In Defense of Natural Theology: A Post-Humean AssessmentThe shadow of David Hume, the eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher, has loomed large against all efforts to prove the existence of God from evidence in the natural world. Indeed from Hume's day to ours, the vast majority of philosophical attacks against the rationality of theism have borne an unmistakable Humean aroma. The last forty years, however, have been marked by a resurgence in Christian theism among philosophers, and the time has come for a thorough reassessment of the case for natural theology. James F. Sennett and Douglas Groothuis have assembled a distinguished team of philosophers to engage the task: Terence Penelhum, Todd M. Furman, Keith Yandell, Garrett J. DeWeese, Joshua Rasmussen, James D. Madden, Robin Collins, Paul Copan, Victor Reppert, J. P. Moreland and R. Douglas Geivett. Together this team makes vigorous individual and cumulative arguments that set Hume's attacks in fresh perspective and that offer new insights into the value of teleological, cosmological and ontological arguments for God's existence. |
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Contents
INTRODUCTION | 9 |
Hume on Natural Theology | 19 |
IN PRAISE OF HUME | 42 |
DAVID HUME ON MEANING VERIFICATION AND NATURAL THEOLOGY | 58 |
HUMES STOPPER AND THE NATURAL THEOLOGY PROJECT | 82 |
Hume and the Arguments | 105 |
HUME AND THE KALAM COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT | 123 |
GIVING THE DEVIL HIS | 150 |
HUME FINETUNING AND THE WHO DESIGNED GOD? OBJECTION | 175 |
HUME AND THE MORAL ARGUMENT | 200 |
DAVID HUME EXPERIENTIAL EVIDENCE AND BELIEF IN GOD | 226 |
THE ARGUMENT FROM REASON AND HUMES LEGACY | 253 |
HUME AND THE ARGUMENT FROM CONSCIOUSNESS | 271 |
DAVID HUME AND A CUMULATIVE CASE ARGUMENT | 297 |
Contributors | 330 |
Common terms and phrases
argue basic candidate gods causal chapter Christian theism claim Cleanthes complexity concept Concerning conclusion confirmation confirmed consciousness contingent Cosmological Argument creator David Hume deism deity design argument Dialogues difficulties divine Douglas Groothuis empiricism Enquiry entails entities epistemic evaluation evidence evidentialism evil ex nihilo explanation fact false find fine-tuning finite first cause fit flaws God’s existence human Hume’s Hume’s stopper Hume’s view Humean idea inference infinite intelligent J. P. Moreland justified kalam Kalam Cosmological Argument Lane Craig Leibniz life-permitting logical mental ments metaphysical mind miracles Natural Religion natural theology natural theology argument naturalist omnipotent one’s ontological Oxford perceptions Philo philosophical Philosophy of Religion physical possible worlds premise principle properties proposition qualia rational reflect relevant religious experience Robin Collins scientific seems skeptical sort specific sufficient reason teleological argument theism theistic theistic hypothesis theory things tion true University Press William Lane Craig