Common Sense Atheism

(Listen to other episodes of Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot here.)

Today I interview philosopher of religion Andrei Buckareff. Among other things, we discuss:

• acceptance, belief, knowledge, and faith
• varieties of pantheism and panentheism
• how pantheism is like Thomism, but has certain advantages over it

Download CPBD episode 016 with Andrei Buckareff. Total time is 46:13.

Andrei Buckareff links:

• Andrei’s personal page
• Andrei’s Marist College faculty page
• Andrei’s Action Theory page
• Andrei’s posts on The Garden of Forking Paths
• Andrei Buckareff on Facebook

Links for things we discussed:

• Live-action role-playing game (LARP)
• Two documentaries on LARPing: Darkon and Monster Camp. Also see the movie Role Models.
• Richard Feldman
• William James’ “The Will to Believe“
• Pantheism and panentheism
• John Bishop
• “Faith as doxastic venture” by John Bishop, “Can faith be a doxastic venture?” by Buckareff, and “On the possibility of doxastic venture; a reply to Buckareff” by Bishop
• “Does Belief Have an Aim?” by David Owens (arguing that belief aims not just at truth, but knowledge)
• The Divine Relativity by Charles Hartshorne
• Mark Johnston
• John Leslie
• David Ray Griffin
• John Cobb
• Peter Forrest and his book Developmental Theism
• Natural Agency by John Bishop (on reconciliatory natuarlism)
• C.B. Martin
• John Heil
• Cartesian dualism
• Eliminativism
• Michael Levin
• William Rowe and “friendly atheism“
• William Lane Craig and Richard Dawkins
• Thomism
• Escapism
• The Problem of Hell by Jonathan Kvanvig
• Open theism
• Wes Morriston interview

Note: in addition to the regular blog feed, there is also a podcast-only feed. You can also subscribe on iTunes.

(Listen to other episodes of Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot here.)

Today I interview Christian philosopher of religion Wes Morriston. Among other things, we discuss:

• God and Genocide
• the Kalam Cosmological Argument
• Morriston’s debate with William Lane Craig

Download CPBD episode 015 with Wes Morriston. Total time is 47:00.

Wes Morriston links:

• Wes Morriston
• Wes at the University of Colorado

Things we discussed:

• Paul Tillich
• The moral character of God in the Hebrew Bible
• My Ways Are Not Your Ways philosophy conference
• Bible contradictions
• The Left Behind book series
• Craig’s Kalam Cosmological Argument (from The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology)
• Hilbert’s Hotel
• Craig’s thoughts on his debate with Wes Morriston: “I said, ‘Wes, you’re confusing an actual infinite with a potential infinite,’ …and he just didn’t get the point.”

Note: in addition to the regular blog feed, there is also a podcast-only feed. You can also subscribe on iTunes.

(Listen to other episodes of Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot here.)

Today I interview Brian Hayden, an archaeologist and expert on prehistoric religion. Among other things, we discuss:

• how archaeologists work
• traditional religions vs. book religions
• a comparison of theories of religion
• Neanderthal religion
• ecology and religion

Download CPBD episode 014 with Brian Hayden. Total time is 57:52.

Brian Hayden links:

• Brian Hayden
• Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints

Things we discussed:

• exaptation
• William Howells
• Mircea Eliade
• Joseph Campbell
• Edward Tylor
• Sigmund Freud
• Emile Durkheim
• Richard Dawkins
• Amotz Zahavi (a proponent of the “costly signal” theory of religion)
• ochre
• Bruniquel cave
• Régourdou

Note: in addition to the regular blog feed, there is also a podcast-only feed. You can also subscribe on iTunes.

(Listen to other episodes of Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot here.)

Today I interview Christian philosopher of religion Richard Otte. Among other things, we discuss:

• What do arguments have to do with the rationality of belief?
• The problem of evil and Plantinga’s free will defense
• Evidential arguments from evil (Rowe and Draper)
• Hume, probability, and miracles

Download CPBD episode 013 with Richard Otte. Total time is 47:48.

Richard Otte links:

• Richard Otte
• Richard Otte’s articles

Things we discussed:

• “Evil and Omnipotence” by J.L. Mackie
• Plantinga’s free will defense
• Nathan Hanna’s “Resurrecting the Logical Problem of Evil” (draft)
• William Rowe’s original argument from evil
• Richard Swinburne’s theodicy
• Otte’s paper on Rowe’s argument
• Otte on Mackie on Hume on miracles
• Otte on Fogelin on Earman on Hume on miracles
• Draper’s argument from evil
• David Hume – “On Miracles“

Note: in addition to the regular blog feed, there is also a podcast-only feed. You can also subscribe on iTunes.

(Listen to other episodes of Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot here.)

Today I interview Christian philosopher of religion Nick Trakakis. Among other things, we discuss:

• The problem of evil and why two common theistic responses are inadequate
• The “God is mysterious” objection
• a concept of God that fits better with suffering
• analytic and continental philosophy of religion

Download CPBD episode 012 with Nick Trakakis. Total time is 52:42.

Nick Trakakis links:

• Nick Trakakis
• Nick’s personal website
• End of Philosophy of Religion
• The God Beyond Belief
• William L. Rowe on Philosophy of Religion (edited)
• History of Western Philosophy of Religion (edited with Graham Oppy)
• Silent Transfigurations (a collection of Nick’s poetry, short stories, and philosophical musings)

Things we discussed:

• Greek novelist Nikos Kazantzakis‘ Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ (also a movie with the best film soundtrack of all time)
• Simon Glendinning’s The Idea of Continental Philosophy
• John Caputo’s On Religion and Philosophy and Theology
• Jean-Luc Marion
• Merold Westphal
• Kevin Hart

Note: in addition to the regular blog feed, there is also a podcast-only feed. You can also subscribe on iTunes.