1952 – 2020
Quentin Smith (1952–2020) was an American analytic philosopher at Western Michigan University, known primarily for his contributions to philosophy of religion, philosophy of time, and naturalistic cosmology. He argued that quantum cosmology undermines theistic accounts of cosmic origins and engaged in high-profile debates with William Lane Craig over the Kalam cosmological argument. His work challenged the inference from the Big Bang to a divine creator, contending that physical laws alone suffice to explain the universe's beginning.
Developed a quantum cosmological argument that the universe began without a cause, contra theistic Kalam arguments
Co-authored 'Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology' (1993) with William Lane Craig, a landmark debate in philosophy of religion
Argued that the success of naturalistic science renders theism an epistemically unwarranted hypothesis
Contributed to tense logic and the philosophy of time, defending an A-theory of temporal passage
Edited and contributed to major volumes on the metaphysics of time and modality