The Uncertainty Podcast

Dr. Graham Oppy, perhaps academia's leading atheist philosopher of religion, joins me to analyze a newly proposed argument for God's existence: the argument from psychophysical harmony.

Check out Psychophysical Harmony: A New Argument for Theism by Cutter and Crummett.

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EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:52 Defining psychophysical harmony

00:14:06 The argument

00:14:48 Prior probability of theism and naturalism

00:39:19 Likelihood of harmony on theism and naturalism

00:46:56 Can evolution explain harmony?

00:56:20 What if mind is identical to brain?

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Dr. Michael Huemer, professor of philosophy at U.C. Boulder, returns to the podcast to defend the case for (libertarian) free will.Check our Dr. Huemer's fantastic Substack.

To support the channel, do please oh please ⁠⁠consider donating.⁠⁠ Feel free to follow me on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠.

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:22 What is free will?

00:08:40 Huemer's proof of free will

00:23:20 Is the proof question-begging?

00:34:51 The mystery objection

00:49:56 The luck objection

01:05:02 Alex O'Connor's objection to free will

01:13:22 The neuroscience objection

01:22:05 Why do most scientists and philosophers deny libertarian free will?

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Dr. Evan Fales, professor of philosophy at Iowa University, discusses Alvin Plantinga's famous "evolutionary argument against naturalism," and whether Plantinga has successfully shown that naturalism - the view that there is no person such as God or anything like God - cannot be rationally affirmed.

To support the channel, do please oh please ⁠consider donating.⁠ Feel free to follow me on ⁠Instagram⁠ or ⁠Twitter⁠.

Episode Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:51 What is naturalism?

00:11:18 What is evolution?

00:21:24 Plantinga's central claim

00:38:00 Intentionality of mental states

01:07:11 Defeaters for theism

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Dr. Josh Rasmussen, professor of philosophy at Baylor university, discusses the implications of the Apple Original TV show, "Severance", for two philosophical debates: (1) personal identity, and (2) the relationship between mind and body. To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating. Feel free to follow me on Instagram or Twitter.

Episode Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:16 Topic 1 - Personal identity

00:06:17 Psychological accounts

00:18:17 Animalism accounts

00:41:18 Soul accounts

00:44:28 Primitive identity

00:51:31 Topic 2 - The mind-body problem

01:11:26 Substance monism

01:16:12 Consciousness after death

01:26:25 Is materialism simpler than substance monism?

01:34:20 Derek Parfit "Split Brain" Thought Experiment

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Many have watched with alarm as American evangelicals - a particular sect of Protestant Christianity - have largely embraced President Donald Trump, despite the (seeming) inconsistency between his rhetoric on the one hand, and biblical principles on the other. Dr. Randal Rauser joins me for a third time to discuss the connections between evangelicalism, President Donald Trump, and the Republican party in general - contending, ultimately, that Christians must embrace a different vision of Christianity, one that cannot connect itself with President Trump.

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For more from Randal, check out his blog.

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Chapter Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:43 Defining "Evangelical"

00:05:00 Evangelicals Vs. Fundamentalists

00:10:07 The Role of Dispensationalism

00:12:33 Statistics about Evangelicals and Trump

00:13:35 Why Evangelicals Support Trump

00:20:40 Three Reasons Evangelicals Don't Take Issue with Trump

00:28:44 "It's what he does that matters, not what he says."

00:37:39 Single-issue voting: abortion

00:54:44 A New Vision of Christianity

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Erik Wielenberg, professor of philosophy at DePauw University, discusses godless normative realism, his attempt to craft an objective morality without appeal to God. We also debate divine command theory, the attempt to do the precise opposite: ground ethics in God's nature, and in His commands.

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For more information about Dr. Wielenberg and a list of his publications, check out his PhilPeople page.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mileskdonahue.substack.com/subscribe

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William Lane Craig - Christian philosopher, theologian, and apologist - joins me to discuss the Christian doctrine of salvation. I, per usual, throw all my questions at him along the way. Why did God create the world? Could God have saved the world without requiring Jesus to die on the cross? Can a Mormon be saved? Why does salvation require propositional belief? Dr. Craig addresses all these questions and more.

To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating. Check out Dr. Craig's YouTube channel. The book on Molinism that Dr. Craig mentions is Luis de Molina: The Life and Theology of the Founder of Middle Knowledge. As always, you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter.

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Matthew Adelstein, YouTuber, philosophy student, and prolific Substacker, sits down to discuss Richard Carrier's arguments for atheism and why they fail to convince.

IMPORTANT LINKS

Matthew's YouTube channel.

Matthew's written response to some of Carrier's arguments: https://substack.com/@benthamsbulldog...

Carrier's paper, "Bayesian Counter-Apologetics: Ten Arguments for God Destroyed".

My dialogue with Carrier on many of these same points.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mileskdonahue.substack.com/subscribe

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Dr. Thomas Rudelius, early universe cosmologist and professor of physics at Durham University, sits down with me to discuss whether cosmology indicates that the universe began to exist, what it might mean for spacetime to "emerge" from a deeper reality, and whether the fine-tuning of the laws of physics indicates design behind the universe.

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Dr. Michael Huemer and I discuss ethical intuitionism, the view that there are moral truths, and that we know these truths via intellectual intuition. For more about Dr. Huemer, click here. To purchase Dr. Huemer's book, 'Ethical Intuitionism', click here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mileskdonahue.substack.com/subscribe

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