Search Results for: William Hasker

Web Project: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Posted on May 1, 2018 by -

The Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS) is pleased to introduce a unique and ongoing Philosophy of Theological Anthropology project! Your contributions, readership, exploration and support are most welcomed. For more on this theme and Christian contributions to philosophy, become a subscriber – for as low as $25 per year! – to Philosophia Christi, the peer-reviewed journal of the EPS [all EPS members receive Philosophia Christi as part of their membership].

Summary of Project 

Inaugurated in 2018, The Philosophy of Theological Anthropology is an EPS web project devoted to the foundations and meta-themes of theological anthropology. Contributors seek to highlight a variety of new topics, which are at present underexplored, and fresh philosophical perspectives of older topics. This is an opportunity for philosophers and constructive theologians to explore foundational and innovative themes within theological anthropology from a philosophical perspective.

Topics of interest in this web series include areas of epistemology, metaphysics, Christology, and traditioned anthropology. We are interested in approaches that reconceive in fresh new ways the conditions and foundations for thinking about theological anthropology. This amounts to critical interrogations of commonly held assumptions in the contemporary theological literature on anthropology. We invite contributions that are extensions of previously published works as well as unique speculative pieces. 

Areas of Web Project 

The present issue will contain topics on anthropology, philosophy of mind, imago Dei [broadly conceived], with the aim toward advancing the philosophical foundations and implications of a theistic anthropology.

Current Papers

Core Project Questions

  • How should we approach the anthropos and its telos?
  • Furthermore, how might we understand human ‘selfhood’ and ‘identity’?
  • What are the benefits and liabilities of an Analytic Theology approach?
  • Analytic Theology and Christological anthropology?
  • What are the benefits and liabilities of a more Phenomenological approach to the anthropos?
  • What is the distinctive contribution of philosophy of mind/personal ontology in contemporary theological anthropology?
  • What role does or should the sciences play in our theological constructions?
  • What are the benefits of a Christological method to anthropology?
  • Christological anthropology as an organizing motif?
  • Is a Christological method sufficient for theological anthropology?
  • From the Christian tradition, what is the Good News for the anthropos and how might that shape approaches to a study of what it means to be human?
  • What role do ecclesial, theological, or philosophical traditions play in our theological construction?
  • What substantive place does reason and experience have in understanding humans?
  • What are the different religious/denominational perspectives on the nature of human beings?
  • How might spiritual features and formation of a human being shape an understanding of the nature and purpose of a human being?
  • What are the distinctive ideas within a Christian anthropology and other religious anthropologies?
  • How might theologies and philosophies of the human person shape theologies and philosophies of ‘public life’?

Find this Project Interesting? See these other EPS Web Projects

Want to Contribute to the Philosophy of Theological Anthropology Project? 

Options for contributing: reflection essays, critical responses, book reviews, exploratory essays, dialectical pieces, methodological hybrids (biblical studies to philosophy), how to communicate to the public.

Length: Shorter (e.g., 1500-2000 words) and longer papers (e.g., 6,000 words) are permitted. You are welcome to work with the Project Editors on length issues.

Suggested topics: evolution and theological anthropology, imago Dei, the metaphysics of gender and sexuality, method, Christological anthropology, religious epistemology, and human ontology.

Main Project Categories:

  1. Denominational and Traditioned Theological Anthropology
  2. Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
  3. Sociology, Ethnography, and Theological Anthropology
  4. Science, Design, and Anthropology
  5. Technology and Posthumanism
  6. Morality and Theological Anthropology
  7. Disciplines: Philosophy, Biblical Theology, Philosophical Theology, Systematic/Constructive Theology, Retrieval Theology, Social Science, Humanities (N.B. the aim of the investigation ought to impinge on philosophical-theological matters)

Submit a Proposal: Email a topic, thesis and description of the proposed paper (250 words max) to Project Editors Joshua Farris and Nathan Jacobs [see below]. They will help guide your proposal toward being a contribution of this web project.

Lead Project Editors & Coordinators:

Past Editorial Assistant: Dave Strobolakos.

Web Project Overseer: Joseph E. Gorra, Consulting Editor, Philosophia Christi.

Please consider becoming a regular annual or monthly financial partner with the Evangelical Philosophical Society in order to expand its reach, support its members, and be a credible presence of Christ-shaped philosophical interests in the academy and into the wider culture!

