15 Dec 2016
Brief Intro
Whether you are new to the God debate or whether you have watched debate after debate, there are some key names that pop up from time to time. However, others don't pop up as much as they probably ought to. While there is much more that I could say about these philosophers, perhaps the little I mention here will spike your interest. Here are ten very important 20th and early 21st century C.E. philosophers in the God debate, in no particular order.
The Ten Philosophers
1. William Lane Craig
Advocating: Supernaturalist Theism
Although those on the more evidentialist side of Christian philosophy would have some disagreements with Craig, Craig is well-known for the many debates that he has participated in with others about the real existence of God as well as the resurrection of Jesus. At least on a rhetorical level, Craig has won the majority of the debates in which he has participated. He is well-known for his version of the Kalam Cosmological Argument, which in its strongest presentation posits a nuanced causality principle as a law of metaphysics.
Photo from Reasonable Faith
2. Alvin Plantinga
Advocating: Supernaturalist Theism
Alvin Plantinga has been one of the most scholarly cited philosophers of the late 20th and early 21st century C.E. on the topics related to philosophy of religion while still alive. The grandfatherly figure is also known for his recommendations about keeping your house at optimal temperature, as well as a modal version of ontological argument and his efforts to establish conferences of Christian philosophers to assess and present arguments as it concerns the religion debates.
3. Stuart Cornelius Hackett (1925-2012)
Advocating: Supernaturalist Theism
Stuart Cornelius Hackett was known within the philosophical community for his work The Resurrection of Theism: Prelegomena to Christian Apology, in which he defends a combined rationalist-empiricist epistemology while making several points suggestive of arguments for theism. Hackett has clearly influenced both William Lane Craig and Roger Wasson concerning their major contributions to philosophy of religion.
4. Timothy Joel McGrew
Advocating: Supernaturalist Theism
Timothy Joel McGrew is known for his work in epistemology, his focus on evidence, and his writings on miracles. He has also been instrumental in reviving the awareness of older literature concerning Christianity, miracles, and evidence.
5. Kai Nielsen
Advocating: Atheism
Nielsen is known for his book God and Morality, among other things. He is considered to have been one of the most adept atheistic philosophers of the 20th century C.E. concerning philosophy of religion.
6. J. L. Schellenberg
Advocating: Atheism
Schellenberg is known for his nuanced Divine hiddenness argument, which has been a favorite of skeptical philosophers in the God debate.
7. William Rowe (1931-2015)
Advocating: Atheism
William Rowe is known for his Evidential Argument from Evil. Such an argument has been a favorite for some atheistic philosophers. Given that it deals in probabilities instead of possibilities and certainties, it is viewed as a more modest, stronger argument than the Logical Argument from Evil.
8. Robin Collins
Advocating: Supernaturalist Theism
Robin Collins is known for his work concerning fine-tuning and how such a phenomenon relates to arguments for theism. His development of the DLO Fine-Tuning Argument is considered to be a substantial improvement over the simple Life Fine-Tuning Argument, as it inputs additional nuance and avoids the observer selection effect issues that potentially could plague less nuanced versions of fine-tuning arguments.
9. Antony Flew (1923-2010)
Advocating: Atheism and Deism
Antony Flew is known for his introduction and focus on burden of proof argumentation, highlighting the need for theists to really make their case. Even though he switched to deism later in life, Flew is still known as one of atheism's most formidable proponents in print. (Though, let's admit it, he wasn't all that forceful in public platform debates.)
10. Roger Wasson (Machine Philosophy)
Advocating: Supernaturalist Theism
Roger Wasson developed a criteria-oriented argument for the real existence of God, developing it and improving it along the way. When fully understood and perhaps with only mild modifications, it can be seen as one of the most forceful arguments for theism. However, given that the argument is a rationalist one, the ardent skeptic will likely desire some sort of empirical argument to complete the picture.
Closing
Hopefully this list of ten is helpful for some of you. There are probably well over a hundred philosophers who have made at least somewhat notable contributions to the God debate. However, the above list of ten is a great way to start, even though the 10th could be a bit difficult to track down without connections.
Have a pleasant evening,
-- Z. E. Kendall
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