I recently came across an old paper by Clement Dore, entitled "Rowe on the Cosmological Argument" (1983). In it, Dore objects attempts to uphold Hume's objection to the PSR, by critiquing Rowe's defense of the principle. He writes:| Jim Reilly's Philosophy Blog
Richard Carrier (an atheist blogger suffering from the world's most ironic god complex) thinks he has an argument to the effect that "[if] ...| sed-contra-philosophy.blogspot.com
While perusing Alexander Pruss' blog, I came across a post in which he offers this quote from Aquinas:Hence we must say that the distinction and multitude of things come from the intention of the first agent, who is God. For He brought things into being in order that His goodness might be communicated to creatures, and be represented by them; and because His goodness could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, He produced many and diverse creatures, that what was wanting to one...| Jim Reilly's Philosophy Blog
[Note: Most of this post consists of fairly obvious observations about the consequences of modal dispositionalism; I just wanted to have this train of thought in writing somewhere.]| Jim Reilly's Philosophy Blog
If one is a physicalist, then presumably one thinks that consciousness emerged as a result of naturalistic evolution. From this, it would seem to follow that consciousness was selected for, i.e. that it provided some kind of adaptive advantage, which lead to conscious organisms out-competing non-conscious ones. (If consciousness is a purely physical process, then it would likely depend on rather complex biological systems, and so it is unlikely to be a spandrel that simply piggy-backed on som...| Jim Reilly's Philosophy Blog
More people ought to read J.L. Schellenberg's excellent book Monotheism and the Rise of Science (2020), published by Cambridge University Press. In it, Schellenberg notes that there is "considerable support" for the claim that monotheism "contributed to science's early rise" (p. 4). He writes that "Monotheism and science... were not enemies at all but rather friends" (p. 47). He further notes that such a relationship might well reemerge, writing:When the total story of science’s relationshi...| Jim Reilly's Philosophy Blog
Michael Huemer is an interesting guy. I don't have hard data on this, but I'm fairly confident that he's the only philosopher working today who simultaneously advocates veganism, anarcho-capitalism, agnosticism, and substance dualism. As such, it was not terribly surprising to find that he also believes in reincarnation, having defended the idea in a (very interesting) 2019 paper in Nous. The gist of Huemer's argument is as follows:If you were to live at most once in the history of the univer...| Jim Reilly's Philosophy Blog
A few years back, renowned chemist Peter Atkins wrote a couple of rather silly books, in which he tried to give an account of how the univer...| sed-contra-philosophy.blogspot.com
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), co-discoverer of natural selection, was second only to Charles Darwin as the 19th century’s most noted English naturalist. Yet his belief in spiritualism caused him to be ridiculed and dismissed by many, leaving him a comparatively obscure and misunderstood figure. In this volume Wallace is finally allowed to speak in his own defense through his grand Read More ›Source| Books – Discovery Institute
Today I am going to offer a naturalist theory of qualia—the particulars of “what it is like” of conscious experience, like the redness of red or the floweriness of a flower’s scent or the twanginess of a guitar, or even what love or fear, or deliciousness or pain, “feel” like. My model can’t be tested […]| Richard Carrier Blogs
Last week I published an eristic analysis of an exchange of videos between Rationality Rules and Capturing Christianity, on Which Is ‘Rational’: Theism or Atheism? This time I will analyze a previous Capturing Christianity video, “Why Theism Best Explains Reality (philosophy nerds, get in here!)”, featuring the content creators Tim Howard and Kyle Alander defending […]| Richard Carrier Blogs
Abstract Naturalistic modes of research are interpretive for several reasons. Scientific observation is theory-laden (Yanow and Schwartz-Shea 2006). Facts are both theory- and value- laden (Goulding…| Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective
Not rethinking realism, as in rethinking philosophy’s single, objective reality, hard as rocks and nails. No, I mean rethinking realism in the sense of questioning the elevation of literary realism over the many other forms of fiction. Realism has long been the go-to form in literature for telling a story a certain way. An entire […]| Jim Nelson
An oldie but a goodie. This is an old article I wrote back in Grad School. It explores various topics related to epistemology and the philosophy of science, focusing primarily on the philosopher W.O. Quine and his project of naturalizing epistemology and psychologism. I provide a critique of Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" that is still relevant today. The post Is “Epistemology Naturalized” Really Epistemology? appeared first on Patristic Faith.| Patristic Faith
Joan of Arc, the medieval teenaged martyr from the French province of Lorraine, gained new status as a patriotic symbol when France ceded part of the territory to the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Bastien-Lepage, a native of Lorraine, depicts the moment when Saints Michael, Margaret, and Catherine appear to the peasant girlContinue reading "Joan of Arc by Jules Bastien-Lepage"| Mysterious Art Century
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George Clausen (1852-1944), The Girl at the Gate, 1889, oil on canvas, 171.4 x 138.4 cm. Tate Britain| Mysterious Art Century
‘Simulation Theory’ is popular lately so I am building a new summary piece on it. The following article repeats material elsewhere on my site but in scattered places, and with some new and connecting material, to provide a thorough and current treatment of the question. -:- Are we and the universe just a giant computer […]| Richard Carrier Blogs
"You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." - Saint Augustine, Confessions 1.1.1. Introduction Prag...| sed-contra-philosophy.blogspot.com
In one of his more memorable lines, the great English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson raises a fist to the sky, demanding, like Job, an answer for suffering: “Are God and…| Capturing Christianity