The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism

Posted on February 5, 2018 by - angus mengue, Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism (book), featured books, hylomorphic dualism, jonathan loose, jp moreland, metaphysics, naturalism, philosophy of mind, physicalism, substance dualism

In 2018, Wiley-Blackwell will publish The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism, edited by Jonathan Loose, Angus Menuge, and J. P. Moreland. Jonathan J. Loose is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Psychology at Heythrop College, University of London. Angus J. L. Menuge is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin and President of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. J. P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he has taught for 28 years.

This volume includes several contributions from EPS members or Philosophia Christi contributors, including the Editors, along with chapters from Charles Taliaferro, William Hasker, Richard Swinburne, Stewart Goetz, Gary Habermas, Joshua Rasmussen, Ross Inman, Brandon Rickabaugh, and John Cooper.

From the publisher’s description of The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism:

A groundbreaking collection of contemporary essays from leading international scholars that provides a balanced and expert account of the resurgent debate about substance dualism and its physicalist alternatives.

Substance dualism has for some time been dismissed as an archaic and defeated position in philosophy of mind, but in recent years, the topic has experienced a resurgence of scholarly interest and has been restored to contemporary prominence by a growing minority of philosophers prepared to interrogate the core principles upon which past objections and misunderstandings rest. As the first book of its kind to bring together a collection of contemporary writing from top proponents and critics in a pro-contra format, The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism captures this ongoing dialogue and sets the stage for rigorous and lively discourse around dualist and physicalist accounts of human persons in philosophy.

Chapters explore emergent, Thomistic, Cartesian, and other forms of substance dualism—broadly conceived—in dialogue with leading varieties of physicalism, including animalism, non-reductive physicalism, and constitution theory. Loose, Menuge, and Moreland pair essays from dualist advocates with astute criticism from physicalist opponents and vice versa, highlighting points of contrast for readers in thematic sections while showcasing today’s leading minds engaged in direct debate. Taken together, essays provide nuanced paths of introduction for students, and capture the imagination of professional philosophers looking to expand their understanding of the subject.

Skillfully curated and in touch with contemporary science as well as analytic theology, The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism strikes a measured balanced between advocacy and criticism, and is a first-rate resource for researchers, scholars, and students of philosophy, theology, and neuroscience.

Enjoy a number of engaging video interviews with contributors to The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism, which were given in late 2017 at the EPS conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Interviewees include Kevin Corcoran, Gary Habermas, Jonathan Loose, Angus Menuge, J. P. Moreland, Nancey Murphy, Eric Olson, Brandon Rickabaugh, and Richard Swinburne [for more print contributions from many of the interviewees on physicalism and substance dualism, see the symposium discussion in the Summer 2018 issue of Philosophia Christi].

In addition, despite ill health, Lynne Rudder Baker kindly invited Jonathan Loose to her home prior to the conference and gave, according to Loose, what turned out probably to be her last interview on her work.

Subscribe directly to the “Mind Matters” and follow Twitter announcements from @jonathanjloose about new video interviews to be released!

Support the EPS to expand its reach, support its members, and be a credible presence of Christ-shaped philosophical interests in the academy and into the wider culture! Right now, there couldn’t be a better time to multiply your support of the EPS in 2018 light of a $25,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor. Help us reach and exceed our $50,000 goal!!

The Epistemological Skyhook: Determinism, Naturalism, and Self-Defeat

Posted on January 11, 2018 by - alvin plantinga, determinism, Epistemological Skyhook (book), epistemology, featured books, jim slagle, naturalism

In 2016, Routledge published The Epistemological Skyhook: Determinism, Naturalism, and Self-Defeat by Jim Slagle, as part of their Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy series. Jim Slagle is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Portland and George Fox University in Oregon. He has published articles in several journals, including Philosophia and Logique et Analyse. 

From the publisher’s description of The Epistemological Skyhook:

Throughout philosophical history, there has been a recurring argument to the effect that determinism, naturalism, or both are self-referentially incoherent. By accepting determinism or naturalism, one allegedly acquires a reason to reject determinism or naturalism. The Epistemological Skyhook brings together, for the first time, the principal expressions of this argument, focusing primarily on the last 150 years. This book addresses the versions of this argument as presented by Arthur Lovejoy, A.E. Taylor, Kurt Gödel, C.S. Lewis, Norman Malcolm, Karl Popper, J.R. Lucas, William Hasker, Thomas Nagel, Alvin Plantinga, and others, along with the objections presented by their many detractors. It concludes by presenting a new version of the argument that synthesizes the best aspects of the others while also rendering the argument immune to some of the most significant objections made to it.

