Wisdom's Children

A virtual journal of philosophy, theology, and literature

[ Articles | Essays and Musings | Book Reviews | Meet the Editors ]

Introduction

Welcome to Wisdom's Children. This page is an ongoing collection of original writings on various subjects in philosophy, theology, and literature. Although the editors write from a Christian perspective, the material here is eclectic enough to be of interest to both the Christian and non-Christian. We're interested in everything from Ayn Rand to Jacques Derrida, Chaucer to C.S. Lewis, biblical interpretation to postmodern literary theory.

If you would like to contribute an article or essay to Wisdom's Children, contact the editors below. Articles are longer, more formal treatments of a subject and are generally accompanied by a works cited or bibliography. Essays and Musings are shorter pieces that aim at getting a point across quickly. Although the atmosphere around here is informal, we do ask that writers aim for a scholarly tone--support your ideas with evidence and treat opposing views with respect.

Articles

  • The Kalam Cosmological Argument: A Summary.  The cosmological argument for God's existence is nearly as old as philosophy itself. But this lesser-known Arabic version of the argument has received recent attention from scholars since the 1979 publication of The Kalam Cosmological Argument by philosopher William Lane Craig.

  • The Continuum Argument for Evolution: A Critique.  Responding to the objection that complex organs could not have developed through natural selection, Charles Darwin introduced a rhetorical argument that has taken on such a general character in evolutionary thought that it can be dubbed the Continuum Argument for evolution and stated as follows: "For any organ or biological feature, such that there are extant examples running a gamut from simple to complex, we are justified in positing an evolutionary continuum." Darwin originated the argument, and Richard Dawkins is its most enthusiastic contemporary proponent. Unfortunately, the argument is weak, if not logically fallacious, for several reasons.

  • Derrida and Deconstruction: A Brief Introduction.  Students of philosophy and literature alike are often confounded by the writings of Derrida and the complexity surrounding deconstruction. Although we're no experts on deconstruction, this brief introduction attempts to give readers a foothold on a difficult subject.

  • The Unity of Beowulf: Tolkien and the Critics.  In Fifty Works of Literature We Could do Without the writers sarcastically refer to Beowulf as a work of "English (sic) Literature (sic)," expressing a common attitude towards the work. In fact, until J. R. R. Tolkien's essay "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," critics looked upon it more as an archaeological curiosity than as a work of literature. This article takes a look at post-Tolkien Beowulf criticism and the critical arguments for the work's poetic unity.

  • Rorty, Nagel, and the Platonic Myth.  Richard Rorty is one of the most outspoken contemporary critics of philosophical realism. Rorty refers to the attempt by philosophers from Plato onwards to find a correspondence between the contents of our minds and external reality as the "Platonic myth." Thomas Nagel, on the other hand, is a contemporary proponent of realism; and though he's more skeptical than traditional realists, he nevertheless thinks that it is the task of philosophy "to form a detached idea of the world."

  • Paul's "Contradiction" in 1 Corinthians 1:14-16.  There are those who see in 1 Corinthians 1:14-16 absolute logical proof that the Bible contains a false statement. This article analyzes their argument and explains why logic does not support it.

  • In Defense of the Trinity: A Response to Jehovah's Witnesses.  This plain text file presents and defends the doctrine of the Trinity and responds to common objections made by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, especially those found in Should You Believe in the Trinity?

  • Sankara on the Necessity and Nature of Intelligent Creation.  This paper discusses the concept of intelligent creation as propounded by Sankara (circa 788-820 A.D.). He was the most prominent thinker of the predominant school of Indian philosophy, the non-dualistic Advaitia Vedanta system. Unlike Western philosophy, Indian thought reflects an origin in, and is based on, religious systems, especially with regard to textual exegesis of religious teachings. In this, it most resembles medieval philosophy, but there is no thread of engagement with purely secular philosophizing in Indian thought. The only native system of secular materialism, Carvaka, flourished only for a short time before becoming extinct. Thus, Indian philosophy is generally divided between the astika schools (those who accept the religious authority of the Hindu Scriptures), and the nastika systems, which do not. (the most famous of these to Westerners are Jainism and Buddhism) Advaitia Vedanta is the leading astika system, and thus Sankara's views on intelligent creation form an important part of understanding Indian philosophy of religion.

  • Plantinga, Proper Basicality, and Fideism.  This article discusses and critiques Alvin Plantinga's concept of "proper basicality," which he advances in defense of theism against evidentialist skeptics such as W. K. Clifford. An extensive annotated bibliography is included.

  • Sartre on "Bad Faith".  This article deals with Jean-Paul Sartre's conception of bad faith and its implications for ethics.

    •  Essays and Musings

  • Who Made God and Who Designed the Designer?.  One of the most common objections to the design and cosmological arguments is a simple question: "Who made God?" This short essay explains why the question does not refute theistic arguments.

  • Is Omnipotence Logically Impossible?.  We've all heard it before; if God can do anything, can He create a rock so heavy that even He can't lift it? Frankly, this question isn't very sophisticated, but the editors nevertheless encounter it frequently. In logical detail, this article explains why the infamous rock paradox isn't so paradoxical after all--in fact, it's a rather muddled attempt to disprove the existence of an omnipotent God.

  • "Flour Power".  A response to an article by Yoel Wasserman entitled "An Ephah A Day keeps the Devil Away." Wasserman alleges that Hebrews 9:22 conflicts with Leviticus 5:11. The article was posted on Miami Christian University's Apologetics Mailing List (apologetics-l) and a discussion ensued under the title "Flour Power." I wrote a brief initial response and was critiqued by Wasserman and Farrell Till. I then wrote a more detailed analysis, taking into account their criticisms. Posted here is the longer analysis.

  • The Passion of Pierre Duhem.  One of the most widely believed myths in intellectual history is that modern science emerged from the Enlightenment after a thousand-year period of darkness. Pierre Duhem, one of France's premiere scientists at the turn of the 20th century, wrote a multi-volume commentary refuting this myth. But Duhem's views did not come to be known until the 1950s. This article explains why.

    •  Book Reviews

  • The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology, edited by Faubion Bowers.
  • The Creation Hypothesis, edited by J. P. Moreland.
  • The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan.

    •  Meet the Editors

    Bill Ramey
    billramey@compuserve.com
    billramey@yahoo.com
    bwre9e@mizzou.edu

    Bill is a graduate student in the philosophy department at the University of Missouri. His main interests include ancient philosophy, classical literature, aesthetics, literary criticism, philosophy of religion, and evolutionary theory. For fun, he spends inordinate amounts of time on his computer.

    Ernie Brown
    c501865@showme.missouri.edu

    Ernie is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Missouri. He holds a graduate degree in philosophy and an undergraduate degree in English. His major interests include the philosophy of religion, Objectivism, and film. For fun, he spends inordinate amounts of time arguing with Objectivists on humanities.philosophy.objectivism.

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    "But wisdom is justified by her children." -- Matthew 11:19
    (Page last updated on 11/21/97)