Pascal's wager : pragmatic arguments and belief in God / Jeff Jordan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jordan, Jeff, 1959-2025, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pascal, Blaise, 1623-1662. Pensées.

Pascal, Blaise.

James, William, 1842-1910.

James, William.

Faith and reason--Christianity.

Faith and reason.

Philosophical theology.

Pragmatism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 227 pages) : illustrations

Other Title:

Pragmatic arguments and belief in God

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

What if there is no strong evidence that God exists? Is belief in God when faced with a lack of evidence illegitimate and improper? Evidentialism answers yes. According to Evidentialism, it is impermissible to believe any proposition lacking adequate evidence. And, if any thesis enjoys the status of a dogma among philosophers, it is Evidentialism. Presenting a direct challenge to Evidentialism are pragmatic arguments for theism, which are designed to support belief in the absence of adequate evidence. Pascal's Wager is the most prominent theistic pragmatic argument, and issues in epistemology, the ethics of belief, and decision theory, as well as philosophical theology, all intersect at the Wager. This book explores various theistic pragmatic arguments and the objections employed against them.

Contents:

Contents; Abbreviations; Introduction: The Castaway's Fire; 1. A Preview; 2. Excursus I: A Note on the Pensées Text; 1. Pascal's Wager; 2. The Ethics of Belief; 3. An Embarrassment of Riches?; 4. The Problem of Infinite Utilities; 5. Showstoppers?; 6. God, Hope, and Evidence; 7. Pragmatic Arguments and Belief in God; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [212]-221) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-280-84415-9

9786610844159

0-19-153757-8

1-4356-2410-6

OCLC:

191827046