Does the problem of evil provide an insurmountable objection to belief in God? Speaking of God, what if the nature of the divine being that exists is supremely evil rather than good? If it were, would we know? I discuss these and other issues with the esteemed public philosopher Stephen Law. ?
Stephen Law
The Laws of Thought: Critical Thinking with Stephen Law
Stephen Law is a leading English philosopher, author, and editor for the journal Think. In his spare time, he beats the skins and climbs mountains. What I appreciate most about Stephen is his commitment to public philosophy, and that commitment is perfectly demonstrated in his new online course on critical thinking. You can check out the […]
Atheists who poison the well by calling things magic
Have you noticed how atheists often like to refer to theistic accounts of various aspects of reality as “magic”? It’s an irritating practice, a juvenile case of poisoning the well. And it’s even more irritating when a professional philosopher like Stephen Law engages in the practice. Here’s the summary of my recent twitter exchange on […]
Does religion impose oppressive dress codes?
One of countless examples of a child being forced to wear something they don't want to wear due to social expectations. Unfortunately, for "Atheist Republic" that common social reality is framed as theism vs. atheism. As if atheist kids never have to wear stuff they don't like????? https://t.co/D9NSjneXw0 — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) February 4, 2019 […]
Philosophy and Magic: What’s the difference?
It all started with my Wittgenstein tweet. That prompted a reply from philosopher and atheist, Stephen Law and in a moment we were off discussing philosophy vs. magic. I divided our flurry of tweets into two tracks dealing with the two issues I raised. Blessedly, we ended on some point of agreement. Score one for […]
How to help Stephen Law enjoy horror movies again
The esteemed philosopher (and atheist) Stephen Law just posted an article titled “Why I Can’t Enjoy Demonic Horror Films” and he tagged me on Twitter. I offered some comments in reply on Twitter, but I’m going to offer a more fulsome (and rather different) response here. The article begins with Law recalling his pleasure at […]
God, Serial Killers, and Natural Evil
Most of my readers will know of Stephen Law, the respected atheist philosopher who has made some perspicuous contributions to philosophy of religion, perhaps most notably in his evil God argument. (In the past I reviewed Law’s book Believing Bullshit and I’ve offered several critiques of his evil God argument, including here and here.) Today Law offered […]
Stephen Law’s Evil God Challenge. In Under Four Minutes. With Animation. And my response.
Respected atheist philosopher Stephen Law may be best known for his Evil God Challenge. I would explain it to you but Stephen just produced this excellent animated video (starring a reasonable facsimile of the man himself) which unpacks the argument in under four minutes: While the evil God argument is one of the most intriguing recent developments […]
Belief in God as Properly Basic? The Debate Continues
I just finished listening to this week’s episode of “Unbelievable”, titled “Is belief in God ‘properly basic’? Tyler McNabb vs Stephen Law.” Incredibly, Justin mentioned that this is the first time they’ve devoted a show to the epistemological question of whether belief in God can be properly basic. Given that it is a topic which […]
Stephen Law accuses me of writing a shoddy review … and then responds in kind
Two years ago I reviewed Stephen Law’s book Believing Bullshit: How not to get sucked into an intellectual black hole. Professor Law provided a response this past Sunday. (Better late than never, right?) Before I engage the review let me stress that I think Stephen Law is a very intelligent philosopher and an amiable chap to boot. I […]
A link back to my review of Stephen Law, “Believing Bullshit”
In the discussion of the last few days I have heard some positive references to Stephen Law’s book Believing Bullshit. I was not as sanguine about the book when I reviewed it two years ago for the reasons outlined in my original review here.
Morriston on the evil god hypothesis
Earlier this week Walter forwarded the link to a 2004 article by Wes Morriston which nicely summarizes the problem with Stephen Law’s evil god argument. Before we get to that however, let’s recap the argument. Law argued against the existence of God (or what we can call “good god”) by pointing out that the believer in a […]
Evil God at Chez Alice
Spencer offered the following summary of Stephen Law’s Evil God argument: 1) Either EG can be rationally rejected on the basis of observational evidence or not. 2) If EG can be rationally rejected on the basis of observational evidence, then GG can also be rejected on the basis of observational evidence (and hence the POE […]
Stephen Law vs. William Lane Craig: Round 2! (Law’s first rebuttal)
Before Stephen Law delivered his first rebuttal Justin Brierley had to remind the audience (or a few in the audience) not to call out or applaud during the debate. There’s always at least one or two boneheads who seem unable to suppress the need to cheer or clap when “their guy” makes a point. Arrghh. Back […]
