Plantinga on Dennett

Chuck Warman (cwarman@sol.wf.net)
Thu, 9 May 1996 18:13:25 -0500

Alvin Plantinga has written an interesting review of Daniel Dennett's
_Darwin's_Dangerous_Idea_ (another atheistic scientist's foray into
metaphysics in the sorry tradition of Sagan and Dawkins) in the periodical
_Books_&_Culture_. In his book, Dennett rejects the anthropic principle
version of the design argument for God's existence on the basis that,
possibly, "there has been an evolution of worlds (in the sense of whole
universes) and the world in which we find ourselves in is simply one among
countless others that have existed throughout all eternity." It's the old
multiple universes argument, spruced up a bit.

The response is *vintage* Plantinga (those of you who are familiar with him
will know what I mean):

"How would this kind of reply play in Tombstone or Dodge City? 'Waal,
shore, Tex, I *know* it's a leetle mite suspicious that every time I deal,
I git four aces and a wildcard, but have you considered the following?
Possibly there is an infinite succession of universes, so that for any
possible distribution of possible poker hands, there is a universe where
that possibility is realized; we just happen to find ourselves in one where
someone like me always deals himself only aces and wildcards without ever
cheating. So put up that shootin' arn an' set down an' shet yore yap, ya
dumb galoot.' " (Alvin Plantinga, "Dennett's Dangerous Idea,"
_Books_&_Culture_, May/June, 1996, p.17)

All in all the article is a good introduction to Plantinga's philosophical
position that belief in God is "properly basic," and should whet the
appetite of those who haven't read him.