Bill Pratt | June 5, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt I exist. I cannot deny that I exist without first existing. In addition, I seem to be a single, enduring self who has existed throughout my entire life. My past memories belong to my same identical self. I fully expect my same identical self to exist tomorrow and next week, assuming I [...]
Bill Pratt | June 3, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that the physical universe exists. I think we can safely ignore anyone who believes that the universe is just an illusion or that we are in the “matrix.” But if the universe exists, what explains it? Why does it [...]
Bill Pratt | May 1, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt Some Christians have a negative view of philosophy, mostly, I think, because they don’t understand what it is and they see it being wielded against their most cherished beliefs. However, philosophy, properly understood, is not an enemy of biblical authority, but a great support. Philosophy has been called by one Christian philosopher “the [...]
Bill Pratt | April 17, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt Moral skeptics frequently argue that evolution has tricked us into thinking that our moral judgments are based on mind-independent moral facts. Even though it seems like our moral judgments are examples of authentic reasoning, they are not. Joshua Greene is a typical voice of moral skepticism: Moral judgment is, for the most [...]
Bill Pratt | March 27, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt We live in an era where science and reason are highly valued, but at the same time many intellectuals doubt the existence of anything but matter and energy. Philosophers, such as Thomas Nagel, have pointed out the built-in contradiction of the worldview that says only physical matter exists, and that reason [...]
Bill Pratt | March 25, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt If you claim to know anything that you haven’t personally experienced or seen with your own eyes, then you exercise faith. Faith, a concept badly misunderstood by so many people, is the primary way that we know most things about the world. If you were to say, “I will stop claiming [...]
Bill Pratt | February 4, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt One of the teachings of Mormonism is that God the Father is only one among a multitude of gods. While God the Father is creator and ruler of our world, there are other worlds where other Gods are creators, worlds with which our God the Father has nothing to do. In [...]
Bill Pratt | February 1, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt Those who identify “good science” with the current mainstream practitioners of institutional science seem to think so. Professor of biology Austin L. Hughes, however, sees serious problems with the adulation of scientists in his essay, “The Folly of Scientism.” Hughes points to the core issue with this line of thinking: The fundamental problem [...]
Bill Pratt | January 30, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt Frustrated by an inability to rule out certain “unscientific” ideas (e.g., intelligent design) by using epistemological criteria, some scientists and philosophers simply make the claim that science is what scientists do. Or put another way, science is defined by the institutions that practice science. Professor of biology Austin L. Hughes, however, believes [...]
Bill Pratt | January 16, 2013
Post Author: Bill Pratt I know this seems like a ridiculous question to normal people, but this is actually a very live and contentious debate among the professors teaching your children at the university. So you need to pay attention to these debates, lest your college expenditures be flushed down the drain! The classical Christian [...]
