Molinism: The Contemporary Debate

by Ken Perszyk

Overview

Molinism, named after the sixteenth-century Spanish Jesuit Luis de Molina, re-emerged in the 1970s after it was unwittingly assumed in versions of Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense against the Logical Argument from Evil. The Molinist notion of middle knowledge—and especially its main objects, so-called counterfactuals of (creaturely) freedom—have been the subject of vigorous debate in analytical philosophy of religion ever since. Is middle knowledge logically coherent? Is it a benefit or a liability overall for a satisfying account of divine providence? The essays in this collection examine the status, defensibility, and application of Molinism. Friends and foes of Molinism are well represented, and there are some lively exchanges between them. The collection provides a snap-shot of the current state of the Molinism Wars, along with some discussion of where we've been and where we might go in the future. More battles surely lie ahead; the essays and ideas in this collection are likely to have a major impact on future directions. The essays are specially written by a line-up of established and respected philosophers of religion, metaphysicians, and logicians. There is a substantive Introduction and an extensive Bibliography to assist both students and professionals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199590629
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/20/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	330
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ken Perszyk is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Head of the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. His primary research interests are in philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He has published articles on a range of areas, including Molinism, the Argument from Evil, the metaphysics of modality, the history of early analytical philosophy and Wittgenstein. He is the author of Nonexistent Objects: Meinong and Contemporary Philosophy (1993).

Table of Contents

Introduction, Ken Perszyk
1. The (Non-)Existence of Molinist Counterfactuals, William Hasker
2. Whence and Whither the Molinist Debate: A Reply to Hasker, Thomas P. Flint
3. Truth and Molinism, Trenton Merricks
4. Trenton Merricks on Some Anti-Molinist Arguments, William Hasker
5. Pro Haskeris Contradictio, Dean Zimmerman
6. Replies to Hasker and Zimmerman, Trenton Merricks
7. Molinist Conditionals, Edwin Mares and Ken Perszyk
8. Tilting at Molinism, Edward Wierenga
9. A Precis of 'Yet Another Anti-Molinist Argument', Dean Zimmerman
10. Yet Another Failed Anti-Molinist Argument, William Lane Craig
11. An Anti-Molinist Replies, Dean Zimmerman
12. Molinism and Incarnation, Thomas P. Flint
13. Putting Molinism In Its Place, John Martin Fischer
14. Molinism and the Thin Red Line, Greg Restall
15. The Free Will Defense, Hugh J. McCann
16. Theological Determinism and Divine Providence, Derk Pereboom
17. An Open Theist Theodicy of Natural Evil, William Hasker
Bibliography: Recent Work on Molinism, Ken Perszyk

Editorial Reviews

"This volume is, by any reasonable standard, a superb collection of papers.... In short, the collection is required reading for anyone working on Molinism in the future and can also be used effectively to gain a perspective on Molinism itself and the debates surrounding it of the last thirty years or so."—Ken Perszyk, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"Ken Perszyk not only provides interesting historical background; he restates the distinction between the theory of middle knowledge, its perspicuous statement, and the discussion of resources that may be called upon to overcoming objections to its deployment, on the one hand, and also its application to grace, predestination and free will, and other theological areas."—Themelios

From the Publisher