A Simpler Logical Argument from Evil

James P. Sterba (University of Notre Dame)

The Greatest Philosophy Conference of All Time: Themes from Paul Draper

This is (going to be) The Greatest Philosophy Conference of All Time, which will host a series of outstanding papers on the work of the greatest atheistic philosopher of religion of all time, Paul Draper.* 

The conference will take place at Purdue University on September 19-20, 2025. Registration and attendance are free and open to anyone interested. Please email [email protected] to register, and indicate also if you would be willing to provide comments on a paper, chair a session, or volunteer as a participant in any thought experiments (IRB not yet approved).  

Themes that will be covered include: Draper’s philosophical method and approach, probability theory as it relates to the Philosophy of Religion, intrinsic probability and theism, the nature(s) of atheism and agnosticism, panpsychotheism and the Philosophy of Mind, and of course, the problem of evil, particularly topics from Draper’s forthcoming Atheism and the Problem of Evil with Oxford University Press. The conference is in preparation for an edited volume forthcoming with Routledge in the spring of 2026, on the same topics and themes.

Presenters include (in alphabetical order): Charity Anderson, Michael Bergmann, Nevin Climenhaga, Jeannine Diller, Paul Draper, Jason Marsh, Wes Morriston, Mark Murphy, Yujin Nagasawa, Timothy O'Conner, Graham Oppy, Daniel Rubio, J.L. Schellenberg, Richard Swinburne, and Michael Tooley.

*A title the organizers deem by fiat, ex computatrum. Dissidents may file complaints with the organizers but complaints must be substantiated with countervailing arguments and/or evidence consistent with our priors and background knowledge.

Precis:

In the field of Philosophy of Religion, the work of Paul Draper looms large. Indeed, he’s arguably the most important contemporary atheist philosopher of religion, and the impact his thought has had on the current scope, style, and content of the field should not be understated. The scope of this research is wide-ranging: his seminal work includes such topics as the problem of evil, intrinsic probability, evolutionary theory (both on the credibility of Intelligent Design and the challenge evolution poses to theism), and the Philosophy of Mind. His particular Humean-style inductive argument from evil, first outlined in his 1989 Nous article "Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists," is widely regarded as one of the most formidable, and compelling, iterations of the problem of evil in the entire field. More recently, he has rocked the philosophical boat with his “low priors argument”, which claims that the intrinsic probability of theism is far lower than its competitors; it likewise is a unique, novel, and powerful challenge to theism. He has also generated discussion recently with his defense of “panpsychotheism”—a novel position in the metaphysics of mind that is ostensibly consistent with naturalism yet sufficiently explains mental phenomena better than its naturalistic competitors. His most recent work, his forthcoming Atheism and the Problem of Evil with Oxford University Press, is years in the making and sure to leave a major and lasting impression on the philosophical landscape.