Knowra Alvin Plantinga Alvin Plantinga Alvin Plantinga is an American analytic philosopher whose work on modal metaphysics, epistemology, and the rationality of religious belief has shaped contemporary philosophy of religion.
Modal logic : A family of formal systems that represent necessity, possibility, and related modalities. Plantinga uses possible-world semantics to formulate arguments about God and necessary existence.
Ontological argument : An argument for God’s existence that derives the conclusion from claims about the concept or nature of God. Plantinga gives a modal version based on the possibility of a maximally great being.
Nicholas Wolterstorff : An American philosopher known for work in epistemology, aesthetics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Wolterstorff shared Plantinga’s project of defending Christian philosophy and collaborated with him at Notre Dame.
Reformed epistemology : An approach holding that belief in God can be rational without being inferred from arguments or evidence. Plantinga is its best-known contemporary defender and helped establish its philosophical form.
Possible world : A complete way reality could have been, used in modal logic and metaphysics. Possible worlds provide the framework for Plantinga’s modal arguments.
Maximal greatness : The property of being maximally excellent in every possible world. Plantinga uses this definition to connect possible existence with necessary existence.
William Alston : An American philosopher whose work addressed perception, justification, and religious experience. Alston’s defense of religious experience parallels Plantinga’s case for rational religious belief.
Philosophy of religion : The philosophical examination of religious concepts, claims, practices, and experiences. Plantinga’s work has reshaped debates about the rationality and truth of religious belief.
Epistemic justification : The normative support that makes a belief rational or epistemically appropriate. Plantinga distinguishes justification from the warrant that turns true belief into knowledge.
Evolutionary argument against naturalism : Plantinga’s argument that naturalism and unguided evolution undermine confidence in human cognitive reliability. It applies his epistemology to a challenge about the trustworthiness of human reasoning.
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