Dialogues about God (New Dialogues in Philosophy) by Charles Taliaferro (PDF)

Description

One in the series New Dialogues in Philosophy, edited by Dale Jacquette, Charles Taliaferro, a leading philosopher of religion, presents several fictional dialogues among characters with contrasting views on the existence of God. The views express the many standard positions: theism, atheism, skepticism, and other nuanced arguments about the nature of God. In a series of five inspired, original debates, Taliaferro taps into several famous exchanges, including those among Antony Flew, Basil Mitchell and R. M. Hare; between Frederick Copleston and Bertrand Russell; and between Copleston and A. J. Ayer. The book includes a set of observations about the nature and conduct of debate: providing charitable interpretations of opposing sides and allowing interlocutors time to develop their points.Series Editor: Professor Dale Jacquette, Senior Professorial Chair in Theoretical Philosophy, University of Bern, Switzerland

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I teach 100/200 level philosophy courses and, as I’m sure most other professors will agree, students seem to engage more by writing that is done in a dialogue style format. (My guess is that this is typically because the material is explained in a more succinct and direct manner. I stress “typically” as some will likely say Plato is neither succinct no direct.) Nonetheless, I find that I have a much easier time getting students to engage with the dialogues over straight-forward prose. That said I was delighted to see this new series of books (yes there are others!) dedicated to presenting contemporary philosophical material via the dialogue and Mr. Taliaferro’s book is a helpful introduction to those interested in philosophy of religion.First a few points why I think this book is great for the philosophy professor/student and then a short review. (If you don’t care about the teaching aspects feel free to skip the following points.)1) The book will introduce a wide-variety of topics that the professor could expound upon. This includes topics in philosophy of mind, ethics, epistemology, etc. (Basically, most areas of philosophy.) However, don’t be concerned that the material is too esoteric and requires a broad knowledge of philosophy. I find that the discussion is pitched at a level of a underclassmen just fine and any moderately diligent student will be able to understand the main lines of argument.2) By introducing various topics within the discussion about god some context is given and this is invaluable for the new student. Often I find that in reading an intro text the students simply don’t know what to do with the information. Hopefully, I provide that in class, but in this case they are given some context from the outset which is great.3) In reading the dialogue format students have the opportunity to see what philosophical thinking is like and how one should go about a philosophical discussion. I think Mr. Taliaferro does an excellent job of making the characters charitable, consistent and yet hold firm to their own positions when they opposing argument simply isn’t convincing.I think one could assign this book to an intro class and teach only this book the entire semester with having plenty to discuss that includes a wide variety of topics from various disciplines.On to the book. It’s very solid. The progression of the characters and their discussion is clear and easy to follow. Although, at times some of the discussion gets a bit wordy, but in a way this is more forgivable given the format than if it was prose. The discussion begins with questioning whether “god” is even a coherent idea and if the idea of god conflicts with science. From there the characters move on to the attributes of god and continue to progress through all the major areas of philosophy of religion (arguments for/against god, miracles, religious experience, etc.). As I mentioned above I found the book to be clear and easy to follow, but slightly wordy at times. Importantly, I think the author does an excellent job of presenting both sides of a heated topic. (Another point that should be helpful for the intro professor.) Also, no one religion seems to be at the forefront and the “pro-theist” characters are very adamant about their respect for different religions.In all it is a fun book, nothing new for those familiar with the subject, but it ought to be interesting and helpful for those who are not. Cheers!

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