Parker's Pensées Ep. 76 - What Kind of EAAN is Best? w/Drs. Tom Crisp and Tyler McNabb
Mar 12, 2021
Dr. Thomas Crisp, a Professor of Philosophy at Biola University, specializes in metaphysics and the evolutionary argument against naturalism. Dr. Tyler McNabb, an Associate Professor at Saint Joseph’s College, focuses on epistemology. They dive into the optimal formulation of the evolutionary argument against naturalism, discussing survival instincts versus objective truth. The conversation includes the intricacies of belief justification, the reliability of cognitive faculties, and the philosophical challenges posed by naturalism, leaving listeners with profound insights.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
EAAN Is A Family Of Related Arguments
- The EAAN family traces from Lewis to Plantinga and has many variants with different scopes.
- Tom Crisp's formulation narrows the target to specific faculties rather than global skepticism.
EAAN Doesn't Require Plantinga's Epistemology
- EAAN need not presuppose Plantinga's proper functionalism to be persuasive.
- The argument mainly relies on plausible defeat principles that any epistemology can accept.
Core Move: Naturalism Undermines Its Own Credibility
- Generic EAAN argues naturalism+evolution undermine trust in our cognitive faculties.
- If naturalism makes reliable faculties unlikely, it defeats beliefs those faculties produce, including naturalism itself.
