Deep Dive

A collection of 1068 posts

Aquinas

Actuality, Abortion and the SCOTUS

Here is a guest piece from author Gunther Laird, who recently wrote The Unnecessary Science: A Critical Analysis of Natural Law Theory (UK), which I edited and consulted on. Please grab a copy! This piece is particularly pertinent given what is going on in the Supreme Court right now.  Actuality

Philosophy of Religion

God: Responsible for the Good but Not the Bad

Here is a problem that is ubiquitous in the world of theism: God is responsible for the good things we do or that exist in the world but we are responsible for the bad. Whether we look at butterflies and mountains, or someone doing charity in the world or preaching

atheism

Fantastic Interview with Harmonic Atheist

This is perhaps my favourite interview I have been involved with and hats off to Tim Mills (having recently deconverted some 13 months ago) for facilitating a great chat here. It's a big old, wide-ranging interview but I think it's worth a listen (you might want

Consciousness

Let’s All Not Look at the Moon and See What Happens

Here's another guest post from Dana Horton - thanks! Let’s All Not Look at the Moon and See What Happens (5 minute read) Last week we speculated on whether the Universe came from an explosion, a creator, or an emanation. This week let’s take up whether

morality

What's Good

Here is another guest post, this time from Martin Zeichner. Thanks muchly to him. Today's lesson, whether in terms of politicians or the police, is "Do as I do": Ascertaining what it takes to be a good person has long been a subject of philosophical writing.

God's characteristics

Pearced Off! #9 - Why Don't We Photosynthesise?

I am running a series of the old podcast segments from my Pearced Off! section of the Skepticule Podcast (a British skepticism-based podcast now on hiatus) that I used to contribute to. Some of the earlier ones have some quieter audio. Apologies. They run at around ten minutes. Something to

Biblical Exegesis

The Problem with Prophecies and Foreknowledge

In order for God to need to send Jesus down for our salvation, we needed to be pretty sinful. So, at the time of, say, Daniel (who prophesied Jesus), or Psalm 22, some 600 years before Jesus came, we had prophecies dictating that Jesus was to come and rebuild Israel

consequentialism

Evangelical Christianity, the GOP, Morality and Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance: The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this conflict causes feelings of unease or discomfort. This inconsistency between what people believe and how

Biblical Exegesis

Is Gnosticism a Thing?

Here's another nice quick Dana Horton guest post. Enjoy: Is Gnosticism a Thing? (4 minute read) What is it? Gnosticism is a collection of belief systems that arose in the 1st and 2nd century among Christian sects. In this context, it is separate from the idea of being

Aristotle

Contraceptive Causality: Natural Law & Sexual Ethics

Gunther Laird has recently written a superb refutation of Natural Law Theory (NLT), as espoused these days by Christian thinkers such as Edward Feser who build upon work of Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle. This kind of worldview underwrites conservative lawmakers who try to utilise NLT to underwrite modern jurisprudence. Therefore,

morality

What Makes a Person Good or Decent?

This is a guest post from Cynthia, a little muse to get you thinking over your cup of tea, of coffee, as to what denotes "good" behaviour in society, as to whether conformity is a driving factor. Thanks to her, and here it is: There’s a quote

logic

Philosophy 101 (philpapers-induced) #12: Logic: classical or non-classical?

Having posted the Philpapers survey results, the biggest ever survey of philosophers conducted in 2009, several readers were not aware of it (the reason for re-communicating it) and were unsure as to what some of the questions meant. I offered to do a series on them, so here it is

empathy

Empathy for the Policeman Who Shot Blake

I was having a conversation with someone on Facebook the other day. It went like this: Him: What's going on in California? Should we be blaming Trump for this, or are there regional considerations that need to be taken into account? I know many states have problems, but

kalam

Free Will & the Kalam: Causes & Reasons

I recently posted on the Kalam Cosmological Argument and how it isn't compatible with libertarian free will. Luke Breuer took issues with what I said, transcribing my video (now in italic)  in his comment: Jonathan, you seem to be conflating causes and reasons: But basically someone who is

Aquinas

The Problems of Pure Act

This is a guest post from Gunther Laird, whose superb new book The Unnecessary Science: A Critical Analysis of Natural Law Theory (UK), a devastating critique of Ed Feser, Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law Theory, is out now. Over to Laird: The philosopher Edward Feser, in most of his published

atheism

Humanists in Foxholes

This is from Humanists UK, and is particularly interesting, in my opinion, because of the complex relationship with the belief in God and higher powers, conservatism and traditionalism, and the armed forces. Also worth noting is the dislike of being called atheist compared to humanist. This makes for an interesting

cancel culture

My Debate on Cancel Culture Tonight

I am debating cancel culture with David French, an attorney who was once urged to run for US President. He is an evangelical Christian who sits firmly in the conservative camp but who has no time for Trump. I have so so much I want to say on cancel culture

cancel culture

I Will Be Appearing on Unbelievable with David French

I have been asked by Justin Brierley to appear on Premier Christian Radio's Unbelievable radio show and podcast. I have been advised over the years to appear on it to discuss, say, the nativity or the Kalam Cosmological Argument, but I have never approached them. Anyway, Justin read

cancel culture

Is Cancel Culture Fake News?

As you may have seen, I was recently interviewed by fellow Patheoser Andrew Hall on Cancel Culture. Check it out: https://youtu.be/oac8yPaLpls   Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling Philosopher You can also buy me a cuppa. Or buy some of my awesome ATP

Consciousness

An Immaterial Mind Causing the Universe

The other day, I was sent an argument by a commenter on my video discussing the Kalam Cosmological Argument. For the full details of his arguments, please see my post here. William Lane Craig uses an extension to his Kalam Cosmological Argument to conclude that this an immaterial mind, qua

cancel culture

A Live Stream with Andrew Hall on Cancel Culture - Almost Now!

I can't believe I forgot to put this out there. I am talking to Andrew Hall about Cancel Culture amongst, no doubt, other things, at 4pm BST, which is just under two hour's time! Please join us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oac8yPaLpls   Stay in

atheism

"Hating God": Atheism as Rebelling Against a Father-Figure and Other Nonsenses

I have just had this levelled against me: I rather doubt there is such a thing as atheism. When atheism manifests itself, it appears to be no more than a mixture of confusion and father issues. Most professed atheists seem to live as if there is a god, despite their

Islam

Persecution: A Tale of Two Muslim Minorities

In talking in my last post about persecution, my call is to try to be nuanced. Sadly, my interlocutor supposedly read the piece and concluded: Nevertheless, we seem very shy about mentioning persecution of Christians in the world here in the West. I don't think Johno ever actually

atheism

Assessing the Claim that "Christians Are the Most Persecuted Group"

I was involved in an argument on Facebook concerning the news of the cathedral in the Frensch city of Nantes. This was fresh news: it was only just happening. And yet, already, the person in question wrote this comment alongside a video of the burning building: There are people who

cancel culture

"Cancel Culture": Choose Your Narrative

I have been thinking even more on cancel culture and what it means for society. I wrote the extensive piece 'Is "Cancel Culture" Butchering the Centre?' in which I presented some of the topical literature from both sides of the argument. I want to build on