Religion in a World of Science

In connection with the Killeen series theme, “Science and Religion” Dr. Gutting will elaborate a philosophically grounded rationale for maintaining religious belief in a world of science. His talk, “Religion in a World of Science” will scrutinize the basic claim—that science leaves no rational room for belief in God—made by Richard Dawkins and the “New Atheists.” He argues that their accusation that theism lacks evidence misunderstands the significance of philosophical arguments for God’s existence. He will offer a way forward by providing theists with a strategy against two arguments commonly deployed by atheists: the argument from evil and the evolutionary argument. Dr. Gutting will also examine reasons religious philosophers give for their personal belief, and will conclude that there can be good reasons to accept a religion as both a way of living and a way of understanding the world, even if we cannot have a basis for believing that God actually exists as a power that affects what happens in the world

A House Divided: Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy

Should philosophy make things simpler or more complex? Should it describe the muddle of human emotions or simply give us the language to analyze them? The answers to these questions not only tell us what we can know, but also aligns us with of two very controversial philosophy camps. Join WHY? as we discuss one of philosophy’s deepest and most divisive controversies: the battle between the “continentals” and the “analytics.” Gary Gutting holds the Notre Dame Chair in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He writes for both general and specialized audiences. His more recent work includes pieces in the New York Times philosophy blog “The Stone” and the books Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (2005) and French Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (2001).https://commons.und.edu/why-radio-archive/1102/thumbnail.jp