand reformed epistemology, since it is the premise of plantingas entire theological work. That is, the belief in god could, in principle, be revised or discarded in the face of contrary evidence. God, in faith and rationality, alvin plantinga and nicholas.
Plantinga on god, freedom, and evil article pdf available in international journal for philosophy of religion 122. Plantinga thinks it likely that if there is a god, he wants us to know him, and has given us a way of knowing him. More specifically, plantinga argues that belief in god is properly basic, and due to a religious externalist epistemology, he claims belief in god could be justified independently of evidence. Recognized worldwide as a leading christian philosopher, plantinga probes what exactly is meant by the claim that religious and. The god of the old testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction. Plantinga thus shifts the burden of proof to the nonbeliever. An introduction to the thought of alvin plantinga crossway. Nov 25, 20 alvin plantinga is one of the worlds top christian philosophers. Jeremy randel koons 2011 philosophical quarterly 61 245. Foundationalism and the justification of religious belief. Catherines college, oxford, one of the questions that preoccupied me was this.
The philosophical quarterly 61 georgetown university. As is typically done, we might think of a possible world as a complete way that things might have been. Obrien professor of philosophy emeritus at the university of notre dame and the inaugural holder of the jellema chair in philosophy at calvin college. Alvin carl plantinga born 1932 is an american analytic philosopher who works primarily in the fields of philosophy of religion, epistemology particularly on issues involving epistemic justification, and logic from 1963 to 1982, plantinga taught at calvin university before accepting an appointment as the john a.
Dec 03, 2008 we can reason from premises developed from our sense perception only if we and the world we live in were designed to make that possible. In the reformed objection to natural theology, plantinga explains the basics of reformed epistemology. Mar 08, 2018 rather, plantinga merely provides a defense, which is a possible reason in which an allpowerful and allgood god finds it perfectly reasonable to allow evil, thus proving that there is at least one possible scenario in which the three propositions that mackie claims are contradictory are actually consistent with one another. This was, at least in large part, due to the influence of positivism on the philosophical terrain. I havent read the argument yet but i can already tell you that i wont accept it for one of these reasons. Alvin plantinga is regarded as one of the foremost religious philosophers of the contemporary era. He is widely known for his work in epistemology and philosophy of religion, and is the author of warranted christian belief 2000. Now god can create free creatures, but he cant cause or determine them to do only what is right. T his is a collection of philosophical papers by alvin plantinga.
For a critical account of verificationism see plantinga, god and other minds. The stronger ones unevidenced commitment to belief in god, the stronger one would require the antigod evidence to be before abandoning belief. This is one of plantinga s earlier essays on reformed epistemology and is highly recommended. This is one of plantingas earlier essays on reformed epistemology and is highly recommended. Faith and rationality investigates the rich implications of what the contributors call calvinistic or reformed epistemology. Trinitarian god whom christians say entered history uniquely in the person of jesus. Pdf contemporary epistemology of religion may conveniently be treated as a debate. Philosophical reflection which is not much different from just thinking hard on these themes has a long history. Alvin plantingas freewill defense is a logical argument developed by the american analytic philosopher alvin plantinga and published in its final version in his 1977 book god, freedom, and evil. Alvin plantingas view of warrant may be seen as rejection of premise 1. This book discusses and exemplifies the philosophy of religion, or philosophical reflection on central.
In that work plantinga argued that if our belief in other minds is rational without propositional or physical evidence, then belief in god is also rational. And so god, as the unsurpassably perfect being, read more. God, freedom and evil is a short work, originally published in the mid1970s, wherein plantinga addresses issues pertaining to the existence of god. Plantinga is widely known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics and christian apologetics. But good arguments, on each side, enriche appreciation of issues and understanding of alternatives. On plantingas view, the degree of warrant for a basic belief doesnt depend on objective evidence. Its a great introduction to the thought he more fully develops later on primarily in the warrant series. And even so, the justified attitude would be agnosticism with respect to the moon, not amoonism. Alvin plantingas the reformed objection to natural theology. I dont believe in god, but i miss him are the first words of julian barnes book on death.
Knowledge of god edition 1 by alvin plantinga, michael. Alvin plantinga, reason and belief in god, in faith and rationality, ed. Apr 25, 2017 in 1980, time magazine called alvin plantinga the leading protestant philosopher of god. Atheism on this sort of basis would be justified only if the explanatory power of theism were the only reason for belief in god.
Two dozen or so theistic arguments 205 exist have some but much less than maximal intuitive support. Rbg plantingas essay with the title reason and belief in god. Although plantinga cannot remember ever not having been convinced. More specifically, plantinga argues that belief in god is properly basic, and due to a religious externalist epistemology, he claims. Mar 28, 2016 alvin plantinga does evil disprove god. Philosophy of religion internet encyclopedia of philosophy. This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source with renderx xep formatter, version 3.
In this paper i shall try to develop and defend this position. In doing so, he considers the natural theologians arsenal, the atheologians response, and whether belief in god can be salvaged from the analogy of other minds. The first essay is plantingas reason and belief in god. Belief in god is the heart and center of the christian religion as it is of judaism and islam. In his widely praised warranted christian belief oxford, 2000 alvin plantinga discussed in great depth the question of the rationality, or sensibility, of christian belief. Dawkins and daniel dennett whose recent breaking the spell is his contribution to this genre are the touchdown. God, freedom, and evil alvin plantinga free download as pdf file. Alvin plantinga s warranted christian belief is the capstone to the latest stage in his views on the intellectual credibility of theism in general, and christian theism in particular. Themes from richard swinburne, bergmann and brower, eds. The epistemology of religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The book draws upon the authors prior works, the nature of necessity and god and other minds. Plantinga evaluates the issue of whether we are rationally justified in believing in god.