Even those who cannot accept the theist alternative should admit that Plantinga’s criticisms of naturalism are directed at the deepest problem with that view—how it can account for the appearance, through the operation of the laws of physics and chemistry, of conscious beings like ourselves, capable of discovering those laws and understanding the universe that they govern. Defenders of naturalism have not ignored this problem, but I believe that so far, even with the aid of evolutionary theory, they have not proposed a credible solution. [more…]
Inherited Sin and COVID-19 Epistemology
One of my walking buddies at work is a statistician who does data analysis for our company. Of statistics, I guess. I always enjoy talking to him; I like the way his mind works. I’ve long been interested in epistemology, the question of how we know—how we justify our...
Nagel is not just being gracious; he is using Plantinga as ammunition in his attack on neo-Darwinism. His article is timed to appear just before the shelf release of his new book, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False (Sep. 26, OUP; the Kindle version was released in August).
It’s gratifying to know that he isn’t convinced by materialism either. He may well be one of the world’s most famous non-materialist philosophers.
Thanks for the tip, Todd. It’s always humbling to be introduced to “the world’s most famous X” and have to admit you’ve never heard of him! But common grace would lead to such people existing: materialism is so unworkable; Christians can’t be the only ones who see this.