Abstract
In this paper I attempt to capture the essence of Nelson Pike’s contribution to the philosophy of religion. My summary of his insights will revolve around three general topics: omniscience (and in particular its relation to human freedom), omnipotence (and in particular its relation to the existence of human suffering), and mysticism (with a focus on the question of whether and in what sense mystic visions can be sources of knowledge). Although the details vary in interesting ways, his work on these topics largely consists of recognizing an important challenge to the viability of the relevant doctrine or framework, sharpening that challenge by presenting it in a more forceful way, and then offering and assessing potential responses. Pike’s writings are characterized by exemplary rigor and relentless clarity, and together they constitute a rich (and under-appreciated) source of insight.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, M. M. (1967). Is the existence of God a ‘hard’ fact? The Philosophical Review, 76, 492–503.
Adams, R. M. (1977). Middle knowledge and the problem of evil. American Philosophical Quarterly, 14, 109–117.
Alston, W. P. (1985). Divine foreknowledge and alternative conceptions of human freedom. International Journal of the Philosophy of Religion, 18, 19–32.
Fischer, J. M. (1983). Freedom and foreknowledge. The Philosophical Review, 92, 67–79.
Fischer, J. M. (2007). Response to Kane, Pereboom, and Vargas. In J. M. Fischer, R. Kane, D. Pereboom, & M. Vargas, Four views on free will (pp. 184–190). Malden: Blackwell.
Fischer, J. M. (2011). Foreknowledge, freedom, and the fixity of the past. Philosophia. doi:10.1007/s11406-011-9308-7.
Fischer, J. M., & Ravizza, M. (1998). Responsibility and control: A theory of moral responsibility. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gelinas, L. (2009). The problem of natural evil I: general theistic replies. Philosophy Compass, 4, 533–559.
Mackie, J. L. (1955). Evil and omnipotence. Mind, 64, 200–212.
MacIntyre, A. (1964). Visions. In A. Flew and A. MacIntyre (Eds.), New essays in philosophical theology. New York: Macmillan.
Peterson, M. L. (1999). “The Problem of Evil.” In P. L. Quinn and C. Taliaferro (Eds.), A Companion to Philosophy of Religion (pp. 393–401).
Plantinga, A. (1965). The free will defense. In M. Black (Ed.), Philosophy in America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Plantinga, A. (1974). The nature of necessity. New York: Clarendon.
Plantinga, A. (1977). God, freedom, and evil. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
Plantinga, A. (1986). On Ockham’s way out. Faith and Philosophy, 3, 235–269.
Saunders, J. T. (1966). Of God and freedom. The Philosophical Review, 75, 219–225.
Smart, N. (1961). “Omnipotence, Evil, and Supermen.” Philosophy 36: 188–95. Reprinted in Pike (ed.) 1964, 103–12.
Tooley, M. (2010). “The Problem of Evil.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2010 Edition), E. N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/evil/>.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pendergraft, G. Nelson Pike’s Contribution to the Philosophy of Religion. Philosophia 39, 409–431 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-011-9310-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-011-9310-0