Tag Archives: alvin plantinga

Review: Plantinga, Nature of Necessity

Posted on April 14, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

The most difficult yet most important book (outside of Bible) I have read. Somebody described this book perfectly: “I felt like I was up against a Level 97 Boss and I was only Level 70.” Plantinga begins his survey of modal … Continue reading →

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Quick Primer on Analytic Philosophy

Posted on April 11, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Before the 1970s analytic philosophy hadn’t yet escaped from logical positivism.  But even Ayers saw through that.  Now analytic philosophy has been liberated.  Here are some mandatory texts: Wittgenstein, Ludwig.  Tractatus.  My favorite, even if he is utterly wrong.  He corrected … Continue reading →

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Review: Thinking in Tongues

Posted on March 5, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

This is from James KA Smith’s earlier days, before he became NPR’s token Christian thinker.  This book is actually good, which pains me to say.  Smith seems unbalanced in many ways since writing this book.  I think it is Trumpphobia … Continue reading →

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Harassing the Hobgoblins: Intro to Analytic Theology

Posted on April 9, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

I am not an expert in analytic theology, and I have been critical of analytic philosophy in the past.  Nonetheless, it can be useful in clarifying concepts.  One problem is that people jump into the deeper waters, reading countless computer … Continue reading →

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Review of Dennison on Van Til

Posted on September 28, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Dennison, William.  In Defense of the Eschaton.  Wipf and Stock, 2015. This is a collection of essays dealing with Van Til and Education, with a few other themes thrown in.   Some essays are quite good, particularly the one on … Continue reading →

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Van til and analytic philosophy

Posted on September 26, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

This is from the first chapter of William Dennison’s In Defense of the Eschaton. Dennison’s first chapter places Van Til (hereafter CVT) within the context of Continental vs. Analytic philosophy and it begins on a promising note.  Few of CVT’s disciples … Continue reading →

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Calming down on Neo-Calvinism, to all

Posted on September 23, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

The evangelical/Calvinist resurgence in American life is properly termed “New Calvinism.”  The Dutch intellectual tradition from 1880 to sort of today is Neo-Calvinism.  Admittedly, new and “neo” are the same thing, but they are applied differently at different times in history. So, … Continue reading →

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Internalism/Externalism notes

Posted on April 4, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Some notes on internalism and externalism I made a bad mistake and tried to discuss philosophy with some Christian Reconstructionists.  I couldn’t get them to move beyond sloganeering and cliches.   While this post will do nothing to help them, … Continue reading →

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Possible Worlds Semantics

Posted on March 30, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Loux gives a great discussion on the topic of “possible worlds.”  This might seem irrelevant and arcane, but it is a powerful tool that helps us in discussions on the problem of evil, ontological argument, God’s foreknowledge, and human nature. … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Metaphysics

Posted on February 14, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

To wax hippie and postmodern for a moment, this is a “journey” of a post, more than a philosophical one.  Every year I go back and forth between analytic philosophy and continental philosophy.  This seems to correlate with my reading … Continue reading →

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