b. 1957
Paul Draper is a contemporary American philosopher at Purdue University specializing in philosophy of religion and epistemology. He is best known for developing probabilistic arguments against theism, particularly his evidential argument from pain and pleasure grounded in the 'Hypothesis of Indifference.' His work applies Bayesian methodology rigorously to debates between theism and naturalism.
Developed the Hypothesis of Indifference as a naturalistic alternative to theism in evidential arguments from evil
Applied Bayesian probability theory to the problem of pain and pleasure as evidence against theism
Advanced methodological standards for comparing theism and naturalism probabilistically
Contributed influential work on the relationship between evolution and theism
Co-edited major volumes on the epistemology of religious belief