Alvin Plantinga
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy, Reformed Epistemologyb. 1932
Alvin Plantinga (b. 1932) is an American analytic philosopher widely regarded as the most influential philosopher of religion of the twentieth century. He is best known for his free will defense against the logical problem of evil, his revival of the ontological argument in modal logical form, and his foundational work in Reformed epistemology. His career spanned Calvin College and the University of Notre Dame, where he shaped a generation of philosophers working at the intersection of analytic philosophy and Christian theology.
Notable Achievements
1
Developed the Free Will Defense, showing the logical problem of evil does not disprove theism
2
Reformulated the ontological argument using possible worlds semantics in modal logic
3
Founded Reformed Epistemology, arguing theistic belief can be 'properly basic' without inferential justification
4
Formulated the Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism (EAAN), challenging the epistemic credentials of naturalism
5
Co-founded the Society of Christian Philosophers and transformed philosophy of religion into a rigorous analytic subdiscipline