Overview
Defends agnosticism in an accessible yet sophisticated way
Explains why many people with scientific and philosophical backgrounds are agnostics
Argues that whilst atheism tends to be the natural alternative to religious belief, much of the research in science and philosophy urges us strongly toward agnosticism rather than the absolute claims of theism on the one hand and atheism on the other
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Part I
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Front Matter
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Part II
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Front Matter
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The Case for Agnosticism
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book contains a unique perspective: that of a scientifically and philosophically educated agnostic who thinks there is impressive—if maddeningly hidden—evidence for the existence of God. Science and philosophy may have revealed the poverty of the familiar sources of evidence, but they generate their own partial defense of theism.
Bryan Frances, a philosopher with a graduate degree in physics, judges the standard evidence for God’s existence to be awful. And yet, like many others with similar scientific and philosophical backgrounds, he argues that the usual reasons for atheism, such as the existence of suffering and success of science, are weak.
In this book you will learn why so many people with scientific and philosophical credentials are agnostics (rather than atheists) despite judging all the usual evidence for theism to be fatally flawed.
Reviews
—Duncan Pritchard, UC Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Irvine, USA.
“'I tell you naught for your comfort.' This line by G. K. Chesterton kept coming to mind as I read An Agnostic Defends God, by Bryan Frances. He offers disconcerting home truths to both Christians and atheists, and then he shows that agnostics should not be so self-satisfied either. A deeply wise discussion, moving rapidly back and forth across the landscape of religious/non-religious belief, stopping only to ask penetrating questions. Well worth reading."
—Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor and Director of HPS Program, Bristol University, UK
“Bryan Frances is an agnostic; I am an atheist. You might think that I won't have anything good to say about either Bryan or his book. Not so. Bryan's book is excellent and challenging. It may well unsettle your opinions about how theists, atheists and agnostics ought to think about the security of their own opinions and the competence of (at least) the best of those with whom they disagree.”
—Graham Oppy, Professor of Philosophy, Monash University, Australia
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bryan Frances is Associate Professor of Philosophy at United Arab Emirates University, UAE.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: An Agnostic Defends God
Book Subtitle: How Science and Philosophy Support Agnosticism
Authors: Bryan Frances
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73331-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-73330-8Published: 19 May 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-73333-9Published: 20 May 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-73331-5Published: 18 May 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 157
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations