-
284Cosmological Arguments from ContingencyPhilosophy Compass 5 (9): 806-819. 2010.Cosmological arguments from contingency attempt to show that there is a necessarily existing god‐like being on the basis of the fact that any concrete things exist at all. Such arguments are built out of the following components: (i) a causal principle that applies to non‐necessary entities of a certain category; (ii) a reason to think that if the causal principle is true, then there would have to be a necessarily existing concrete thing; (iii) a reason to think that the necessarily existing thi…Read more
-
175On the Value of Freedom To Do EvilFaith and Philosophy 30 (4): 418-428. 2013.Theists typically think the freedom to choose between right and wrong is a great good . Yet, they also typically think that the very best being—God—and inhabitants of the very best place—heaven—lack this kind of freedom. The question arises: if freedom to choose evil is so good, then why is it absent from the best being and the best place? I discuss articulations of this question in the literature and point out drawbacks of answers that have been proposed. I then propose a new answer by showing …Read more
-
183Presentists may say goodbye to A-propertiesAnalysis 72 (2): 270-276. 2012.Philosophers of time say that if presentism is true (i.e. if reality is comprised solely of presently existing things), then a complete description of reality must contain tensed terms, such as ‘was’, ‘presently is’ and ‘will be’. I counter this viewpoint by explaining how the presentist may de-tense our talk about times. I argue, furthermore, that, since the A-theory of time denies the success of any such de-tensing strategy, presentism is not a version of the A-theory – contrary to the popular…Read more
-
159On creating worlds without evil – given divine counterfactual knowledgeReligious Studies 40 (4): 457-470. 2004.An important question raised in the Molinist debate is, ‘Given God's access to counterfactual knowledge, could God create a world in which free creatures always refrain from evil?’ An affirmative answer suggests that God cannot possess counterfactual knowledge since such knowledge would allow God to create seemingly more desirable worlds than the actual world. However, Alvin Plantinga has argued that it is at least possible that every possible person is transworld depraved – meaning that each pe…Read more
-
Azusa Pacific UniversityRegular Faculty
-
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Metaphysics |
Philosophy of Mind |
Philosophy of Religion |