William Rowe
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy of Religion1931 – 2015
William L. Rowe (1931–2015) was an American analytic philosopher of religion who taught for decades at Purdue University. He is best known for his rigorous formulation of the evidential argument from evil and his landmark analysis of the cosmological argument, combining charitable engagement with theism alongside a principled commitment to atheism.
Notable Achievements
1
Formulated the influential evidential (probabilistic) argument from evil, arguing that gratuitous suffering makes theism improbable
2
Authored The Cosmological Argument (1975), a definitive critical analysis of Leibnizian and Thomistic cosmological arguments
3
Distinguished 'friendly atheism'—the view that theists can be rational in their belief—from hostile atheist positions
4
Advanced the debate on the Principle of Sufficient Reason and its role in natural theology
5
Contributed foundational work on mystical experience and its evidential weight for religious belief