Tag Archives: analytic philosophy

Review: Plantinga, Warrant and Proper Function

Posted on May 12, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Plantinga begins by examining the Gettier-type problems that internalist accounts of knowledge face. Having shown these difficulties, Plantinga is now able to set the stage for his externalist approach to warrant. This he does by explaining our design function: Any well formed … Continue reading →

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Plantinga: God and Other Minds

Posted on May 12, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

And so begins Plantinga’s project. Plantinga evaluates the issue of whether we are rationally *justified* in believing in God. In doing so, he considers the natural theologian’s arsenal, the atheologian’s response, and whether belief in God can be salvaged from … Continue reading →

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Review: Logic-A God Centered Approach (Poythress)

Posted on April 17, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

This isn’t a logic textbook, yet it isn’t quite a worldview approach to logic.  It is something of both, yet completely neither.  I still liked it, though. He begins with a theological “grounding” of logic, which amounts to a summary … 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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Definition of Essence

Posted on November 1, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

Some notes from Jay Richards’ Untamed God. The definition of essence is a set of properties that an entity exemplifies (64). A property is some fact or truth about an entity in the world.  In our usage we want to say … 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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Which Trinity? Robert Jenson

Posted on March 27, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

Continuing McCall’s work.  Here is a retraction on my part.  A few years ago I praised Robert Jenson’s Systematic Theology.  Indeed, there are some fine essays in there.  I must retract, however, the section on the doctrine of God. Robert … 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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Heretics, Continentals, and Analytics

Posted on May 15, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Cyril O’Regan said every hereseology implies a genealogy (“Balthasar’s Gnostic Genealogy”).   This means evaluating heresies often implies a story of where and how the knowledge went wrong. This is precisely what Continental Philosophy specializes in. This is precisely what … Continue reading →

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