The Prospects for Debunking Non-Theistic Belief

Sophia 60 (1):83-89 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

According to The Debunking Argument, evidence from the cognitive science of religion suggests that it is epistemically inappropriate to persist in believing in the theistic God. In this paper, I focus on a reply to this argument according to which the evidence from cognitive science says nothing about the epistemic propriety of belief in the theistic God, since God may have chosen to create human beliefs in God by means of precisely the systems identified by cognitive scientists. I argue that this reply can be extended to a variety of non-theistic contexts, and consequently that if the reply is sound, then the scope of The Debunking Argument is surprisingly limited.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,349

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Knowledge and the Objection to Religious Belief from Cognitive Science.Kelly James Clark & Dani Rabinowitz - 2011 - European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 3 (1):67 - 81.
Process Debunking and Ethics.Shaun Nichols - 2014 - Ethics 124 (4):727-749.
Does the Scientific Study of Religion Cast Doubt on Theistic Belief?Joshua C. Thurow - 2014 - In Michael Bergmann Patrick Kain (ed.), Challenges to Moral and Religious Belief: Disagreement and Evolution. Oxford ; New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 277-294.
Spirituality, Expertise, and Philosophers.Bryan Frances - 2013 - In L. Kvanvig Jonathan (ed.), Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion. Oxford University Press. pp. 44-81.
When psychology undermines beliefs.Derek Leben - 2012 - Philosophical Psychology (3):1-23.
Theism in Historical Perspective.Timothy Chappell - 2011 - European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 3 (1):123 - 138.
Spirit Beliefs Debunked?Hans Van Eyghen - 2018 - Science, Religion and Culture 5 (1):73-82.

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-02-11

Downloads
56 (#278,942)

6 months
9 (#298,039)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Thaddeus Robinson
Muhlenberg College

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Warranted Christian Belief.Alvin Plantinga - 2000 - New York, US: Oxford University Press USA.
Warranted Christian Belief.Alvin Plantinga - 2000 - Philosophia Christi 3 (2):327-328.
Religious Belief as an Evolutionary Accident.Paul Bloom & Osman Zahid Çifçi - 2015 - Beytulhikme An International Journal of Philosophy 5 (1):163.
Explaining Religion (Away?).Jonathan Jong - 2013 - Sophia 52 (3):521-533.

View all 7 references / Add more references