Probability and Theistic Explanation
Overview
In the past 20 years, interest in the epistemic status of religious belief has greatly increased. Leading this revival are philosophers Basil Mitchell and Richard Swinburne, who believe that religious belief can be justified using inductive “best explanation” arguments. However, while Swinburne’s approach is formal, using the calculus of Bayes theorem, Mitchell’s is informal, based on his recognition of judgment as central to such an assessment. Probability and Theistic Explanation is the first full length comparison of these two men and their styles of justifying religious belief. The first half addresses the issues of rationality, endorsing Mitchell’s methodology; the second half explores the concept of theistic explanation and demonstrates that the ontological argument has a place in the comprehensive explanatory power of theism.
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Key Features
- Examines Richard Swinburne’s treatment of the evidence of evil
- Discusses the general applicability of Bayes’ theorem for the assessment of theism
- Analyzes the use of evaluative criteria
Contents
- Evil and Theistic Explanation
- Evaluative Criteria and Bayes’ Theorem
- Informal Reasoning and Religious Belief (1)
- Informal Reasoning and Religious Belief (2)
- Theism as an Explanatory Hypothesis
- Causality, Meaning, and the Concept of God
- Necessity and Explanation
- The Concept of God and Natural Theology
Praise for the Print Edition
Well worth reading, and is recommended for advanced undergraduates.
—Choice
Prevost’s efforts here are largely successful. . . . An important contribution.
—Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Product Details
- Title: Probability and Theistic Explanation
- Author: Robert Prevost
- Series: Oxford Theological Monographs
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication Date: 1990
- Pages: 208