David Efird

Combinatorialism and the possibility of nothing

We argue that Armstrongs Combinatorialism allows for the possibility of nothing by giving a Combinatorial account of the empty world and show that such an account is consistent with the ontological and conceptual aims of the theory. We then suggest that the Combinatorialist should allow for this possibility given some methodological considerations. Consequently, rather than being ‘spoils for the victor’, as Armstrong maintains, deciding whether there might have been nothing helps to determine which metaphysics of modality is to be preferred.

Experiencing Christian art

In this article, we argue that a secularist cannot experience Christian art in the same way that a Christian can. To defend this claim, we argue that Christian faith is best conceived as an engagement with God, such that coming to have faith is a transformative, second-person experience where a person comes to know what it is like to be loved by God and that Christian art is best conceived as iconic, such that it is an occasion for, and a mode of, experiencing God. Thus, for the Christian, but not for the secularist, experiencing Christian art consists in an experience of God himself.

Polarized Yet Warranted Christian Belief

Does the world and our experience of it constitute evidence for God’s existence, or does it constitute evidence against his existence? This question has inspired seemingly endless debate with no rational resolution in sight. To cite some classic contemporary exponents of either side of the debate, on one side, Swinburne (1991a) argues that a variety of aspects of the world and our experience of it constitutes evidence for God’s existence, an argument he summarizes thusly: Why believe that there is a God at all? My answer is that to suppose that there is a God explains why there is a world at all; why there are the scientific laws there are; why animals and then human beings have evolved; why humans have the opportunity to mould their characters and those of their fellow humans for good or ill and to change the environment in which we live; why we have the well-authenticated account of Christ’s life, death and resurrection; why throughout the centuries men have had the apparent experience of being in touch with and guided by God; and so much else. In fact, the hypothesis of the existence of God makes sense of the whole of our experience, and it does so better than any other explanation which can be put forward, and that is the grounds for believing it to be true. (1991b)