The Axiological Status Of Theism And Other Worldviews

Acknowledgments......Page 7
 Praise for The Axiological Status of Theism and Other Worldviews......Page 9
 Introduction......Page 11
 Contents......Page 15
Part I Setting the Stage......Page 17
1 Introduction......Page 18
2.1 Which God?......Page 20
2.2 Objective Judgments: Worlds......Page 21
3 What Are the Possible Answers to the Axiological Questions?......Page 22
4 The Counterpossible Worry: Is the Axiological Question Intelligible?......Page 23
4.2 We Can Assign a Value to a Metaphysical Impossibility......Page 25
4.3 We Should Deny God’s Necessity......Page 26
4.5 Cognitive Decoupling......Page 27
4.6.1 Mugg and Kahane on the Epistemic Solution......Page 29
4.6.2 Epistemically Possible Worlds......Page 31
5 Ethical Disagreement......Page 32
5.1 Disagreement About Value......Page 33
5.2 Incommensurability......Page 34
5.3 Intersubjective Agreement......Page 36
6 The Research Ethics of the Axiological Question......Page 38
7 Conclusion......Page 41
Bibliography......Page 42
1 Introduction......Page 45
2 What Is the Meaningful Life Argument?......Page 46
3 What Is a Meaningful Life?......Page 50
3.1.1 The Meaning of Life Is Nonsensical......Page 51
3.1.2 Purposive Theories......Page 52
3.1.3 Transcendent Theories......Page 53
3.1.4 Apt Emotions......Page 54
3.1.5 Metz’s Family Resemblance......Page 55
3.2.1 God-Centered Purpose Theory......Page 56
3.3 Meaning and Naturalism......Page 57
3.3.2 Metz’s Objective Naturalism......Page 58
3.4 Disagreement Over Meaning and the Meaningful Life......Page 60
3.5 Neutrality and Meaningful Life Argument......Page 61
4 Separating Advantages and Disadvantages from Meaning......Page 62
5 Conclusion......Page 63
Bibliography......Page 64
Part II Arguments for Anti-Theism......Page 66
1 Introduction......Page 67
2.1 Restricted Access Accounts......Page 69
3 What Is the Content of Privacy?......Page 70
3.1 Intimate Decisions......Page 71
3.2.2 Non-informational Access......Page 72
4.1 Consequentialist Accounts......Page 73
4.3 Virtue Approaches......Page 74
4.5 Privacy Promotes Flourishing......Page 75
5 Reductionism About Privacy......Page 76
6 The Good News About Disagreement over Privacy......Page 79
6.1 Disagreement over Definition......Page 80
6.3 Disagreement over Value......Page 81
7 My Preferred Understanding: Physical and Mental Privacy......Page 82
8 Omnisubjectivity: God and Privacy......Page 83
9.1 The Privacy Argument for Narrow Personal Anti-Theism......Page 87
9.2 All Else Being Equal and the Privacy Argument for Narrow Personal Anti-Theism......Page 89
9.3 The Privacy Argument for Wide Personal Anti-Theism......Page 90
9.4 The Problem of Perfect Voyeurism......Page 96
9.5.1 The Great Good of an Eternal Life......Page 101
9.5.2 Motivated Submaximization as Justifying Meaning over Eternal Life......Page 103
9.5.3 Immortality Is Bad......Page 107
9.6 The Privacy Argument for All-Persons......Page 110
10.1 You Need to Offer an Account of Value......Page 112
10.2 Privacy Is Extrinsically Valuable, Not Intrinsically Valuable......Page 113
10.3 Atheistic Goods Can Be Experienced in a Theistic World......Page 114
10.4 We Don’t Have Complete Privacy on Atheism Either......Page 116
10.5 Omnisubjectivity Is False......Page 118
Bibliography......Page 119
1 Introduction......Page 123
2 The Autonomy Argument for Anti-Theism......Page 124
2.1 The Autonomy Argument for Narrow Personal Anti-Theism......Page 125
2.2 Motivating Premise (1)......Page 126
2.3 Kahane on Premise (1)......Page 127
2.4 Rejecting Premise (1)......Page 129
3 The Autonomy Argument and Transhumanism......Page 131
4.1 The Dignity Argument for Narrow Personal Anti-Theism......Page 133
4.3 The Necessarily Created for God’s Purpose’s Argument......Page 134
4.3.1 Defense of (14)......Page 135
