•  6
    This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction A Brief Historical Note Failed Shortcuts Looking Deeper The Richness of Biology The Persistence of Design Real Design? Conclusion Postscript: Counterpoint Notes References.
  •  6
    Value and Existence
    Noûs 17 (1): 113-116. 1983.
  •  3
    Plantinga's free will defense
    International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 12 (4): 235. 1981.
  •  281
    Saturation, World Ensembles, and Design
    Faith and Philosophy 22 (5): 667-686. 2005.
    Multiple-universe theories (involving the saturation of a state space of alternative universes) enjoy growing popularity as proposed counters to the design-suggestiveness of increasingly impressive cosmic fine-tuning cases. In this paper I explore this type of counter, and argue that (i) multiple-universe theoriesdo not necessarily undercut the design relevance of cosmic fine-tuning, that (ii) both the required saturation and the hypothesized mechanisms supposed to generate such saturation face …Read more
  •  23
    Written by four members of the Calvin College philosophy department, The Little Logic Book is a valuable resource for teachers and undergraduate students of philosophy. In addition to providing clear introductions to the modes of reasoning students encounter in their philosophy course readings, it includes a nuanced description of common informal fallacies, a narrative overview of various philosophical accounts of scientific inference, and a concluding chapter on the ethics of argumentation. The…Read more
  •  36
    Explores the question of whether or not concepts and principles involving supernatural intelligent design can occupy any legitimate place within science
  •  220
    Teleological Arguments for God’s Existence
    Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2015.
    Some phenomena within nature exhibit such exquisiteness of structure, function or interconnectedness that many people have found it natural—if not inescapable—to see a deliberative and directive mind behind those phenomena. The mind in question, being prior to nature itself, is typically taken to be supernatural. Philosophically inclined thinkers have both historically and at present labored to shape the relevant intuition into a more formal, logically rigorous inference. The resultant theistic …Read more
  •  11
    Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning
    Faith and Philosophy 12 (2): 277-282. 1995.
  •  42
    Space Travel and Challenges to Religion
    The Monist 71 (1): 101-113. 1988.
  •  14
  •  33
    Scientific Explanation (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 15 (1): 104-106. 1992.
  •  13
    Nomo(theo)logical Necessity
    Faith and Philosophy 4 (4): 383-402. 1987.
    The issues of just what laws of nature are and what makes statements law-like have been more discussed than advanced. After exploring the general area and uncovering some difficulties which, I suspect, make the case even knottier than generally imagined, I argue that certain resources available only to the theist---in particular, counterfactuals of God’s freedom---may provide the materials needed for constructing solutions.
  •  69
    The Nature of Science
    In Melville Y. Stewart (ed.), Science and Religion in Dialogue, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 39--53. 2010.
    This chapter contains sections titled: * I Conceptions of Science * II Beyond the Empirical * III Points of Contact * IV The Hierarchy * V Interconnections * VI Conclusion * Notes * Bibliography
  •  18
    Scientific Theories (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 15 (4): 399-401. 1992.
  •  8
    Quantified Subjunctives, Modality and Natural Law
    In D. F. Austin (ed.), Philosophical Analysis, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 323--347. 1988.
  •  348
    How Not to Critique Intelligent Design Theory (review)
    Ars Disputandi 5. 2005.
    I have been an interested observer of the Intelligent Design movement for some years, and although I have argued elsewhere that some of the philosophical points made by a number of ID advocates are right, I have been critical of other aspects of ID views. Having that interest, I would welcome a comprehensive, competent, evaluation and critique of ID. The structure, the catalogue of topics addressed, and the Oxford University Press imprimatur initially suggest that Niall Shanks’s God, the Devil, …Read more
  •  19
    Stenmark, Plantinga, and Scientific Neutrality
    Faith and Philosophy 21 (3): 353-364. 2004.
    In the preceding article Mikael Stenll1ark rejects both (a) Alvin Plantinga's specific arguments aimed at legitimating' Augustinian' science (or more generally 'worldview-partisan' science) and (b) the legitimacy of such 'sciences.' After contending further that the Augustinian-science strategy is in any case not the most appropriate response by believers to the matters motivating Plantinga's attempt, Stenmark then offers an alternative strategic proposal of his own. In the following response, I…Read more
  •  137
    Nomo(theo)logical Necessity
    Faith and Philosophy 4 (4): 383-402. 1987.
    The issues of just what laws of nature are and what makes statements law-like have been more discussed than advanced. After exploring the general area and uncovering some difficulties which, I suspect, make the case even knottier than generally imagined, I argue that certain resources available only to the theist---in particular, counterfactuals of God’s freedom---may provide the materials needed for constructing solutions.
  •  55
    The Religious Roots of Science
    In Melville Y. Stewart (ed.), Science and Religion in Dialogue, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 54--68. 2010.
    This chapter contains sections titled: * I A Brief History * II The Rise of Science and the Doctrine of Creation * III “Why there?” * IV “Why then?” * V Other Implications and Parallels * VI Conclusion * Notes * Appendix
  •  81
    This chapter contains sections titled: * I Refutation: some preliminaries * II Foundations – Deep Conflict? * III Epistemic Undertows: Dissolving Rationality * IV Conflicting Mindsets * V Historical Erosion * VII Conflict and Rational Justification * VII Conclusion * Acknowledgments * Notes
  •  33
    Science and religion
    In Thomas P. Flint & Michael Rea (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology, Oxford University Press. 2008.
    This article focuses on the relationship between science and religion. The natural sciences have profoundly shaped modern life and have notoriously generated challenges for religious belief – even being credited by some with having destroyed religion's rational defensibility. Most people, however, see both science and religion as having important truths to tell us, and try to fit both into a coherent world-view. Among that wider group, some see science and religion as occupying separate, isolate…Read more
  • I Think, Therefore I Am Not: a Reply
    International Logic Review 15 92. 1977.
  •  18
    Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning (review)
    Faith and Philosophy 12 (2): 277-282. 1995.
  •  44
    Scientific Theories (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 15 (4): 399-401. 1992.