Alvin plantinga, in the ninth chapter ofthe nature of necessity, sets out a defence of the free will defence fwd 2. Alvin plantinga, born in 1932, is a philosopher and has been a professor at both calvin university and the university of notre dame. Share alvin plantinga quotations about belief, philosophy and naturalism. Mightcounterfactuals, transworld untrustworthiness, and plantingas free will defense pdf.
The metaphysics of modality university of kentucky. If youre a seller, fulfillment by amazon can help you grow your business. Themes from richard swinburne, bergmann and brower, eds. I shall, then, set out a number of minor criticisms of the ninth chapter. T his is a collection of philosophical papers by alvin plantinga. Plantingas probability arguments against naturalism and evolution 1997 by brandon fitelson and elliott sober off site pdf in chapter 12 of warrant and proper function, alvin plantinga constructs two arguments against naturalistic evolution. The problem in this and the following chapter i wish to apply some of the foregoing ideas to. Alvin plantinga takes to task in his celebrated response to the problem of evil. Obrien professor of philosophy emeritus at the university of notre dame, and published in its final version in his 1977 book god, freedom, and evil. Fba items qualify for free shipping and amazon prime. 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. Moral evil is the pain and suffering that comes from acts of free will. To answer your question though, im not sure what his precise views are.
Alvin plantingas free will defense is a logical argument developed by american analytic philosopher alvin plantinga, the john a. Leslie allan examines the adequacy of plantingas argument that the existence of god is logically compatible with the existence of moral evil. The work of this quintessential analytic philosopher has in many respects set the tone for the debate in the fields of modal metaphysics and epistemology and he is arguably the most important philosopher of religion of our time. A being that necessarily exists cannot coherently be thought not to exist. Plantinga is widely known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics and christian apologetics. According to plantinga, to strongly actualize some state of affairs is to be the cause of that. The nature of necessity clarendon library of logic. Alvin plantinga was born 15 november 1932 in ann arbor, michigan. But in the course of developing those points, oppy lays out exceptionally clear summaries of positions plantinga has taken, beginning with god and other minds 1967, continuing through god, freedom, and evil 1974 and the nature of necessity 1974, then on to reason and belief in god 1983, the prospects for natural theology 1991, and. The nature of necessity clarendon library of logic and philosophy feb 1, 1978. The nature of necessity and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. William lane craig considers alvin plantingas version of the ontological argument as having the best chance of being cogent wlc 2004, p. The nature of necessity by alvin plantinga, 1974 online. Alvin plantingas freewill defense wikipedia republished. Alvin plantinga s free will defense is a logical argument developed by american analytic philosopher alvin plantinga, the john a. God, freedom and evil is a short work, originally published in the mid1970s, wherein plantinga addresses issues pertaining to the existence of god. Plantinga develops his argument by means of the notion of possible worlds and ranges over such.
Plantinga, alvin professor of philosophy, university of notre dame. Oct 18, 2012 plantingas the nature of necessity 1974 contains a largely neglected argument for the claim that the proposition god is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good is logically consistent with the vast amount and variety of evil the universe actually contains not to be confused with plantingas famous free will defense, which seeks to show that this same proposition is. The nature of necessity edition 1 by alvin plantinga. Our reading will comprise many of the contemporary classics in. A humean objection to plantingas quantitative free will defense. Leslie allan examines the adequacy of plantinga s argument that the existence of god is logically compatible with the existence of moral evil.
In the first three chapters, i clarify and defend the distinction between. Plantinga on the free will defense 125 tological proof, the atheist can, as even plantinga admits, successfully revise 2 to say. What is alvin plantingas view on divine sovereignty and free. 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. In nature of necessity, plantinga explains the use of possible worlds philosophy. Pdf a companion to philosophy of religion, second edition. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Few thinkers have had as much impact on contemporary philosophy as has alvin plantinga.
His father, cornelius, was then a philosophy graduate student at the university of michigan. He is credited with formulating the most robust and wellrespected response to the logical problem of evil. Jan 01, 1974 in nature of necessity, plantinga explains the use of possible worlds philosophy. Pdf theism and evolutionary theoryevolution and divine. The author develops the notion of possible worlds, discusses the question of transwrold identity and the nature of individuals, and considers the problem of. Available at a lower price from other sellers that may not offer free prime shipping. Plantinga s argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher j. Plantinga, god has the power to do this without denying freedom. Alvin plantinga s free will 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. The nature of necessity alvin plantinga oxford university press. An introduction to the thought of alvin plantinga crossway. A humean objection to plantingas quantitative free will. Alvin plantinga hand, it is narrower than that of causal or natural necessity.
