Much of the discussion concerning faith and reason has centered around. The philosophical quarterly 61 georgetown university. Alvin plantinga, nicholas wolterstorff and william alston in particular the declarations. I shall try to characterize this picture in a revealing way and. Themes from richard swinburne, bergmann and brower, eds.
The book reexamines some notable premodern accounts of the relation of passion, reason and faith, and from there. Christians should not have an inferiority complex regarding the academic or intellectual integrity of their faith and should understand that christian faith is also a rational faith. As plantinga expounds it,8 the free will defense rests on these two philosophical claims, which it adds to the theological assumptions l 3. Theistic belief 2 we must begin by recognizing a distinction that plantinga himself is. Alvin carl plantinga born in ann arbor, michigan, the first of four sons of cornelius a. Plantinga employs to make his account of the proper basicality of theistic belief more plausible. Philosopher alvin plantinga of the university of notre dame gives us much help in this area. Religious people often think of faith as confidence based on a perceived degree of warrant, while others who are more skeptical of religion tend to think of. Loux gives a great discussion on the topic of possible worlds. Alvin carl plantinga plnt born november 15, 1932 is an. Alvin plantinga upholds that faith may be the result of evidence testifying to the. See my reason and belief in god in alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff, eds. In the issue of books and culture of mayjune 1996, he outlines his approach.
Faith and rationality investigates the rich implications of what the contributors call calvinistic or reformed epistemology. Faith, derived from latin fides and old french feid, is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. He spent nineteen years as a professor at calvin college, then eighteen years at the university of notre dame, and returned to calvin college in 2010. Alvin plantinga, reason and belief in god philpapers. I will begin with the briefest sketch of plantingas view. Craig, it seems to me that the debate about the compatibility or incompatibility of science and religion, these debates are heating up. Faith is a matter of personal taste, like enjoying theater or playing golf. Alvin plantingas reformed epistemology dallas baptist university. Belief in god is the heart and center of the christian religion as it is of judaism and islam. First, it is designed to introduce readers to the more important questions that link philosophy and religion.
Evolutionary psychology and the rationality of faith article in the heythrop journal 503. Of all published articles, the following were the most read within the past 12 months. As the son of a philosophy and psychology professor, plantinga evidenced a knack for and interest in philosophy early on. A philosophically serious yet accessible investigation of the rationality of christian belief in his widely praised warranted christian belief oxford, 2000 alvin plantinga discussed in great depth the question of the rationality, or sensibility, of christian belief. Reason and belief in god alvin plantinga belief in god is the heart and center of the christian religion as it is of judaism and islam.
There are two short stories by george mavrodes which i found highly amusing, and which were a nice break from the difficult readings. The notion that logic and sound reason are hostile to faith actually substitutes irrationality for genuine faith. In faith and rationality, wolterstorff, alvin plantinga, and william alston developed and expanded upon a view of religious epistemology that has come to be known as reformed epistemology. I, on the other hand, propose to take the analogy seriously, and argue that the analogy undermines plantingas case that belief in god can be properly basic. Reason and belief in god, with nicholas wolterstorff. Alvin plantingas essay in this book is a classic, and it brilliantly demonstrates the inadequacy of classical foundationalism. Articles 2016 law, cause, and occasionalism, in reason and faith. Evolutionary psychology and the rationality of faith.
Thus, it would appear that there is not even agreement about the value of rationality let. The former claims that there is a necessary antithesis between faith and reason, whereas the latter talks of a perfect harmony between the two. The word faith sometimes refers to a belief that is held with lack of reason or evidence, a belief that is held in spite of or against reason or evidence, or it can refer to belief based upon a. Reformed epistemology was first clearly articulated in a collection of papers called faith and rationality edited by alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff in 1983. A tabular comparison of the 1646 westminster confession, the 1658 savoy declaration of faith, the 16771689 london baptist confession and the 1742 philadelphia confession. Plantingas presentation of the free will defense is a landmark in contemporary discussions of the problem of evil. Faith and rationality is a landmark book in the history of contemporary. Reason and belief in god, in faith and rationality ed. Oliver sacks, the man who mistook his wife for a hat new york. The theists were to defend gods existence against the challenge of the atheists. The introduction includes the major themes of the book and how it is primary a work of reformed scholarship. In this book plantinga presents the same ideas in a briefer, much more accessible fashion. Alston, george mavrodes, and ralph mcinerny on the theists side. Reason and belief in god alvin plantinga belief in god is the heart and center of the christian religionas it is of judaism and islam.
Of course christians may disagree, at least in emphasis, as to how to think of god. I listened in shocked amazement as theists plantinga and alston actually urged rejection of the law of rationality. He also helped to establish the journal faith and philosophy and the society of. Philosophy and rationality in the reformed tradition. Reason and belief in god university of notre dame press, 1983, p. According to plantinga, this is the view of classical foundationalism which constitutes a picture or total way of looking at faith, knowledge, justified belief, rationality, and allied topics 457. Theism, naturalism, and rationality alvin plantinga. Is there some sense in which belief in god is rational. Faith is belief in inspiration, revelation, or authority. Now this is a perpetual question that weve long dealt with, and there is so much thats been published on this topic. Faith and rationality wikimili, the free encyclopedia. God, in faith and rationality, alvin plantinga and nicholas. Faith, 2 the rationality of theistic belief alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorffs faith and rationality and 3 the contemporary religious epistemology r.
While philosophical reflection on faith of the kind exemplified in religious faith might ideally hope to yield an agreed definition in terms of sufficient and necessary conditions that articulate the nature of faith, the present discussion proceeds by identifying key components that recur in different accounts of religious faith. Obrien professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. Reformed epistemology internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Pdf where the conflict really lies download full pdf.
The reason for reformed in reformed epistemology is a result of the clear influences from the reformed theological tradition on this view. Faith and rationality is split into 9 different sections, including the introduction. Contrast, for example, the views of a kierkegaard to those of aquinas. Plantinga on science and religion reasonable faith. In john 15 jesus uses the striking image of the vine and the branches to convey in more concrete terms that his followers will share in his very life and, by implication, in the very life of god. When paul prayed that the philippians love would abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment philippians 1. T his is a collection of philosophical papers by alvin plantinga. Faith, plantinga faith, and warrant plantingas account of faith gives us a good clue i think as to why he would gravitate toward a picture according to which christian beliefs are properly basic.
Faith, rationality and the passions presents a fresh examination of the relation of religious faith, philosophical rationality and the passions, by bringing together the insights of leading scholars in philosophy, theology, history of science, psychology and neuroscience. Notre dame philosopher alvin plantinga awarded 2017. Faith and rationality investigates the rich implications of what the authors call calvinistic or reformed epistemology. Douglas geivett and brendan sweetmans contemporary perspectives on religious epistemology. This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source with renderx xep. In the context of religion, one can define faith as confidence or trust in a particular system of religious belief. Faith and rationality are two ideologies that exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility. This position holds that belief in god is properly basic and has received its most notable. Reason and belief in godalvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff, editorsuniversity of notre. This is the view of knowledgeenunciated by calvin, further developed by barththat sees belief in god as its own foundation. Reason and belief in god alvin plantinga, nicholas wolterstorff download bok. Following calvin, plantinga defines faith or faith of the type he wishes to discuss as a firm. Obrien professor of philosophy emeritus at the university of notre dame, was named the 2017 templeton prize laureate on tuesday april 25 by the john templeton foundation over his 50 years of research in philosophy of religion, epistemology and metaphysics, plantinga has advanced landmark arguments for the existence. Reason and belief in god, in faith and rationality, eds.
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