Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Naturalism Defeated?: Essays on Plantinga's Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism by James K. Beilby ISBN: 0-8014-8763-3 Publisher: Cornell University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: No shock here
Comment: I don't agree with Plantinga, and I found nothing shocking here. What I found is a desperate attempt to justify the irrationality of Christianity. The essence of Plantinga's entire career up to this book has been "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me." Well, he doesn't succeed. The criticism in the first part of the book alone is enough to permanently debilitate Plantinga's arguments. So much of the alvinizing in the rest of the book turns on varying interpretations of rationality, semantics & syntax, the proper way to measure probabilities, and the best way to construe evolutionary theory. The result is that metaphysical naturalism emerges just fine. For all the certainty his Christianity no doubt provides him, it's interesting to see that the best Plantinga can do against the other side is a sophist's display of clever tricks and dogmatic assertion worthy of P.T. Barnum.
Rating: 5
Summary: Naturally Irrational
Comment: Naturalists are usually seen as paragons of rationality while theists are thought to be at the edge of crazy. Alvin Plantinga's argument challenged this identification questioning even the possibility of holding to Naturalism and trusting the cognitive faculties. This book begins with challenges to the evolutionary argument against naturalism and ends with a response to the challenges by Alvin Plantinga.
The eleven critical essays here are divided into four sections each one dealing with a separate set of objections to the evolutionary argument against naturalism. The argument itself is briefly presented in the beginning and then re-presented even more briefly by each of 'Beilby's cohorts'. There is some repetition in the book, which is not so bad when you're looking for clarification on the most contentious points under discussion.
The main areas of criticism in the book are from Science (Evolution), Skepticism, Conditional Probabilities/Confirmation Theory and the Nature of Epistemic Defeat.
Prior to reading this book I had thought Plantinga's argument was very strong -- so I was basically looking for objections that I was unaware of and answers to those objections; I found a lot of both. If you already agree with Plantinga you will probably find clarification and strengthening of the argument; if you don't already agree, well, then, I don't know what you'll find maybe shock/horror? Actually, most of the book is critical and provides ammunition for dissenters. But, in the end I think the worst that could be said about the argument is that it was 'bloodied but unbowed' (Plantinga).
I found William Alston's comments very helpful -- they suggest a different way of formulating the argument -- something like a Reductio ad Absurdum I think.
 |
Title: Epistemic Justification by Richard Swinburne ISBN: 0199243794 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Warranted Christian Belief by Alvin Plantinga ISBN: 0195131932 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
 |
Title: Realism and Antirealism by William P. Alston ISBN: 0801487900 Publisher: Cornell University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
 |
Title: Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century: The Age of Meaning (Age of Meaning) by Scott Soames ISBN: 0691115745 Publisher: Princeton University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
 |
Title: In Critical Condition: Polemical Essays on Cognitive Science and the Philosophy of Mind (Representation and Mind) by Jerry Fodor ISBN: 026256128X Publisher: Bradford Book Pub. Date: 31 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
