In this episode, we drill down further into how the Realist/Nominalist debate shapes our understanding of God with special guest and expert, Dr. Paul Gould.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• What is “Divine Conceptualism” and how does it relate to Moderate Realism?
• What are some of the intellectual resources we gain when we hold Platonist ideas about abstract objects and traditional theist understandings about God’s nature?
• How does distinguishing the two types of creation help us understand God’s creative activity?
• Where do distinctions about Platonic and Aristotelian thought help us sort through what we can know about reality?
• How does “Divine Exemplarism” help us make sense of difficult passages in Scripture?
• How can we make sense of the concept of “Divine Simplicity” without falling into incoherence?
• What is the concept of “Divine Aseity” and what requirements does it actually place on our ideas about God’s nature?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
• The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2
• The third episode in this series: #47: The Beliefs, Distinctions, and Cultural Impact of Nominalism: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 3

Recommended resources:

• To find out more about Paul Gould and his work, please visit his website – Paul Gould
• J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
• J. P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

In this episode, we continue exploring realism and nominalism by taking a deeper look into Nominalist beliefs.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• What does a person mean when they say they are a nominalist?
• How is nominalism a contributing factor to current cultural beliefs?
• What are the major distinctions within nominalism?
• How do moderate and extreme nominalists understand properties? What are the challenges inherent in these ideas?
• Why would a person be inclined to hold nominalist views?
• How do we engage in this discussion with fellow Christians?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Stan Wallace, “Three Reasons to Believe in Things You Can’t See,” (four-part series)
• The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
• The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2

Recommended resources:

• P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
• JP Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

In this episode, we continue exploring the differences between Realism and Nominalism by discussing good reasons to hold a Realist perspective.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• What good reasons do we have to believe in abstract objects that we cannot see?
• How is it that we are intuitively aware of things we cannot see?
• Why do we naturally group things together? Is this “seeing” the universal they all share?
• What are relations? Are they real? Can we see them?
• What were some of the ideas that early modern empiricists got right?
• What kinds of theological problems do we bump into when we reject realism?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Stan Wallace, “Three Reasons to Believe in Things You Can’t See,” (four-part series)
• The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate

Recommended resources:

• J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
• Scott Smith, The The Dangers of Nominalism, on The Kirkwood Center Podcast