Plantinga’s Religious Epistemology, Skeptical Theism, and Debunking Arguments
Faith and Philosophy 34 (4):449-470 (2017)
Abstract
Alvin Plantinga’s religious epistemology has been used to respond to many debunking arguments against theistic belief. However, critics have claimed that Plantinga’s religious epistemology conflicts with skeptical theism, a view often used in response to the problem of evil. If they are correct, then a common way of responding to debunking arguments conflicts with a common way of responding to the problem of evil. In this paper, I examine the critics’ claims and argue that they are right. I then present two revised versions of Plantinga’s argument for his religious epistemology. I call the first a 'religion-based argument' and the second an 'intention-based argument'. Both are compatible with skeptical theism, and both can be used to respond to debunking arguments. They apply only to theistic beliefs of actual persons who have what I call 'doxastically valuable relationships' with God – valuable relationships the goods of which entail the belief that God exists.
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0739-7046
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MOOPRE
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2017-07-26
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2017-07-26
Total views
1,370 ( #3,594 of 69,105 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
64 ( #12,128 of 69,105 )
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