Theism and Explanation - Appeared-to-Blogly

204 Index
Bentham, Jeremy, 113
Berger, Peter L., 168 n.28
best explanation. See inference to the
best explanation.
best possible world, 91–94
biblical prophets See prophets, biblical.
big bang hypothesis, 53, 56–57, 72,
175 nn.85, 87, 178 n.47
Bishop, John, 38, 173 n.26
Book of Mormon. See Mormon, Book
of.
Bosnia-Herzegovina. See Medjugorje.
boson. See Higgs boson.
Boxing Day tsunami. See tsunami, Boxing
Day.
Brauer, Matthew J., 9–11
brute facts, 67, 111, 176 n.107
Buckland, William, 12
C
Calvin, John, 141
Carrier, R. C., 132
Cartesian philosophy, 176 n.20
cathode rays, 34, 172 n.2
causal adequacy, 186 n.2
causal deviance. See intentional explanations:
and causal deviance.
causal overdetermination, 170 n.14
causal preemption, 22–23, 170 n.14
causal thesis. See intentional explanations:
causal thesis.
causation: counterfactual defi nitions
of, 54–55; divine, 53–58; event,
176 n.23; Humean defi nitions of,
53–54, 61–62, 161–64; and independent
specifi cation criterion, 178
n.14; and laws, 53–54, 161; and
mechanism, 52–53; and occasionalism
(see occasionalism); regularity
defi nitions of, 53–54, 61–62,
161–64; singularist defi nitions of,
61–63, 108; ubiquity of divine,
45, 57–58. See also explanations:
causal; intentional explanations:
causal thesis.
causes, primary and secondary, 57,
64–65
chance. See explanations: and chance.
character. See intentional explanations:
and character of the agent.
Cioffi , Frank, 116
Clayton, Philip, 60
Cohen, L. Jonathan, 37, 173 n.26, 186
nn.8, 17, 21
coherence of theism. See theism: coherence
of
Collins, Robin, 23, 79
Colyvan, Mark, 175 n.75
concurrentism, 177 n.28. See also occasionalism.
confi rmation theory: and explanationism,
111–12; and theism, 79, 82,
124, 132; and theory acceptance,
23–26, 105–6, 111–12, 115, 183
n.33. See also justifi cationism.
conservationism, 177 n.28. See also
occasionalism.
consilience, dynamic, 183 n.26
context: of discovery, 10; of justifi cation,
10
Cornman, James. 171 n.44
corroboration: heuristic account of,
121; historical account of, 121–22;
and Nicod’s criterion, 121
cosmological argument, 45–46, 173 n.41
Couvalis, George, 185 n.91
Craig, William Lane, 72, 178 n.47
creation story, 89–90, 139–40
creationism, 8, 12, 16, 89–90. See also
intelligent design theory.
credulity, principle of. See principle of
credulity.
Cupitt, Don, 36.
D
Danto, Arthur C., 188 n.61
Dark Sucker Theory, 126–27, 183 n.38
Darwin, Charles: objections to theistic
explanations, 13–14, 88, 169
n.71; on the origin of species, 1,
11, 26–27, 180 n.15; and suboptimality
arguments, 86; on the vera
causa doctrine, 127
Davidson, Donald: belief-desire thesis
of, 149–51; causal thesis of, 51,
148–49, 186 n.6; on differing
reasons for action, 187 n.40; on
explanations and laws, 62, 162–
64, 188 n.63; on intentions, 186
nn.17, 18; on principle of charity,
152; on pro attitudes, 46, 149; on
weakness of will, 158
Davis, Lawrence D., 186 n.8
Dawkins, Richard, 14, 16, 58
deduction. See explanations: deductivist
view of
de facto objections. See theistic explanations:
de facto objections to