Enjoy Part One and Part Two interview with William Nava of the “Who Shaved the Barber?” podcast.

Metaphysics and the Tri-Personal God

Posted on May 31, 2017 by - featured books, Metaphysics and the Tri-Personal God (book), philosophical theology, philosophy of religion, social trinity, tri-personal God, trinitarianism, william hasker

In May 2017, Oxford University Press released this reprint edition of Metaphysics and the Tri-Personal God by William Hasker, part of their Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology series. William Hasker is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana, where he taught from 1966 until 2000.

From the publisher’s description of Metaphysics and the Tri-Personal God:

This is the first full-length study of the doctrine of the Trinity from the standpoint of analytic philosophical theology. William Hasker reviews the evidence concerning fourth-century pro-Nicene trinitarianism in the light of recent developments in the scholarship on this period, arguing for particular interpretations of crucial concepts. He then reviews and criticizes recent work on the issue of the divine three-in-oneness, including systematic theologians such as Barth, Rahner, Moltmann, and Zizioulas, and analytic philosophers of religion such as Leftow, van Inwagen, Craig, and Swinburne. In the final part of the book he develops a carefully articulated social doctrine of the Trinity which is coherent, intelligible, and faithful to scripture and tradition.

God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views

Posted on May 29, 2017 by - chad meister, featured books, God and the Problem of Evil (book), james dew, molinism, phillip carey, problem of evil, providence, stephen wykstra, thomas oord, william hasker, william lane craig

In 2017, IVP Academic published God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views in the Spectrum Multiview Book Series, edited by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr..  Meister is professor of philosophy and theology at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. James K. Dew Jr. is associate professor of the history of ideas and philosophy and dean of the College at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

From the publisher’s description of God and the Problem of Evil:

Evil abounds. And so do the attempts to understand God in the face of such evil. The problem of evil is a constant challenge to faith in God. How can we believe in a loving and powerful God given the existence of so much suffering in the world? Philosophers and theologians have addressed this problem countless times over the centuries. New explanations have been proposed in recent decades drawing on resources in Scripture, theology, philosophy, and science. God and the Problem of Evil stages a dialogue between the five key positions in the current debate:

  • Phillip Cary: A Classic View 
  • William Lane Craig: A Molinist View 
  • William Hasker: An Open Theist View 
  • Thomas Jay Oord: An Essential Kenosis View 
  • Stephen Wykstra: A Skeptical Theism View

According to the classic position, associated especially with the Augustinian tradition, God permits evil and suffering as part of the grand narrative of divine providence to bring about the redemption of creation. Molinism modifies the classic view by adding God’s middle knowledge to the picture, in which God has knowledge of what creatures would do in all possible worlds. Open theism rejects the determinism of the classic view in favor of an account of God as a risk-taker who does not know for sure what the future holds. Essential kenosis goes further in providing a comprehensive theodicy by arguing that God cannot control creatures and thus cannot unilaterally prevent evil. Skeptical theism rejects the attempt to provide a theodicy and instead argues that, if God exists, we should not expect to understand God’s purposes. Edited, with an introduction, by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr., God and the Problem of Evil hosts a generous and informative conversation on one of the most pressing issues in the Christian life.

James Dew interviews philosopher and theologian Greg Welty on the problem of evil:

Keith Ward: On a Reformulation of Trinitarian Doctrine

Posted on October 11, 2016 by - Christ and Cosmos (book), featured books, keith ward, richard swinburne, social trinity, trinitarianism

20% off key titles from Cambridge University Press until February 28, 2017!