4.4 Defense of (13): The Creation Principle......Page 137
5 The Dignity Argument for Wide Personal Anti-Theism......Page 138
5.1 Dignity and Meaning......Page 139
5.2 Meaning, Dignity, and Submaximization......Page 140
5.3 Dignity and Overall Value Judgements......Page 141
5.4 Dignity or Theism?......Page 142
6 The Existence-Based Argument for Anti-Theism......Page 147
7 Conclusion......Page 151
Bibliography......Page 152
1 Introduction......Page 154
2.1 The Sacrifice Argument for Narrow Personal Anti-Theism......Page 155
2.2 Defending Premise (1)......Page 156
2.3 An Initial Objection: Isn’t NG Theism Good?......Page 158
2.4 The Sacrifice Argument for Wide Personal Anti-Theism......Page 160
2.5 The Sacrifice Argument for Wide Impersonal Anti-Theism......Page 163
2.6 The Sacrifice Argument for Wide All-Persons Anti-Theism......Page 164
3.1 What Is Complete Understanding?......Page 165
3.2 The Complete Understanding Argument for Narrow Personal Anti-Theism......Page 167
3.2.1 Defending Premise (8)......Page 168
3.3 The Complete Understanding Argument for Wide Personal Anti-Theism......Page 171
3.4 The Complete Understanding Argument for Wide All-Persons Anti-Theism......Page 172
Bibliography......Page 173
1 Introduction......Page 175
2 What Is Salvation?......Page 176
3 Which Worlds?......Page 177
4 The Salvation Argument for Anti-Christianity......Page 185
5 The Superiority of Atheistic Worlds......Page 187
6 Kahane’s Argument for Superior Atheist Worlds......Page 189
7 Defense of Premise (15) or Theistic Goods Without Theism......Page 190
7.1 Cosmic Justice......Page 191
7.2 Afterlife......Page 192
7.4 No Gratuitous Evil......Page 193
7.6 Salvation......Page 195
8 Conclusion......Page 196
Bibliography......Page 198
Part III Beyond Monotheism......Page 200
1 Introduction......Page 201
2.1 Deep Time......Page 203
2.2 Evolutionary Religious Scepticism......Page 205
2.3 Ultimism......Page 207
2.4 Inquiry and Risk-Taking Behaviour......Page 209
3.1 The Meaningful Life Argument......Page 211
3.2 The Privacy Argument......Page 212
3.4 The Dignity Argument......Page 213
3.5 The Sacrifice Argument......Page 215
3.7 Ultimism and the Anti-Theistic Arguments......Page 216
4 The Problem-Solving Argument......Page 217
5 Ultimism and Pro-Theism......Page 221
5.1 No Gratuitous Evil......Page 222
5.2 Afterlife......Page 223
6 Conclusion......Page 224
Bibliography......Page 225
1 Introduction......Page 227
2 What Is Pantheism?......Page 228
3 Problems with the Current Categories of Judgments......Page 230
4.2 The Privacy Argument and Pantheism......Page 234
4.3 The Autonomy Argument and Pantheism......Page 235
4.4 The Dignity Argument and Pantheism......Page 237
4.5 The Sacrifice Argument and Pantheism......Page 238
5 Pro-Ultimism and Pantheism......Page 240
6.2 Afterlife......Page 241
7 The Inconsistent with Reality Argument for Anti-Pantheism......Page 242
8 Conclusion......Page 247
Bibliography......Page 248
1 Introduction......Page 250
2.1 The Four Noble Truths......Page 251
3 The Non-self......Page 252
4 Karma......Page 253
5 Buddhism’s Compatibility with Current Axiological Judgments......Page 254
6.1.1 No Gratuitous Evil......Page 256
6.1.3 Cosmic Justice......Page 258
6.2.1 Violation of Privacy......Page 259
6.2.2 No (Complete) Understanding......Page 260
7 Objections......Page 261
7.2 You Wrongly Apply Western Categories to an Eastern Tradition......Page 262
8 Conclusion......Page 263
Bibliography......Page 264
1 Introduction......Page 266
2 Governance and Naturalism......Page 267
3 The Authority Argument for Anti-Theism......Page 269
4 Democracy Is Superior to Autocracy and Oligarchy......Page 270
5 Representative Governance and Naturalism......Page 275
6 Governance, Naturalism, and Mystery......Page 277
7 Conclusion......Page 279
Bibliography......Page 280
Conclusion......Page 281
 Index......Page 283