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Overview
A growing number of powerful arguments have been formulated by philosophers and logicians in recent years demonstrating that the existence of God is improbable. These arguments assume that God's existence is possible but argue that the weight of the empirical evidence is against God's actual existence.
This unique anthology collects most of the important arguments for the improbability of God that have been published since the mid-1900s. The editors make each argument clear and accessible by providing a helpful summary. In addition, they arrange this diverse collection of arguments for the improbability of God into four thematic groups: Part 1 contains cosmological arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the origin of the universe; Part 2 presents teleological arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the order in the universe; Part 3 deals with inductive evil arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the widespread and horrendous evil in the world; and Part 4 contains nonbelief arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the widespread nonbelief or the reasonable nonbelief in the world.
The list of distinguished authors includes William Rowe, Theodore Drange, Quentin Smith, Victor Stenger, J. L. Schellenberg, and Michael Martin, among others. With this new anthology as a companion to their earlier anthology, The Impossibility of God (2003), Martin and Monnier have created an indispensable resource in the philosophy of religion.
Synopsis
A growing number of powerful arguments have been formulated by philosophers and logicians in recent years demonstrating that the existence of God is improbable. These arguments assume that God's existence is possible but argue that the weight of the empirical evidence is against God's actual existence.
This unique anthology collects most of the important arguments for the improbability of God that have been published since the mid-1900s. The editors make each argument clear and accessible by providing a helpful summary. In addition, they arrange this diverse collection of arguments for the improbability of God into four thematic groups: Part 1 contains cosmological arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the origin of the universe; Part 2 presents teleological arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the order in the universe; Part 3 deals with inductive evil arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the widespread and horrendous evil in the world; and Part 4 contains nonbelief arguments based on the weight of the evidence relative to the widespread nonbelief or the reasonable nonbelief in the world. The list of distinguished authors includes William Rowe, Theodore Drange, Quentin Smith, Victor Stenger, J. L. Schellenberg, and Michael Martin, among others. With this new anthology as a companion to their earlier anthology, The Impossibility of God (2003), Martin and Monnier have created an indispensable resource in the philosophy of religion.Library Journal
Many books have argued for the existence of God, but relatively few do so for his nonexistence. This title, actually a companion to an earlier work, The Impossibility of God, also edited by Martin (philosophy, emeritus, Boston Univ.; Atheism: A Philosophical Justification) and Monnier (director, the Disproof Atheism Soc.), anthologizes papers and selections from books that provide a sampling of the best arguments for the improbability of God's existence. The first two sections address arguments of a cosmological and teleological nature, and the latter two speak to those based on widespread evil and unbelief. This work is helpful in that it pays serious attention to arguments from the theistic side, but perhaps it would have been even stronger if the editors had included a few contributors representing those theistic arguments. With writings from such well-regarded scholars as William Rowe, Theodore Drange, and Quentin Smith, this welcome addition to the literature on the philosophy of religion is recommended for all academic libraries.-John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ. Lib. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"The book is very interesting and is especially distinctive in that it includes very recent essays about the improbability of God. The book includes many of the most significant philosophers who have recently published articles or books on the improbability of God's existence.... This makes the book stand out from the majority of books on the philosophy of religion or atheism, which tend to contain in large part the well-known essays by prominent figures in the history of philosophy or often reprinted articles originally published prior to the 1990s....This book is necessary reading for any philosopher who wishes to keep abreast of the most recent developments in the philosophy of religion and atheism."Quentin Smith, Professor of Philosophy Western Michigan University