The Improbability of God - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591023815 ISBN 13: 9781591023814

Publisher: Prometheus, 2006

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.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Martin is professor emeritus of philosophy at Boston University and author of numerous books, including Atheism: A Philosophical Justification; Atheism, Morality, and Meaning; and The Big Domino in the Sky and Other Atheistic Tales.
Ricki Monnier (Ph.D. in mathematical logic) is director of The Disproof Atheism Society.

Review

""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 PhilosophyWestern Michigan University

About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1591023815
• ISBN 13: 9781591023814
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432
• Editor: Martin Michael, Monnier Ricki