Grounding and the Existence of God

In this article, I seek to assess the extent to which Theism, the claim that there is a God, can provide a true fundamental explanation for the instantiation of the grounding relation that connects the various entities within the layered structure of reality. More precisely, I seek to utilise the explanatory framework of Richard Swinburne within a specific metaphysical context, a ground-theoretic context, which will enable me to develop a true fundamental explanation for the existence of grounding. And thus, given the truth of this type of explanation, we will have a further reason to believe in the existence of God.

Antiunitarian Arguments from Divine Perfection

Some have argued that unipersonal concepts of God collapse into incoherence, so that such a being is no more possible than a square circle, or at least that such theologies are, as non-trinitarian, significantly less probable than some trinitarian theologies. I discuss the general strategy and examine recent arguments by William Lane Craig, C. Stephen Layman, Thomas V. Morris, and Richard Swinburne based on divine love, flourishing, and glory. I show why none of these arguments is compelling, as each has at least one weak premise.

THE LOGICAL PROBLEM OF EVIL IN ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY: A Comparative Approach in the Thought System of Ibn Sînâ and Richard Swinburne

<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>The study of the ideas of Ibn Sînâ and Richard Swinburne as the pioneers of Islamic philosophy and the West philosophy, and on the other hand, the existing scholastic and ideological differences, is something that can help us to become more familiar with the thoughts of these philosophers and intellectual differences and similarities. In this research, with the analytical method and using the necessary documents, the nature, types, and solutions of evil in the thought of Ibn Sînâ and Swinburne are examined, and also the two philosophers’ thoughts about evil are compared. Both philosophers have considered the existence of evil not in contradiction with the divine attributes, but it is necessary for the acquisition of good, the minimum existence of which is necessary for the best system of creation.<strong> </strong><br /><strong> </strong><br /><strong>Abstrak:</strong> Kajian terhadap pemikiran Ibn Sînâ dan Richard Swinburne tentang kejahatan menjadi menarik untuk dianalisis karena perbedaan horizon berpikir keduanya. Jika Ibn Sînâ mewakili tradisi filsafat Islam, maka Richard Swinburne dianggap mewakili filsafat Barat kontemporer. Dalam artikel ini, penulis menganalisis dari dokumen kepustakaan yang diperlukan, baik tentang sifat, jenis, dan solusi atas kejahatan menurut pandangan Ibn Sînâ dan Swinburne. Bagi kedua filsuf, eksistensi kejahatan tidak bertentangan dengan sifat-sifat ilahi, tetapi ia diperlukan untuk memperoleh kebaikan dan keberadaan minimum yang diperlukan untuk sistem penciptaan perbuatan terbaik.</p><p><br /><strong>Keywords:</strong> evil, Ibn Sînâ, Richard Swinburne, Divine attributes, world of creation<em></em></p>

Not Just a Terminological Difference: Cartesian Substance Dualism vs Thomistic Hylomorphism

In Are We Bodies or Souls? Richard Swinburne presents an updated formulation and defense of his dualist theory of the human person. On this theory, human persons are compound substances, composed of both bodies and souls. The soul is the only essential component of the human person, however, and so each of us could, in principle, continue to exist without our bodies, composed of nothing more than our souls. As Swinburne himself points out, his theory of the human person shares many similarities with the hylomorphic theory of the human person espoused by Thomas Aquinas. Swinburne suggests at one point that the differences between the two theories are “almost entirely terminological,” pertaining chiefly to how each understands the term ‘substance’. In this essay, I aim to show that the differences between Swinburne’s Cartesian substance dualism and Thomistic hylomorphism are much more significant than that. I argue, moreover, that the distinctive claims of Thomistic hylomorphism allow it to successfully avoid some key concerns for Swinburne’s view.

The Need for Thisnesses

Richard Swinburne is an emergent dualist. One feature of his view is the need for a “thisness” or haecceity that makes each soul the soul that it is, distinct from other souls that may be indistinguishable from it in all qualitative respects. I argue that there is no need for thisnesses.

O ARGUMENTO BAYESIANO DA EXPERIÊNCIA RELIGIOSA EM FAVOR DO TEÍSMO

O artigo apresenta e discute criticamente o argumento da experiência religiosa proposto por Richard Swinburne na obra The Existence of God (2004), uma das mais importantes da filosofia analítica da religião contemporânea. Além de introduzir conceitos de teoria da indução probabilística, que servem de base para o argumento proposto, são também explicados os elementos de teoria da percepção e da justificação de crenças perceptuais que Swinburne supõe. Em seguida, são discutidos quatro questionamentos possíveis contra o argumento da experiência religiosa. Por fim, consideram-se duas respostas possíveis aos questionamentos feitos na parte anterior, de modo a se poder ainda empregar o fenômeno da experiência religiosa no debate acerca da existência de Deus de modo argumentativo.