The philosophy of miracles / David Corner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Corner, David.

Series:

Continuum studies in philosophy.

Continuum studies in philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Miracles.

Philosophical theology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (175 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Philosophers who wish to argue for the rationality of belief in God frequently employ a 'god-of-the-gaps' strategy. This strategy consists in trying to find a phenomenon that cannot be explained by natural science, and insisting that it can be explained only by reference to the activity of God. Philosophical discussion of miracles usually revolves around the attempt to link a miracle to God in just this way. One of the problems with this approach is that it is very difficult to identify anything as being forever beyond the power of science to explain. Science continues to advance upon the terr

Contents:

Introduction

Conceptions of the miraculous

Supernaturalistic conceptions of the miraculous

Teleology and the miraculous

Contextual criteria for the miraculous

Miracles and the laws of nature

The logical impossibility of a violation

Violations as nonrepeatable counterinstances to natural law

Objection #1: nonrepeatable counterinstances as falsifying a law

Objection #2: identifying nonrepeatable counterinstances

Objection #3: counterinstance as anomaly

A supernaturalistic conception of natural law

Identifying supernatural intrusions : an objection

The concept of supernatural cause as empty

A supernaturalistic response

Miracles and causes

What is a supernatural cause?

Nature as causally open

Trans-domain laws

Dualism and the supernatural

Supernatural explanation

Nowell-Smith and predictive expansion

Do explanations always rely on laws?

Paul Dietl's response to Nowell-Smith's challenge

Analysis of Dietl's response

Problems with Dietl's response

Divine agency in religious practice

Miracle as basic action

Must 'miracle' be conceived teleologically?

Divine agency without supernatural causation

Miracles and interaction

Miracles and natural causes

Miracle, mystery, and the God-of-the-gaps

Miracle and divine agency

The world as God's body

Basic mental acts

Psychokinesis as basic act

Non-basic divine agency

Divine agency and non-determined processes

The causal joint

Locating divine basic actions : how far down should we go?

Divine manipulation of microprocesses : an alternative

Arguments for divine basic actions at the macro level

Quantum gaps and special divine agency

A context for miracles

Thankability and the miraculous

Thankability and the subjective : an objection

Due thankability

Due thankability and apologetic

Miracle, coincidence, and counterfactual

Counterfactuals and basic actions.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-12255-3

9786613122551

1-4411-3130-2

OCLC:

727649538