The Problem with Nothing: Why The Indefensibility of Ex Nihilo Nihil Goes Wrong for Theists
I’ve argued before that if we presume there was once absolutely nothing, we actually end up with an infinite multiverse (Ex Nihilo Onus Merdae Fit). Which eliminates the fine tuning argument, by statistically guaranteeing any universe will randomly exist, no...The Mind Is a Process Not an Object: On Not Understanding Mind-Brain Physicalism
In a recent issue of Philosophy Now, Christian philosopher Grant Bartley argues “Why Physicalism is Wrong.” In which he exemplifies why it is the critics of physicalism who are wrong. Because Bartley commits basic fallacies in understanding the issue....Free Ticket Contest for MythCon 2018!
Want to get into MythCon for free, both the event and afterparty? The theme this year is multiple-sides, honest dialogue. So here’s what gets you in: produce a blog, vlog, or podcast that (a) examines any secular disagreement in politics, culture, or society,...How Not to Be a Doofus about Bayes’ Theorem
I’ve been dealing with a bunch of doofuses lately. And I can’t tell if they are alone in their quackery, or if their disease is afflicting anyone else. So here’s a primer on how not to be a total doofus about Bayes’ Theorem. I define a doofus...Dennett vs. Harris on Free Will
In January of 2014 Daniel Dennett, a philosopher and cognitive scientist who is renowned as a world’s leading authority on free will, wrote a lengthy critical review of Sam Harris’s book Free Will (Reflections on Free Will: A Review by Daniel C. Dennett). Sam Harris,...The Argument from Specified Complexity against Supernaturalism
Creationists may have bitten their own head off with their idea of specified complexity. Because there is a case to be made that if specified complexity can exist, the supernatural cannot. The creationist William Dembski famously contrived the concept of...Money Buys Happiness? Not After You Hit Six Figures
Five years ago I took Michael Shermer to task for pushing pseudoscience in his bungled attempt to argue (in agreement with Sam Harris and myself) that moral philosophy could and should be retooled into a proper empirical science, the same way every other philosophical...Your Own Moral Reasoning: Some Things to Consider
We all know the Golden Rule, taught supposedly by the Jewish Rabbi Jesus in the West and the Confucian scholar Mo Tzu in the East: “do to others as you would have done for yourself.” Or as the equally ancient Rabbi Hillel, or Confucius himself, said, “do not do to...Feser Still Can’t Read
Feser keeps trying. And keeps failing. Indeed, he is now making things worse, by demonstrating he doesn’t even understand what is going on here. To catch you up: I wrote a critique of his book. He wrote a reply. I wrote a response to that reply showing how he...Feser Can’t Read (and Other Astonishing Facts)
I had a good laugh when Feser fans claimed he “destroyed” my critique this week, and at first thought, “Oh gosh, did I get something wrong I need to correct?” And then I read his reply. Face, meet palm. Holy cow. His response is wildly inept....Neat Podcast Discussion on Free Will: Cameron Reilly for Sam Harris and I for Daniel Dennett
I had a fascinating & amicable discussion about the science and philosophy of free will. Cameron Reilly sides with Sam Harris (“there is no free will because it’s incompatible with determinism”) and I with Daniel Dennett (“there is a kind...Feser’s Five Proofs of the Existence of God: Debunked!
I just completed a three-part series exposing the laughable science illiteracy of Alvin Plantinga’s “Two Dozen or So” arguments for God. I’ve now had several requests to take on Edward Feser’s Five Proofs of the Existence of God (2017)....Plantinga’s ‘Two Dozen or So’ Arguments for God: Moral & Other Arguments
Part 3. I just addressed Plantinga’s ontological and metaphysical arguments (A through I) and his epistemological arguments (J through Q). Here I conclude with his moral and other arguments (R through Z; and finally, his whopper of all arguments, the Argument...Plantinga’s ‘Two Dozen or So’ Arguments for God: The Epistemological Arguments
Part 2. I just addressed Plantinga’s ontological and metaphysical arguments (A through I). Here I cover his epistemological arguments (J through Q). Next I’ll cover his moral and other arguments (R through Z). I’ll link those in when they go up. For...Plantinga’s ‘Two Dozen or So’ Arguments for God: The Onto-Metaphysical Arguments
Famously, Christian apologist Alvin Plantinga once posted a lecture guide online outlining dozens of arguments for the existence of God (which was built-out a little bit in a book, and will evolve soon into an edited volume of its own). I’m often pointed to it...Get Dr. Carrier’s Latest!
About the Author
Richard Carrier is the author of many books and numerous articles online and in print. His avid readers span the world from Hong Kong to Poland. With a Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University, he specializes in the modern philosophy of naturalism and humanism, and the origins of Christianity and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, with particular expertise in ancient philosophy, science and technology. He is also a noted defender of scientific and moral realism, Bayesian reasoning, and historical methods.
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