Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this collection of 12 interviews that first appeared in 2014 in The Stone, the philosophy blog of the New York Times, Notre Dame philosophy professor Gutting (What Philosophy Can Do) poses a series of questions to contemporary philosophers about age-old questions: Does God exist? How can an all-powerful and all-good god exist in a world filled with evil and suffering? What's the relationship between science and religion? Gutting prefaces each interview with a brief introduction and follows it with a brief set of "further thoughts" about the issues raised in the interview. Calvin College professor Alvin Plantinga argues against atheism because "assuming a lack of evidence either for or against God's existence, agnosticism is a more rational position than atheism." Louise Anthony is certain that God doesn't exist both because she denies that supernatural beings exist outside of natural law and because she finds the argument from evil overwhelmingly persuasive. Gutting also discusses religion and deconstruction with John Caputo, soft atheism with Philip Kitcher, religion and evolution with Michael Ruse, and Hinduism with Jonardon Ganeri, among others. Gutting doesn't cover new ground here, and adds little to the material already available online, but this book nevertheless provides a helpful introduction to anyone interested in the intersection of philosophy and religion. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Review by Library Journal Review
Gutting (Endowed Chair in Philosophy Emeritus, Univ. of Notre Dame; What -Philosophy Can Do), a self-described -agnostic and practicing Catholic, presents a series of interviews from his contributions to the Stone (the New York Times philosophy blog) on disciplines that range from philosophy of religion to philosophy of science, and some that do not fit into that well-defined spectrum. Gutting shows himself to be a generous interviewer, with exchanges that sharpen and expand upon the interviewee's positions rather than shut down or bolster them. Each interview is bracketed by an introduction and a reflection. The introductions acquaint readers with the subject and the philosophical terms and ideas. The reflections fill out the interviews and present ideas for further thought; they also serve to tie the interviews together. -VERDICT Gutting provides evidence to those new to philosophy that beliefs that are not subject to direct empirical scrutiny can be reasonably maintained, even if not always reasonably decided. Like the author's What Philosophy Can Do, this book is for those new to the subject who are curious about whether its tools enhance understanding.-James -Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Approachable, civilized discussions about the existence of God.Gutting (Philosophy/Univ. of Notre Dame;nbsp;What Philosophy Can Do, 2015, etc.) presents a collection of conversations with other philosophers, all of which originally appeared in The Stone, the philosophy blog of the New York Times. Interested in learning why most professional philosophers self-identify as atheist, as opposed to agnostic, the author interviewed a representative set of philosophers to learn their views about theism. The result is a fascinating, meaningful set of conversations that will intrigue believers and nonbelievers alike. After discussing theism and atheism broadly with Alvin Plantinga and Louise Antony, Gutting moves on to philosophical and academic topics as they apply to the subject of God: deconstruction (John Caputo), naturalism (Howard Wettstein), pragmatism (Philip Kitcher), cosmology/physics (Tim Maudlin), evolution (Michael Ruse), epistemology (Keith DeRose), and history (Daniel Garber). Gutting also realizes that the debate over God in the Western academy too often centers on the Judeo-Christian concept of divinity. Consequently, he also reached out to philosophers of other faith traditions in search of a balanced discussion: Islam (Sajjad Rizvi), Hinduism (Jonardon Ganeri), and Buddhism (Jay Garfield). Gutting and his collaborators present a welcome respite to the vitriolic works of the New AtheistsHitchens, Dawkins et al.offering reasoned, civil, and fair explorations of timeless issues. In each case, whether theist, agnostic, or atheist, the interlocutors discuss with respect for opposing views and with humility for what questions can and cannot be fully answered. Rather than seeing the argument as a contest to be won or lost, these philosophers honor the reality that larger issues of justice and morality are at play. As Kitcher puts it, lets be inspired by the worlds collection of religious metaphors insofar as they help us improve the human situation. Humanism first, atheism second. An exceptional introduction to the philosophical questions surrounding God and atheism. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
