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

question 2

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.
-Plantinga contends that the evidentialist objection to theistic belief is typically rooted in

• A) classical theodicy.
• B) scientific methodology.
• C) classical foundationalism.
• D) theological ideology.

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Definitions:

Rough ER

A part of the endoplasmic reticulum with ribosomes attached to its surface, involved in protein synthesis and folding.

Smooth ER

A part of the endoplasmic reticulum that lacks ribosomes and is involved in lipid synthesis and detoxification processes.

Ribosomes

Cell organelles that function as the site of protein synthesis, reading the sequence of messenger RNA to create polypeptides and proteins.

Chloroplasts

Organelles found in the cells of green plants and photosynthetic algae, where photosynthesis takes place, converting light energy into chemical energy.