tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79140311382859653952024-02-18T23:51:15.245-06:00Bethel Philosophy BlogDifferent bloggers will be posting some musings, questions we're pondering, and maybe some announcements related to the philosophical community at Bethel University. Responses are encouraged, whether you're directly connected to Bethel or not. And be sure to like our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bethelphilosophyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-73646773579228435842017-12-08T20:21:00.001-06:002017-12-11T16:48:07.086-06:00For Ramin Gholizade: A Short Reflection on the Problem of Evil
This short essay is for my friend Ramin in Iran. In it I briefly explain the Mackie/Plantinga debate, and then offer some of my own reflections on the problem of evil.
John Mackie argues that if God
exists, then it is impossible for evil to exist. If God exists, then God is
omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good. This means that God would be able
to, know how to, and want to prevent all Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-16686113934107254292017-12-08T20:10:00.001-06:002017-12-08T20:10:21.688-06:00A Defense of Reformed Epistemology
There is no doubt that one of the most significant matters
of human concern is the existence of God.
If an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good being created the world and
everything in it, that is a fact of enormous importance for how we understand
ourselves and how we live our lives. It
is not surprising then that in many ways God has been at the center of Western
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-29374234821589876532017-11-27T19:18:00.001-06:002017-11-27T23:37:44.414-06:00The Life of a Philosopher in the United States
This essay is for my friend in Iran named Ramin. In this
short essay, I explain a little bit about what learning and teaching philosophy
has been like for me, in the United States, at Bethel University.
I should start by saying that I am a religious person (a
Christian), and religious issues have always been very important to me. Much of my work as a philosopher has been on
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-81346014853422168682015-09-07T10:06:00.001-05:002015-09-07T10:07:58.339-05:00Graduate Student Roles in University LifeCheck out this article, co-written by 2007 Bethel grad Joseph Vukov. The argument is that graduate students should play a bigger role in shaping higher education, given the stake they have in it.
We at Bethel are always proud of the work of graduates, and no less so in this case!
And we're also proud of current faculty members, including Paul Reasoner (pictured here) who Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-92021217456985046252015-04-28T22:17:00.001-05:002015-04-28T22:17:50.721-05:00A Book Review in MINDHere is a book review of mine that was published in the most recent issue of the journal Mind. It's a review of the book Renewing the Senses: A Study of the Philosophy and Theology of the Spiritual Life, written by British philosopher Mark Wynn.
The book took a long time to read; the review took a long time to write; and Mind took a much longer time publishing it. (But Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-10626101354992821112015-04-08T12:06:00.000-05:002015-04-10T18:58:36.138-05:00Peter Singer's PhilanthropyPeter Singer is well-known for how seriously he takes
utilitarianism. It leads him to a strong
defense of animal rights, to controversial views concerning care for those with severe disabilities, and to the promotion of philanthropy.
He’s at it again. In
this article from the Wall Street Journal,
he talks about his goal to have wealthy people give away one-third of their
income.&Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-37262920291869370032015-04-05T19:54:00.000-05:002015-04-05T20:58:38.783-05:00Dr. Postema's New Gig
Our colleague Don Postema has worked as a bioethics consultant at local hospitals for many years. For the most part that has been a job on the side, to complement his full-time teaching at Bethel. But this semester the roles have reversed, and the press has taken note! Check out this article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
New Regions Director Takes on Challenging Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-16089958749153599812015-03-23T10:49:00.001-05:002015-04-10T19:08:31.226-05:00Review of Lawrence Krauss, A Universe From NothingCan something come from nothing? According to physicist Lawrence Krauss, science tell us that that's a piece of cake. In today's post, Chris Lilley, a Bethel philosophy grad and current PhD student at Marquette University, reviews the book in which Krauss tries to explain how the universe came to be from nothing. I have also posted a video of an entertaining Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-44212637346334655452015-02-18T14:40:00.002-06:002015-02-18T14:42:04.390-06:00Dr. Paul Reasoner, Habitat for Humanity, and Houses in Cebu The following comes from our colleague Paul Reasoner, describing his work in Cebu in the Philippines last month. As a little background, Paul, his wife Shari, and their children have done remarkable work at an orphanage in Cebu over the years. Here Paul describes is a major development connected with that work...
I spent a few weeks in JanuaryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-7619076811278068412015-02-11T15:36:00.001-06:002015-02-11T15:36:05.049-06:00Theism, Atheism, and Agnosticism: A Taxonomy of BeliefBethel and UW - Milwaukee graduate John Grandits writes about distinguishing varieties of theism, atheism, and agnosticism.
A friend of mine was recently walking in a park in San Diego
and came across a local atheist group selling t-shirts and Skeptic
magazine. They also had a banner that read, "Ask an atheist a question. You
might like the answer." My friend, a philosophy graduate Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-17773378381922004112015-01-12T17:18:00.001-06:002015-01-15T09:14:49.453-06:00A Philosophy JokeThis one comes from the facebook page of Jaegwon Kim, a well-known metaphysician and philosopher of mind from Brown Univerity.
A boy is about to go on his first date, and is nervous about what to talk about. He asks his father for advice. The father replies: "My son, there are three subjects that always work. These are food, family, and philosophy."
The boy picks up his date and they Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-44200609242430265592015-01-09T11:01:00.002-06:002015-01-09T21:50:14.352-06:00Interesting List of Philosophy Students in Other FieldsThis comes from the APA (American Philosophical Association). We are proud of some people on the list, but others . . . not so much. (And maybe you're proud of different members than we are.) Here it is.
