Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Atheism and Theism

  • A Temple to Atheism in the Heart of London?

    Alain de Botton's proposal  to enshrine atheistic and this-worldly values has raised the hackles of Richard Dawkins on the ground that "the money was being misspent and that a temple of atheism was a contradiction in terms."  If I were an an atheist, I would support, or at least not oppose, de Botton's idea.  It…

  • Necessary Being: A Note on a Post by James Barham

    In the context of a reply to a "nasty attack on [Alvin] Plantinga by Jerry Coyne that cannot go unanswered," James Barham explains why he is an atheist: The other reason I balk [at accepting a theism like that of Plantinga's] is that I can’t help suspecting there is a category mistake involved in talking…

  • David Horowitz

    In this video clip, Horowitz gets a Muslim Jew-hater to show her true colors. Here he is on the Dennis Prager show discussing his new book, A Point in Time: The Search for Redemption in this Life and the Next.

  • Peter Hitchens on an Evening Without Richard Dawkins

    Excerpt (emphasis added) The most moving – and most enjoyable – contribution of the evening came from the marvellous Dr Stephen Priest, simultaneously diffident and extremely powerful. I won’t try to summarise it because I’m sure I’d fail. I hope it will eventually make it on to the web. It reminded me of why I had…

  • The Dog Delusion

    Image swiped from Reppert's site.  But the following is mine:     Wherein Kitty learns that there's probably no Dog and that she should stop worrying and enjoy her life.

  • Some Atheists

    Those atheists who mock religion mock the craving for ultimate meaning.  So no matter how clever they are they are quite stupid when it comes to the human heart.  Atheism in these mockers is rooted in spiritual vacancy.

  • Were the Greatest Philosophers Theists or Atheists?

    To answer the title question, we must first answer the logically prior question as to who the greatest philosophers were. But this presupposes an answer to the equally vexing question of who counts as  a philosopher. Heidegger published two fat volumes on Nietzsche, but dismissed Kierkegaard as a mere "religious writer." Others will go him…

  • Defeasible Presumption and Evidence: A Confusion in McInerny

    A defeasible presumption in favor of proposition p is not evidence for p.  In a legal proceeding there is a defeasible presumption of innocence (POI): one is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  For example, Jones, who has been charged with Smith's murder, is presumed to be not guilty until such time as the presumption is defeated. …

  • What is Behind the Terminological Mischief of the ‘Negative Atheists’?

    Joseph A. suggests it's all about politics:   You ask in your latest post "So what's going on here?"   The New Atheists are largely motivated by politics, not philosophy. So, what they try to zero in on is the most effective way to advance their cause, in the public and private sphere. And that…

  • Against Terminological Mischief: ‘Negative Atheism’ and ‘Negative Nominalism’

    This from the seemingly reputable site, Investigating Atheism: More recently, atheists have argued that atheism only denotes a lack of theistic belief, rather than the active denial or claims of certainty it is often associated with. I'm having a hard time seeing what point there could be in arguing that "atheism only denotes a lack of theistic…

  • Are Atheists Theologians?

    This from a reader: I’m e-mailing you with this question because it’s bothered me for a while and I think you are more than capable of giving me a better understand of it. “Can atheists rationally ignore theology? Further, if they do need to study it, quite how much should they study, and which aspect(s)…

  • Practical and Evidential Aspects of Rationality: Is it Ever Rational to Believe Beyond the Evidence?

    I need to get clearer about the rationality of beliefs versus the rationality of actions. One question is whether it is ever rational to believe something for which one has insufficient evidence. And if it is never rational to believe something for which one has insufficient evidence, then presumably it is also never rational to act…

  • Why I am a Quasi-Atheist*

    A guest post by Peter Lupu with some comments in blue by Bill Vallicella. [This essay is dedicated to the memory of Ann Freitag, my significant other, who passed away on April 17, 2010, 11:30am. She gave me two priceless gifts: Herself and a deep understanding that the love of life is not a mere…

  • God, Probability, and Noncontingent Propositions

    Matt Hart comments: . . . most of what we conceive is possible. So if we say that 1) In 80% of the cases, if 'Conceivably, p' then 'Possibly, p'2) Conceivably, God existsErgo,3) Pr(Possibly, God exists) = 80%4) If 'Possibly, God exists' then 'necessarily, God exists'Ergo,5) Pr(Necessarily, God exists) = 80%, we seem to get by.…

  • Gratuitous Evil and Begging the Question: Does LAFE Beg the Question?

    What is it for an argument to beg the question? I suggest that an argument begs the question if it is impossible to know one of the premises to be true without knowing that the conclusion is true. The simplest question-begging arguments are of the form p—p. Clearly, every argument of this form is valid,…