Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. Continuing on Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802) about Kant, and throwing in some of the material being critiqued from Kant's Critique of Judgment (1790), chiefly sec. 76 and 77. Featuring Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan. As discussed in our last episode, Hegel objected to Kant's Continue Reading …
Ep. 393: Kant vs. Hegel (Part One for Supporters)
Continuing on Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802) about Kant, and throwing in some of the material being critiqued from Kant's Critique of Judgment (1790), chiefly sec. 76 and 77. Featuring Mark, Wes, Seth and Dylan. As discussed in our last episode, Hegel objected to Kant's doctrine that knowledge of theology is impossible. That's one of the main results of Kant's Continue Reading …
Episode 168: Darwin’s “Origin of Species” (Part Two)
More on Darwin's famous book. Why does it matter for philosophy, beyond providing an alternative to intelligent design? Is it really anti-religious? How can well tell if it's really a scientific theory? Talking about a species evolving trait X to enable survival sounds teleological; is it really, and is that bad? Why would the mind develop through natural Continue Reading …
Episode 168: Darwin’s “Origin of Species” (Part One)
On Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859 with the final edition published in 1872), ch. 1–4, 6, and 14. What are the philosophical ramifications of Darwin's theory of evolution? Our last reading ended with David Hume saying that given the order of nature, the idea of a Continue Reading …
Ep. 168: Darwin’s “Origin of Species” (Citizen Edition)
On Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859 with the final edition published in 1872), ch. 1–4, 6, and 14. What are the philosophical ramifications of Darwin's theory of evolution? Our last reading ended with David Hume saying that given the order of nature, the idea of a Continue Reading …
Episode 167: Hume on Intelligent Design (Part Two)
Continuing on David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779), with guest Stephen West. We get further into what's wrong with the design argument and why Hume thinks that it's merely a verbal dispute whether we want to say that God designed the orderly universe or just say that the universe is orderly. Also, the problem of evil! Listen to part 1 first, or get the Continue Reading …
Episode 167: Hume on Intelligent Design (Part One)
On David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779). How would a scientifically minded person argue for God's existence? In Hume's dialogue, a character named Cleanthes argues from this point of view for God's existence based on the complexity and order apparent in nature: It looks designed. But how good is that argument, and is it enough to prove an infinite God of Continue Reading …
Ep. 167: Hume on Intelligent Design (Philosophize This! Crossover) (Citizen Edition)
On David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779). How would a scientifically minded person argue for the existence of God? In Hume's dialogue, a character named Cleanthes argues from this point of view for God's existence based on the complexity and order apparent in nature: It looks designed. But how good is that argument, and is it enough to prove an infinite Continue Reading …
Greg Ganssle (via Pale Blue Dot) on Dawkins’s “Fitness” Argument
Yale Professor Greg Ganssle provides in this Pale Blue Dot episode what is perhaps a more charitable response to the new atheists than we did. First, he points out something I hadn't quite considered in this way before: We at PEL complain about how difficult and tedious it is (or would be) to write something fit for a peer reviewed journal. On the one hand, there's no Continue Reading …
Victor Stenger on the Fine Tuning Argument
We were left at an impasse on the episode regarding the part of the argument from design referring to the fine-tuning of the universe to support life. Dawkins didn't give enough detail about this for us really to understand, much less critique it, yet it seemed like a lot of what we were concerned about hinged on this argument. You can read about it on Wikipedia. Prominent Continue Reading …
Colbert on the Argument from Design
Via Luke Muehlahuser's Common Sense Atheism, we see Stephen Colbert ripping on Bill O'Reilly's spurious use of the teleological argument for the existence of God. The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cVideo Archive The obvious lesson here is that the argument from design is at the very least not so evidently persuasive that you can just refer to it like O'Reilly Continue Reading …