Religious Epistemology of Plantinga - Religious Studies Research Library

Author: Liang Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: This book focuses on the religious epistemology of Alvin Plantinga, one of the most famous Christian philosophers of the 20th century. The main text of the book is divided into five parts: I. Introduction, II. Critique, III. Construction, IV. Response, V. Evaluation. In the introduction, it reviews the overall situation of domestic and international research on Plantinga's epistemology, pointing out that domestic research in this field is still in its infancy, and briefly introduces the significance, approach, and framework of this book's research. In the critique section, it primarily discusses Plantinga's analysis and critique of the traditional epistemology centered around the paradigm of "confirmation." In the construction section, it focuses on elaborating Plantinga's religious epistemology centered around the concept of "warrant." He argues for the four necessary conditions that constitute warrant, namely "proper function," "design plan," "cognitive environment," and "orientation toward truth." In the response section, it emphasizes analyzing Plantinga's responses to the criticisms from various contemporary epistemological schools. In the evaluation section, it comprehensively examines and analyzes the main contributions and shortcomings of Plantinga's religious epistemology from the perspectives of his intellectual evolution, theoretical origins, fundamental approach, key features, and personal limitations.