Beaudoin on Hume, Swinburne, and the Design Argument

I recently noted some of John Beaudoin's nice work in philosophy of religion, so I thought I should mention that he has also written an interesting defense of Hume's critique of the design argument. In "On Some Criticisms of Hume's Principle of Proportioning Cause to Effect" (Philo 2:2 (Fall-Winter 1999)), Beaudoin responds to Richard Swinburne's objections to Hume's criticisms. Here is the link to Beaudoin's article.

Excellent Review of Beilby's Epistemology as Theology

Tyler Wunder has written an unbelievably thorough and penetrating (20+-page) critical notice of James K. Beilby's Epistemology as Theology: An Evaluation of Alvin Plantinga’s Religious Epistemology. It's also the only review of the book I know of that takes a critical eye to it. In my view, it should be on the "must read" list for anyone evaluating Plantinga's reformed epistemology. The review can be found in Philo 10:2 (Fall-Winter 2007).

More Dialogue on Reppert's Argument from Reason with Littlejohn

At Reppert's blog, Dangerous Idea. Reppert hasn't provided a clickable link to the blog post this time, but the title of the blog post is "Physicalism, mental causation, and the AFR", dated April 21st.

Great Philosophy Podcast

Via Leiter Reports, I have become aware of a great philosophy podcast: Why? Radio. The host is philosopher Jack Russell Weinstein (U of North Dakota), and he regularly discusses philosophical topics with excellent philosophers.

Previous shows include:

"On Self-Deception", with Amelie Rorty

"The Other Economics: Welfare, Development, and Justice", with Amartya Sen

"The Morality and Legality of Universal Health Care", with Sharona Hoffman

"On Forgiveness", with Charles L. Griswold, Jr.

"The Humanities in America: the Case for Public Funding", with Brenna Daugherty


On the next episode, Weinstein will discuss empathy, the Constitution, and sexual orientation with Martha Nussbaum.

You can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.

In Memoriam: Jordan Howard Sobel

Jordan Howard Sobel (1929-2010) passed away last month (March 26th).

HT: Mike Almeda

John Beaudoin

John Beaudoin (currently a visiting professor at Northern Illinois University) does interesting work in philosophy of religion. Below are his contributions to date:

I. Criticisms of the Skeptical Theist response to the evidential argument from evil:
- "Evil, the Human Cognitive Condition, and Natural Theology", Religious Studies 34:4 (1998):403-418.
-"Inscrutable Evil and Scepticism:, Heythrop Journal 41:3 (2000):297–302.

II. Criticisms of the cosmological argument and the doctrine of divine conservation:
-"The World's Continuance: Divine Conservation or Existential Inertia?", International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 61:2 (2007).

III. An argument against our ability to identify divine miracles, given the biblical hypothesis of demonic wonders:
-"The Devil's Lying Wonders", Sophia 46:2.

UPDATE:
IV. Criticisms of the design argument:
"On Some Criticisms of Hume's Principle of Proportioning Cause to Effect", Philo 2:2 (Fall-Winter 1999)

Links: Antony Flew's Recent Passing

Here and here.

Philosophical Disquisitions

Good lord -- how long has it been? Well, it looks as though things will slow down a bit around here within the next several days, and so I hope to get back to blogging again soon. In the meantime, I want to call attention to an excellent blog: Philosophical Disquisitions. The author (JohnD) is a Law PhD student in Ireland (specializing in philosophy of law), and he offers excellent expository posts on some of the best recent work in philosophy of religion. Be sure to add him to your Required Reading list.

Ricki Bliss's Cambridge Element on Grounding, Fundamentality, and Ultimate Explanations

 ...is now out , and available for free download for a limited time. Required reading.