Alvin plantinga asserted the validity of a second form of anselms argument. Plantinga examines where this conflict is said to existlooking at areas such as evolution, divine action in the world, and the. Alvin plantinga swings around kants object by showing how necessity is a property, and that existence is not. For much of the book i felt like i was up against a level 97 boss, and im only at level 70. Plantinga develops his argument by means of the notion of possible worlds and ranges over such key problems as the nature of essence, transworld identity, negative existential propositions, and the existence of unactual objects in other possible worlds. Davis claremont mckenna college alvin plantinga is one of the top christian philosophers in the world today. 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.
Plantinga responds to the argument by showing that in a world with free creatures, god might not be able, by. A classic work in the philosophy of religion, plantingas god, freedom, and evil is the single most influential text on the problem of evil in the past fifty years. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 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. From 1963 to 1982, plantinga taught at calvin college before accepting an appointment as the john a. His modal ontological argument for foundational religious necessity is seen as an almost. Crucially his free will defense relies on a libertarian conception of freedom. During this period plantingas work centers on a defense of the rationality of religious belief in the book god and other minds, general metaphysics and philosophy of religion in the nature of necessity, and the longstanding conundrum of the existence of evil in a world where god is omnipotent in the nature of. Alvin plantingas freewill defense is a logical argument developed by the american analytic. He is the author of numerous books including god and other minds, the nature of necessity, and a trilogy of books on epistemology, culminating in warranted christian belief.
Some atheistic philosophers have argued that god could have created a world with free moral agents and yet absent of moral evil. Both arguments hinge on the idea that naturalistic evolution cannot account for the reliability of. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look at alvin. What is plantingas free will defense, and how does it. Plantinga and the problem of evil iowa state university.
His nature of necessity did much to further discussions of modality in metaphysics, and his most recent work in epistemology, the roots of which began early in his career, have stimulated a multitude. He is the author of god and other minds, 1967, the nature of necessity, 1974. The book draws upon the authors prior works, the nature of necessity and god and other minds. Plantinga on the free will defense hugh lafollette. What is alvin plantingas view on divine sovereignty and free will. Using possible world semantics, alvin plantinga sought to defuse this logical form of the problem of evil. Jul 06, 2019 alvin plantinga the nature of necessity pdf posted on july 6, 2019 by admin this book, one of the first fulllength studies of the modalities to emerge from the debate to which saul kripke, david lewis, ruth marcus, and. Follow alvin plantinga and explore their bibliography from s alvin plantinga author page.
Alvin plantinga the nature of necessity pdf this book, one of the first fulllength studies of the modalities to emerge from the debate to. The nature of necessity alvin plantinga oxford university. This hinges upon necessary existence, a property with even higher value than existence. Necessity just means that if something exists, it exists in all possible worlds. A longawaited major statement by preeminent analytic philosopher alvin plantinga, where the conflict really lies illuminates one of our societys biggest debatesthe conflict between science and religion. Alvin plantinga is regarded as one of the foremost religious philosophers of the contemporary era. Alvin plantinga, the nature of necessity philpapers. It is one of the first fulllength studies of the modalities to emerge from the debate to which saul kripke, david lewis, ruth marcus and others have contributed.
Plantingas the nature of necessity developed an account of modality. God, freedom, and evil kindle edition by plantinga. Voltaire once swam the atlantic for example is surely implausible indeed, there is a clear sense in which it is impossible. Eighteenth century intellectuals as distinguished from dol phins simply lacked the physical equipment for this kind of feat. Obrien professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. This seminar will focus on the metaphysics of modality. A longawaited major statement by preeminent analytic philosopher alvin plantinga, where the conflict really lies illuminates one of our societys biggest debates the conflict between science and religion. The nature of necessity by alvin plantinga goodreads. In what follows, i shall set out, to begin with, a statement of the main line of his argument 3.
What is alvin plantingas view on divine sovereignty and. Apr 25, 2017 it would not be an overstatement to say that virtually all matters metaphysical and epistemological must address much of plantingas own work. 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. The argument is developed by means of the notion of possible. This account, he con tends, shows that it is not within gods power as. Articles 2016 law, cause, and occasionalism, in reason and faith.
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