Atheism and Theism

by Smart, J. J. C.; Haldane, J. J.

• ISBN13: 9780631232582
• ISBN10: 0631232583
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-12-13
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The issue of whether or not there is a God is one of the oldest and most widely disputed philosophical questions. It is a debate that spreads far across the range of philosophical questions about the status of science, the nature of mind, the character of good and evil, the epistemology of experience and testimony, and so on. In this book two philosophers, each committed to unambiguous versions of belief and disbelief, debate the central issues of atheism and theism. Smart opens the debate by arguing that theism is philosophically untenable and seeks to explain metaphysical truth in the light of total science. Haldane continues the discussion by affirming that the existence of the world, and the possibility of our coming to have knowledge of it, depend upon the existence of a creating, sustaining, personal God. This is followed by replies, where each philosopher has the chance to respond and to defend his position. This second edition contains new essays by each philosopher, responding to criticisms and building on their previous work.

Author Biography

J. J. C. Smart is Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University. He is the author of many books, including Philosophy and Scientific Realism, Ethics, Persuasion and Truth and (with Bernard Williams) Utilitarianism: For and Against. J. J. Haldane is Professor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and Director of the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs. He recently held the Royden Davis Chair in Humanities at Georgetown University. He has published widely in metaphysics, philosophy of mind and social philosophy. He is co-editor of several volumes and author of The Intelligent Person's Guide to Religion (2003).

Table of Contents

Preface to Second Edition	ix
Recommendations and Reviews	xii
Introduction	1	(5)
J.J. Haldane
J.J.C. Smart
Atheism and Theism	6	(70)
J.J.C. Smart
Introduction	6	(2)
Theism, Spirituality and Science	8	(4)
The New Teleology and the Old	12	(2)
Pantheism	14	(1)
Fine Tuning and the Anthropic Cosmological Principle	15	(6)
The Argument from the Appearance of Design	21	(5)
God as an Ethical Principle	26	(6)
The Argument from Contingency	32	(11)
The Argument from Religious Experience	43	(4)
Pascal's Wager	47	(4)
Miracles	51	(3)
Higher Criticism of the New Testament	54	(5)
The Problem of Evil	59	(7)
Historical Theism and Metaphysical Theism	66	(10)
Atheism and Theism	76	(75)
J.J. Haldane
Introduction	76	(6)
Theism and Science	82	(4)
Some Varieties of Explanation	86	(2)
`Old' Teleology	88	(21)
`New' Teleology	109	(7)
The Cause of Things	116	(10)
God and the World	126	(11)
God, Good and Evil	137	(7)
Liberty and Providence	144	(3)
Theism -- Philosophical and Religious	147	(4)
Reply to Haldane	151	(20)
J.J.C. Smart
Methodology	151	(4)
Representation and Intentionality	155	(2)
Consciousness	157	(2)
Chicken and Egg	159	(1)
Eternity and Sempiternity	160	(4)
Theism and the Problem of Evil	164	(7)
Reply to Smart	171	(27)
J.J. Haldane
Methodology	171	(4)
The Existence of God	175	(4)
Metaphysical Matters	179	(3)
Reason, Faith and Revelation	182	(7)
A Religious Conclusion	189	(9)
Afterword	194	(4)
J.J.C. Smart
J.J. Haldane
Further Reflections on Atheism for the Second Edition	198	(23)
J.J.C. Smart
Preliminary	198	(1)
Anselm's Argument	199	(2)
Plantinga's Argument	201	(4)
A Putative a priori Disproof of the Existence of God	205	(2)
Further Reflections on Necessity and Theism	207	(2)
The Fine-Tuning Argument Again	209	(3)
The Fine-Tuning Argument: Bayesian Considerations	212	(1)
Biological Considerations	213	(2)
A Possible Olive Branch (or maybe Twig) to the Theist	215	(1)
Can Theists and Atheists Come to Agree?	216	(5)
Further Reflections on Theism for the Second Edition	221	(30)
J.J. Haldane
Preliminary	221	(1)
Philosophy and Religion, and Philosophy of Religion	221	(2)
The Emergence of Life and the Origins of Reproduction	223	(4)
The Prime Thinker	227	(5)
Realism, Idealism, Anti-Realism and Theism	232	(8)
The Nature of God	240	(4)
God, Evil, and Hope	244	(7)
Bibliography	251	(7)
Index	258