Just so you know, our posting is less regular during the craziness of January term. Bethel alumni, or alumni of other schools who have January terms, will understandAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-59904301839970665412014-12-18T15:04:00.001-06:002014-12-18T15:04:30.372-06:00What should we teach our children?Another contribution from Bethel and UW-Milwaukee graduate John Grandits.
The last post, about lying to your children by telling them
about Santa Claus and the Elf on the Shelf, raises the question of child
education in general: what should we teach our children? Take a common topic
that has some parallels with Santa: what should we teach our children about
God? David Johnson thinks Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-56532475074142118122014-12-15T10:04:00.001-06:002014-12-23T16:42:09.493-06:00Immanuel Kant and the Elf on the ShelfAnyone who tells a child (or anyone else) that Santa exists
is doing wrong, according to Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804). After all, to do so is to lie, and lying violates the Categorical
Imperative, the fundamental moral rule that governs all actions by rational
agents.
Here’s a brief summary of one version of the Categorical
Imperative. (I’m borrowing the explanation from James
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-46755404569892318222014-11-30T21:29:00.000-06:002014-11-30T21:29:49.940-06:00Wondering about an argument against abortion
There are many arguments for the conclusion that abortion is immoral, but some are more compelling than others. In today’s blog post, John Grandits (a Bethel graduate who recently
earned his MA in philosophy from the U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) considers one common argument and makes the case that most of us don’t in fact believe its central premise . . .Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-13423041055507090362014-11-19T15:08:00.001-06:002014-11-19T15:12:27.741-06:00Runaway Trains and Moral IntuitionsIn this week's post, Bethel philosophy alumnus Michael Hands considers two puzzles about runaway trains, and talks about where our moral intuitions surrounding these puzzles might come from.
A runaway
train hurtles towards 5 people tied to a track. A railroad switch
sits just a few feet from you. Flipping the switch diverts the train to another
track. A single person is Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-42950897740722926732014-11-11T09:05:00.000-06:002014-11-12T09:54:49.008-06:00Time and Regret: Why God is Outside Time
One debate in philosophical theology is over whether God is
inside or outside of time. (There are
many debates “inside” that one, too, including over the nature of time. I’ll just sidestep those for now on the
grounds that you can’t solve every problem in a blog post.) I want to present a sketch of an argument for
the conclusion that God is outside of time.
Think of yourAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-19995684725494896362014-11-02T11:39:00.000-06:002014-11-03T09:47:10.228-06:00Forgiveness and RepentanceIn this post, senior philosophy major Daniel Thweatt makes the case that forgiveness does not require repentance. A common view of forgiveness in the philosophical literature claims that in order for genuine forgiveness to occur, the offending party must recognize and repent of the offense; but Daniel argues that this is not so.
Daniel's topic brings to mind a song about Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-49047469886555779882014-10-22T19:07:00.001-05:002014-11-03T09:48:28.535-06:00Why Animals Have RightsLast week, Blake Hereth of Drake University came to Bethel and defended veganism. Blake is a long-time vegetarian, but he recently graduated to veganism, so that he neither eats animals nor uses any animal-related products. The reason is that, in his view, animals have rights. An abridged version of his argument for this conclusion follows.
But first, a picture of me and Blake Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-79417650428712839492014-10-16T14:37:00.003-05:002014-11-03T09:49:26.092-06:00In Defense of PurgatoryToday's post is courtesy of Scott Wheeler, philosophy major, Bethel University Class of 2007. Scott is the guy on the right in the picture below. (The guy on the left is Dr. Alvin Plantinga. This picture captures one of the finer moments in Scott's life.) He is writing in defense of purgatory.
Over the last couple years I've come to terms with the fact
thatAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-60618692383436927012014-10-13T10:37:00.002-05:002014-10-13T10:37:32.659-05:00Animal Rights Lecture Tuesday, October 24, at 4 p.m. in AC246You are all welcome to attend a lecture Tuesday afternoon by Blake Hereth of Drake University. Blake will be speaking about animal rights. As the poster says, it's at 4 p.m. in AC 246.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-13783691301984120442014-10-08T11:48:00.000-05:002014-10-08T11:48:36.849-05:00Dear Prudence: Virtue and Vice on the InternetThere's no better place to find intellectual vice than on the internet. Ridiculous claims come from all sides. For example, in the comments section of my friend Kelly Clark's blog post about whether science rules out belief in God (you can find that fine post here), we get the following gems:
There is not one piece of compelling evidence of the existence of a godAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-48242525163467358252014-10-08T11:16:00.000-05:002014-10-08T11:16:24.964-05:00Rebooting the blogAnd we're back! The Bethel philosophy department has decided to revive this blog and bring back short essays, musings with some connection to philosophy, and other news and information relevant to our department. Current students and alumni are very welcome to contact me if they want to contribute to the blog in some way. And of course comments are welcome as well. Thanks.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871449956946319684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-81984393338996094862012-09-08T11:37:00.001-05:002012-09-08T12:55:17.035-05:00
Someone asked me recently what I think of the use of masks, particularly the Guy Fawkes mask in the Occupy protests.
In general, I think that images, masks, and other kinds of public symbols very rarely, if ever, stay firmly rooted to their original condition of meaning. Visual artists, in fact, often compare their art to children who grow up, leave home, and become their own distinct Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914031138285965395.post-5151665370968120722012-09-05T08:14:00.000-05:002012-09-05T11:15:56.219-05:00Occupy Protesters' fashion signalsI have been following some of the Occupy protests with some interest when I’m not overwhelmed by other duties. The practice of protesting and the use of fashion to illustrate the content of the protest have been joined for a very long time. I think of the original British colonists on the eastern shore of America (which at the time of course was partly comprised of a British set of colonies) who Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0