The much anticipated Knowledge and Reality: Essays in Honor of Alvin Plantinga is finally out. Only a few of the essays are specifically philosophy of religion, with most being in epistemology. With Plantinga, however, some of his most important PR work depends in part on his epistemology.
Here's the squib from from the publisher (available here):
This volume comprises essays presented to Alvin Plantinga on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Plantinga is one of the leading figures in Anglo-American metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of religion; his work in these areas has been the focus of wide scholarly attention. This collection of essays, all of which were written specifically for this volume in honor of Plantinga’s 70th birthday, ranges broadly over topics in metaphysics and epistemology and includes contributions by some of the best philosophers writing today. The volume will be of particular interest to metaphysicians, epistemologists, philosophers of religion and theologians as it includes important recent work by some of the leading thinkers in these fields.
With contributions from William P. Alston, Michael Bergmann, Richard Fumerton, Jenann Ismael, Jonathan Kvanvig, Trenton Merricks, Richard Otte, John Pollock, Michael C. Rea, Eleonore Stump, James Tomberlin, Peter van Inwagen, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and Keith Yandell.
I'll post the table of contents below the fold to save space.
1 Actualism and Presentism; J.E. Tomberlin.-
2 Properties; P. van Inwagen.-
3 So You Think You Exist? In Defense of Nolipsism; J. Ismael, J.L. Pollock.-
4 Substance and Artifact in Aquinas's Metaphysics; E. Stump.-
5 Epistemology and Metaphysics; W.P. Alston.-
6 Historicizing the Belief-Forming Self; N. Wolterstorff.-
7 A Dilemma for Internalism; M. Bergmann.-
8 Epistemic Internalism, Philosophical Assurance and the Skeptical Predicament; R. Fumerton.-
9 Scientific Naturalism and the Value of Knowledge; J. Kvanvig.-
10 Naturalism and Moral Realism; M.C. Rea.-
11 A Problem with Bayesian Conditionalization; R. Otte.-
12 Materialism and Post-Mortem Survival; K.E. Yandell.-
13 Split Brains and the Godhead; T. Merricks.
Technorati Tags: alvin plantinga, philosophy of religion, epistemology, essays, anglo american, 70th birthday, metaphysics, philosophers, pr work, squib, anticipated, depends, occasion, publisher
Technorati Tags: alvin plantinga, philosophy of religion, epistemology, essays, anglo american, 70th birthday, metaphysics, philosophers, pr work, squib, anticipated, depends, occasion, publisher
Are these papers previously-published, or specially-written for this volume? (I seem to have at least seen the title of Merricks' "Split Brains and the Godhead" elsewhere.)
A longer version of Peter van Inwagen's paper (called "A Theory of Properties") was previously published in _Oxford Studies in Metaphysics_ vol. 1.
"A Dilemma for Internalism" basically appears in M. Bergmann's new book, *Justification Without Awareness* (OUP 2006).
This is off-topic slightly, but Alvin Plantinga has done what is, I believe, his first podcast interview. It's on the blog The Sci Phi show.
Apparently the blogger just emailed him and asked.
Here's his description of the podcast:
"This Outcast is an interview between myself [sic] and Alvin Plantinga. In the interview we discuss Dr Plantinga’s contention that it is irrational to believe that Naturalism and Evolution are both true."
To answer the initial question: the essays were written specially for the volume; but keep in mind that many of them were in fact done by Al's 70th birthday, and he's turning 74 this November. So, in short, some of them have been circulating for a while, unpublished but still cited; and others (like Bergmann's) have been incorporated into new stuff in the way that "previously published" material often is.
ck, thanks for the tip and posting the link. That's an interesting discussion, if way too brief. But good that it's now received larger billing here. You might want to contact the admin. here to get the news out faster and more broadly.
I'm glad to hear it's out at last, but I wonder why the editors chose a publisher that has put a $169 price tag on the book. Nuts.