Cambridge University Press recently published Christ and the Cosmos: A Reformulation of Trinitarian Doctrine (2015) by Keith Ward.  Ward is Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London and Fellow of the British Academy. From the publisher’s description:

The concept of the ‘social Trinity’, which posits three conscious subjects in God, radically revised the traditional Christian idea of the Creator. It promoted a view of God as a passionate, creative and responsive source of all being. Keith Ward argues that social Trinitarian thinking threatens the unity of God, however, and that this new view of God does not require a ‘social’ component. Expanding on the work of theologians such as Barth and Rahner, who insisted that there was only one mind of God, Ward offers a coherent, wholly monotheistic interpretation of the Trinity. Christ and the Cosmos analyses theistic belief in a scientific context, demonstrating the necessity of cosmology to theological thinking that is often overly myopic and anthropomorphic. This important volume will benefit those who seek to understand what the Trinity is, why it matters and how it fits into a scientific account of the universe.

The Winter 2016 issue of Philosophia Christi (vol. 18, no. 2) will feature a unique symposium on Christ and Cosmos, with a lead article by Keith Ward, followed by responses from Richard Swinburne, Stephen Davis, Tom McCall, William Hasker, Dale Tuggy and many others. The critical interactions will not only interest those who track philosophical discussions on the trinity, but will interest readers eager to understand the implications of the doctrine of the trinity for other areas of philosophy and theology. In addition to this first-time symposium, the Winter issue includes the latest critiques of philosophical naturalism, Reformed Epistemology, along with insightful reviews of books in philosophy, theology and apologetics.

Subscribe/Renew today! All EPS members receive an annual journal subscription with their membership, along with access to the annual meeting.

Christ-Shaped Philosophy Project and Discussions on Natural Theology

Posted on October 3, 2013 by - aaron preston, angus menuge, kerygmatic philosophy, natural theology, paul k. moser, ramified natural theology, religious epistemology, richard swinburne

A little over
a year ago, we inaugurated the

“Christ-Shaped Philosophy” (CSP) project at the EPS website.

Now, with over

30 contributions, you can download all of these engaging papers that interact
with Paul Moser’s

“Christ-Shaped Philosophy: Wisdom and Spirit United.” Some recent contributions
include lively discussion on “natural theology” and Moser’s “Gethsemane Epistemology”:

Special Philosophia Christi Issue on Neuroscience and the Soul

Posted on June 24, 2013 by - Uncategorized

The Evangelical Philosophical Society is pleased to announce the release of the Summer 2013 (vol. 15, no. 1) issue of Philosophia Christi, featuring notable philosophers like Oxford University’s Daniel Robinson and Durham University’s E. J. Lowe.

Guest editors Chad Meister and Charles Taliaferro write in their introduction to this issue that

This special summer issue of Philosophia Christi is devoted to neuroscience and the soul. It includes ten articles that bear on current thinking about science and the mind from a diverse group of philosophers. With the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation (JTF), Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought has helped to support this publishing opportunity. JTF is highly committed to fostering fruitful exchanges on science and religion. Our hope is that you find these articles engaging and perhaps challenging to your own perspective on the role of science in understanding the mind and the world of which it is a part.
Main article contributors include:
  • Daniel Robinson, “Neuroscience and the Soul.”
  • William Hasker, “What is Naturalism? And Should We be Naturalists?”
  • E. J. Lowe, “Naturalism, Theism, and Objects of Reason.”
  • Stewart Goetz, “The Argument from Reason.”
  • J. Daryl Charles, “Blame it on My Criminal Brain: Materialism, Metaphysics, and the Human Moral Instinct.”
  • Angus J. L. Menuge, “Neuroscience, Rationality and Free Will: A Critique of John Searle’s Libertarian Naturalism.”
  • Eric LaRock, “From Biological Naturalism to Emergent Subject Dualism.”
  • John M. DePoe, “RoboMary, Blue Banana Tricks, and the Metaphysics of Consciousness: A Critique of Daniel Dennett’s Apology for Physicalism.”
  • J. P. Moreland, “Mental vs. Top-Down Causation: Sic et Non.”
  • Anthony J. Rudd, “Bodily Subjectivity and the Mind-Body Problem.”

The Summer 2013 issue is available for purchase, whether as a single issue or as part of a subscription to the journal, by clicking here.

Christian Philosophy and the Confessional Classroom

Posted on February 6, 2013 by -

This paper offers a defense of Paul Moser’s recent work on Christian philosophy while also seeking to better understand it.

This involves integrating a previous concept of Moser’s with his “Christ-Shaped Philosophy” and then briefly furthering some concerns of Graham Oppy and William Hasker.

Finally, the paper explores what Christian philosophy might look like in the classroom.

The full-text of this contribution is available for FREE by clicking here.