Michael Martin (philosopher)

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Western Philosophy
21st-century philosophy
Name
Michael Martin
Birth February 3, 1932(1932-02-03)
School/tradition Analytic philosophy
Main interests Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of Religion
Notable ideas Weak atheism

Michael L. Martin, Ph.D., (born 3 February 1932) is an analytic philosopher and professor emeritus at Boston University.[1]

Martin has concerned himself largely with philosophy of religion, though the philosophies of science, law, and sport have not escaped his attention. On the former, Martin has published a number of books and articles defending atheism and various arguments against the existence of God in exhaustive detail (among them, the Transcendental argument for the non-existence of God). Martin, in his Atheism: a Philosophical Justification, cites a general absence of an atheistic response to contemporary work in philosophy of religion, and accepts the responsibility of a rigorous defense of nonbelief as, jestingly, his "cross to bear:"

The aim of this book is not to make atheism a popular belief or even to overcome its invisibility. My object is not utopian. It is merely to provide good reasons for being an atheist. … My object is to show that atheism is a rational position and that belief in God is not. I am quite aware that theistic beliefs are not always based on reason. My claim is that they should be. — Atheism: A Philosophical Justification, 24

Martin is a pluralist naturalist, as opposed to a physicalistic naturalist. He believes in non-physical abstract objects, as to explain the Principles of Logic and objective morality.[2]

Martin serves on the academic advisory board of the Secular Student Alliance [3] and the editorial board of Philo.[4]

[edit] Published books

  • Probability, Confirmation and Simplicity (New York: Odyssey Press, 1966) with M. Foster
  • Concepts of Science Education: A Philosophical Analysis (Chicago: Scott-Foresman, 1972) ISBN 0-8191-4479-7
  • Social Science and Philosophical Analysis: Essays on The Philosophy of The Social Sciences (Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1978)
  • The Legal Philosophy of H.L.A. Hart: A Critical Appraisal (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987) ISBN 0-87722-471-4
  • Atheism: A Philosophical Justification (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989, republished 1992) ISBN 0-87722-943-0
  • The Case Against Christianity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991) ISBN 1-56639-081-8
  • Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1994) with L. McIntyre; ISBN 0-262-13296-6
  • The Big Domino in The Sky and Other Atheistic Tales (Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1996) ISBN 1-57392-111-4
  • Legal Realism: American and Scandinavian (New York: Peter Lang, 1997) ISBN 0-8204-3462-9
  • Atheism, Morality, and Meaning (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2002) ISBN 1-57392-987-5
  • The Impossibility of God (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2003) with R. Monnier; ISBN 1-59102-120-0
  • The Improbability of God (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2006) with R. Monnier; ISBN 1-59102-381-5

[edit] References

  1. ^ Michael Martin. Boston University. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
    Michael Martin. Secular Web Kiosk and Bookstore. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  2. ^ December 1997 Feedback
  3. ^ Academic Advisory Board List | Secular Student Alliance
  4. ^ http://www.philoonline.org/about.htm

[edit] External links