The following excerpt from
Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
by William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland (p.88) is a helpful explanation of defeaters for beliefs:
"One factor that affects whether and to what degree a belief is justified is the presence of
defeaters for that belief. Suppose Smith has a blief that
Q (e.g., that a statue is blue), and suppose that
R (e.g., the way the statue looks to him) is a reason or ground Smith has for holding to
Q. A defeater removes or weakens justification for a belief.
There are at least two kinds of defeaters. First, there are
rebutting defeaters, which directly attack the conclusion or thing being believed. In the case above, a rebutting defeater would be a reason to believe
not-Q, i.e., a reason to believe that the statue is not blue. An example would be a case where the museum director and a number of reliable, honest people assure you that the statue is grey.
Second, there are
undercutting defeaters. These defeaters do not directly attack the thing believed (by trying to show that it is false), but rather they attack the notion that
R is a good reason for
Q. Undercutting defeaters do not attack
Q directly; they attack
R and in some way undercut
R as a good reason for
Q. In the example above, an undercutting defeater would be evidence that there is blue lighting around the statue that makes everything in that room look blue to people.
In the example, the undercutting defeater removes one's reason for thinking that the statue is blue and the rebutting defeater gives one reason for thinking that the statue is not-blue. In different ways, defeaters can remove the justification for a belief."
The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
is Alister McGrath’s 2004 book tracing the history of atheism from eighteenth-century Europe to present. In Part One: The High Noon of Atheism, McGrath outlines significant historical points in the history of atheism, the primary historical figures and personalities, and key cultural movements. Part Two: Twilight, McGrath offers his own personal narrative, reflections on atheism and social change, and what he sees as the fading appeal (at least, at the time of his writing) of atheism in general. McGrath’s style is engaging and readable, which makes this book an easy, interesting read. This review will highlight some notable points by McGrath.
. Dennett presents his views (based on his book 
) explaining religion as a natural phenomenon, pointing to memes as a primary explanation. McGrath offers his critiques of Dennett's book and meme theory.
Quest of the Historical Jesus: The nineteenth-century movement that sought to separate and distinguish the man Jesus of Nazareth from the Christ of faith as proclaimed by the church. The proponents of this quest concluded that the "historical" (non-supernatural) Jesus never made any messianic claim, never predicted his death or resurrection and never instituted the sacraments now followed by the church. Instead the biblical stories that assign these acts to Jesus are nonhistorical "myths" that, together with certain philosophical and theological claims set forth in the NT documents, were projected onto him by his disciples, the Gospel writers and the early church. The true historical Jesus, in contrast, preached a simple, largely ethical message as capsulized in the dictum of the "fatherhood of God" and the "brotherhood of humankind."
by Peter Lipton is a 200-page philosophy text dealing with the process of how we come to conclusions from the evidence available to us. The book is technical, yet readable. The first three chapters provide an initial survey of the problems of induction and explanation. The middle section explores inference to the best explanation, methods of induction, and compares other models of explanation. The final section deals with some problems and common objections to the inference to the best explanation (IBE) model. This review will provide a general overview of some of the key ideas presented in the text.
(p.156-161), discuss the topic of agreeing or disagreeing with an author. There is one particular section that stands out for those who are seeking to become good critical readers, as well as good critical thinkers. The authors mention, "four ways in which a book can be adversely criticized." And their hope is that, "if a reader confines himself to making these points, he will be less likely to indulge in expressions of emotion or prejudice." These four points apply beyond just reading.
, advice to Christian apologists, and more.
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by J.J.C. Smart and J.J. Haldane is part of the Great Debates in Philosophy Series by Blackwell Publishing. Now in its second edition, this book is an exchange between theistic philosopher J.J. Haldane and atheistic philosopher J.J.C. Smart. This brief synopsis will outline the general content and the angles presented by the authors.
