Philosophy

Question: Dear Tim, This is a three-pronged question: What is The FreeThinking Argument ? What are the premises of the argument? And what reasons are there to believe that the premises are true? Please lay out a defense of all of the argument's steps. - Evan Tim's Response: Thank you for the question, Evan. <1 > > Before I explain and defend the FreeThinking Argument , it is vital to define a term that the argument hinges upon: Libertarian Freedom (libertarian free will/

Preface As Nicholas Rescher notes in Chapter 3 of Metaphilosophy: Philosophy in Philosophical Perspective , philosophy can be articulated in several ways, including the essay, the medieval scholastic treatise, and the dialogue format. In what follows, I provide a philosophical evaluation of postmodernism using the dialogue format. In honor of the first masters of dialogue - the expert dialecticians Socrates and Plato - I use Socrates as the main character of this dialogue, w

Recently Tim Stratton wrote a response to the following question: "On the framework of Molinism, if there are multiple “logical moments” (not to be confused with chronological moments) prior to God’s creative decree, then would this not imply that God knows and does not know a truth simultaneously? If so, is this not a contradiction nullifying the entire idea of middle knowledge and Molinism?" Tim's response is good and worth reading ( click here ). Although I agree with eve

It is commonly held that Anselm’s argument in Chapter 2 of Proslogium is not a modally-significant argument, but that his argument in Chapter 3 possesses such significance. For example, in the first paragraph of Anselm's Neglected Argument , Brian Leftow refers to the argument in Chapter 2 as “non-modal” and to the argument in Chapter 3 as “a modal argument some find.” In this article, I submit that the argument in Chapter 2 is modally-significant. In short, I attempt to sh

Introduction In this article, I will briefly argue for the following theses: (a) it is not clear that Anselm’s ontological argument in Chapter Two of Proslogium presupposes that existence is a property, and (b) Anselm’s argument presupposes that objectivity and subjectivity are properties. Argument It is commonly held that, in Chapter Two of Proslogium , Anselm assumed that existence is a property (hereafter, the Property Assumption or PA) and that, since the PA is false,

“More than that: you say that then science itself will teach man (though this, to my mind, is already a luxury) that he really does not possess, and never did possess, either a will or a whim of his own; that he is, in fact, no more than a kind of piano key or organ stop; and that, besides, there is such a thing in the world as the laws of nature; so that everything that is done by man isn’t in the least a matter of his own will, but happens itself, according to these laws. C

Introduction The kalam cosmological argument is both historically and currently significant. William Lane Craig, the leading contemporary advocate of the argument, has dubbed it the kalam argument in recognition of its origin in the work of Medieval Muslim philosophers such as al-Ghazali. The argument continues to interest philosophers and theologians. Its structure is simple: Whatever begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a

I closed Note One by calling Underground Man “grouchy.” That is an understatement. The man admits to being spiteful. He hates his neighbors, practices cruelty, and delights in the misfortune of others. He even claims to take pleasure in his own pain and bitterness, some of which is self-induced. For example: “I reached a point where, trudging back to my corner on some foul Petersburg night, I would feel a certain hidden, morbid, nasty little pleasure in the acute awareness

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 1:2) In Part 1 of Notes from Underground , Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man claims that consciousness is a disease. In a loose sense, given certain assumptions, Underground Man makes a significant point. In a strict sense, however, he is wrong. Let me explain. First, we need some background. Dostoyevsky was a 19 th Century Russian novelist and philosopher. He is w

The problem of evil (pain or suffering) is probably the number one argument against the existence of God. While it is definitely not a problem that can be answered quickly and simply, I’d like to offer 18 short, rapid-fire responses that can be used to begin deeper discussions about why God allows evil: 1) Free will - Freedom is a great good that God has granted us. But God can’t give us free will and then forbid us from using it. He can’t give us commands and force us to ob

Question: Dear Tim, On the framework of Molinism God possesses knowledge in different "logical moments" (natural, middle, and free knowledge) prior to creation. These logical moments are not to me confused with chronological moments. However, if there are multiple "logical moments" of God's knowledge, then would this not imply that God knows and does not know a truth simultaneously? If so, is this not a contradiction nullifying the entire idea of middle knowledge and Molini

An American outcry has erupted recently in response to newly legislated restrictions on abortion in certain states. Outraged, public figures have gone so far as to boycott Georgia, an entire state, in protest. Why have the American people fought so hard against abortion restrictions and pushed so vehemently for full-term, easily accessible abortions for all? They claim it is a woman’s right to choose, and granted, no one acquiesces to being stripped of their rights. Their o

Suppose you awoke tomorrow in a state of affairs in which suffering had ceased. Not only are you no longer experiencing suffering of any kind, but you became aware that all suffering had come to an end. There was no more suffering resulting from moral or natural evil -- and even gratuitous animal suffering was nothing but a memory. Is there any reason to think that it would stay that way? In order to answer this question, take a short quiz: Question #1: Would you take this

Regarding my Ring of Truth blog: Andy said, //You've not shown that Christianity being true would make objectively wrong, bad or evil.// I did write the following (you must have missed it): "Is atheism any better? Not really. According to logically consistent atheism, since God does not exist, then humanity was not created on purpose or for a specific purpose — we are nothing but a “happy accident” — nothing more than dust in the wind. If this is true, then it follows th

What religion or worldview possesses the "Ring of Truth?" It is definitely not Islam or atheism! To be sure, this is not a deductive argument like the Kalam, Freethinking, or Ontological Arguments. I am simply encouraging readers to pay attention to their intuition. Although we cannot always trust our intuition, I contend that it is a great place to start when searching for truth. Moreover, when one's intuition is supported by a cumulative case of data, there is good reason

Scientists are valuable friends. As a philosophically inclined theologian I appreciate my colleagues who have immediate access to important scientific data in physics, chemistry, biology, and more. Mad scientists, on the other hand, I typically try to avoid! Be that as it may, these mad scientists, while scary, are often quite helpful when conducting important thought experiments. It is commonly asserted that something known as Frankfurt Experiments prove that the libertaria

C. Michael Patton, in a recent blog , claimed to do some "math" and concluded that there are five great mysteries in Christian theology. While I am fine with an occasional appeal to mystery regarding a few topics, Christians often punt to mystery far too quickly. If we "punt to mystery" too quickly, we can sometimes give the impression that Christianity is nonsensical. For example, imagine a football team only gaining a total of seven yards after the second down -- three ya

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!! Spoiler Alert!!! Seriously, if you have not yet seen the movie Avengers: Endgame , stop reading this and go to the movie theater and buy a ticket! Then come back and read this article. Consider yourself warned! One year ago, immediately after watching Avengers: Infinity War on opening night, I came home and started writing an article assessing one of the best movies I had ever seen (See Avengers: Infinity War & Possible Worlds ). I also mad

By Limanto, John A. and Stratton, Timothy A. Originally presented at the SW Evangelical Philosophical Society (March, 2019) Abstract: Given the works of philosophers such as Plantinga, Wierenga, Leftow, and Nagasawa, the perfect being (PBT) concept of theism has received renewed attention within the philosophical-theological literature. Despite this ambitious revival, Nagasawa admits that the argument against perfect being from evil is one that we cannot “pretend that

I have had the privilege and honor to have studied under many brilliant professors over the past several years. This includes learning from professors in an official capacity in the classroom at Biola University, or learning in an unofficial capacity from many more professors (locally and from around the world) who have befriended me and taken me under their proverbial wings. I am blessed to be surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1)! Recently, one of th