Michael Martin (1932-2015) Was a Professor at Boston University and Author

question 3

Multiple Choice

Michael Martin (1932-2015) was a professor at Boston University and author of several books including Atheism, Morality, and Meaning (2002) and Atheism: A Philosophical Justification (1990) . He also edited several collections, most notably The Cambridge Companion to Atheism (2006) . Martin critiques Alvin Plantinga's argument that it is acceptable for persons to believe that God exists even if they cannot produce evidence or argument to justify that belief. Plantinga begins with the traditional philosophical view that all our beliefs are based ultimately on beliefs that are "properly basic"-they are either self-evident (such as "two plus two equals four") or evident to the senses (as when our looking at or remembering a tree shows immediately that there is or was a tree) . To be counted as genuine knowledge our beliefs must be either properly basic or justified by beliefs that ultimately rest on those that are properly basic. Plantinga contends that belief in God can be a properly basic belief and thus require no supporting evidence. Martin argues, however, that because Plantinga's approach allows people to formulate their own properly basic criteria from their own unique experience and perspective, almost any belief-no matter how bizarre-could be considered properly basic.
-Martin critiques Plantinga's view that belief in God is

• A) a perceptual notion.
• B) properly basic.
• C) not properly basic.
• D) accepted by evidentialists.

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Definitions:

Behavioural

Relating to the behaviors or responses of an individual or animal towards outside or inside triggers.

Psychoanalytic

Pertaining to a psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques such as dream interpretation and free association.

Jungian

Pertaining to the psychological theories and methods developed by Carl Jung, focusing on concepts such as archetypes and the collective unconscious.

Impulsive

Characterized by actions taken without forethought or consideration of consequences, often driven by immediate desires or emotions.