David O'Connor's Philosophy of Religion Primer

David O'Connor (Seton Hall) has a new(ish) introductory text out on philosophy of religion: God, Evil, and Design.

I was intrigued by this description of the book's approach:

Starting out with no pre-disposition to theism, atheism, or agnosticism, God, Evil, and Design takes up these questions in order to see where an impartial investigation leads. To achieve impartiality, the reader is invited to simulate ignorance insofar as his or her own religious preference is concerned. With this approach, God, Evil, and Design provides both a fresh look at important and controversial issues in philosophy and an excellent introduction to the contemporary debates surrounding them. Lively and non-technical, this book will be accessible to anyone with an interest in these topics.

And while blurbs should of course be taken with very many grains of salt, I was again intrigued by this portion of the blurb from my favorite philosopher of religion:

"For those tired of theistic or atheistic apologetics masquerading as philosophy of religion, this book is highly recommended.”
-Paul Draper, Purdue University

I'm thinking of ordering a copy to use as a secondary text for introductory philosophy of religion courses. Has anyone used it in their classes? Or at least: has anyone read it? If so, I'd by happy to hear your comments!

Btw: O'Connor's Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Hume on Religion is a very helpful companion volume for Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, both inside the class and out.

4 comments:

Anthony said...

Just wanted to let you know that I sent you an email to your gmail account re: the O'Connor book.

exapologist said...

Thanks, Anthony!

Wes said...

Let me know what you think of the book when you've had a chance to look it over.

exapologist said...

You bet, Wes.

Ricki Bliss's Cambridge Element on Grounding, Fundamentality, and Ultimate Explanations

 ...is now out , and available for free download for a limited time. Required reading.