Christian Philosophy - Contemporary Philosophy

Contemporary Philosophy

• William J. Abraham, Irish philosopher, theologian, and United Methodist pastor teaching at Southern Methodist University, known for his contributions to the philosophy of religion and religious epistemology,
• Diogenes Allen, philosopher of religion who spent most of his career at Princeton Theological Seminary
• William Alston, leading figure in Reformed epistemology who specializes in the philosophy of language and epistemology
• Rubem Alves, philosopher, psychoanalyst, and theologian who is a major figure in liberation theology
• Robert Audi, philosopher whose work focuses on epistemology and ethics who has also written on the relationship between church and state
• C. Anthony Anderson, philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of religion, philosophy of language, and philosophy of logic
• G. E. M. Anscombe, British analytic philosopher who was a close friend and student of Ludwig Wittgenstein; influential in the fields of the philosophy of logic, philosophy of action, and philosophy of the mind, and ethics, writing from the perspective of Analytical Thomism
• Craig Bartholomew, philosopher dealing with biblical hermeneutics, postmodernism, and deconstruction
• Francis Beckwith, social philosopher and ethicist
• Leonardo Boff, Brazilian philosopher and theologian who is one of the leading figures in liberation theology
• Daniel Bonevac, logician at the University of Texas at Austin
• Jay Budziszewski, a political philosopher at the University of Texas at Austin who develops the natural law ethical tradition.
• Marilyn McCord Adams, philosopher of religion and philosophical theologian who is also a leading authority on medieval philosophy
• Robert Merrihew Adams, analytic philosopher specializing in metaphysics, morality, and the philosophy of religion who taught at Yale, UCLA, and Oxford; husband of Marilyn McCord Adams (see directly above)
• Maxence Caron, French write, poet, philosopher, and musicologist
• John D. Caputo: American Catholic deconstructionist theologian; most famous for his development of weak theology
• Gordon Clark, American Calvinist philosopher, polemicist, and staunch defender of Platonic realism. He developed a strictly rationalist variety of presuppositional apologetics in contrast to Van Til's fideistic approach.
• Stephen R. L. Clark, British philosopher of religion who also wrote extensively on animals and applied philosophy
• Sarah Coakley-Anglican philosopher of religion and systematic theologian who has taught at Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, and Lancaster University
• Paul Copan, professor of philosophy at Palm Beach Atlantic University currently holding the Pledger Family Endowed Chair of Philosophy and Ethics as well as president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society
• Robin Collins, an expert in philosophy of science. He is thought be the leading expert on the teleological argument. He is a professor of philosophy at Messiah College. He is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Faithful Research
• William Lane Craig, Evangelical apologist, philosopher and theologian; frequently participates in debate on topics related to Christianity and theism. He is known especially for his methodical presentation as well as his articulation and defense of the kalam cosmological argument.
• Keith DeRose, philosopher of language and epistemologist at Yale University.
• Herman Dooyeweerd, Reformational philosopher and legal scholar; brother-in-law of D.H. Th. Vollenhoven
• Terry Eagleton, Not a philosopher by vocation, he is a leading British literary critic and important figure in contemporary social philosophy, often addressing religious issues from a Christian Marxist perspective
• C. Stephen Evans, American historian and philosopher teaching at Baylor University
• Jacques Ellul, French philosopher, legal scholar, sociologist, and legal scholar who was a leading Christian anarchist who wrote prolifically on topics such as technology, propaganda, and justice
• John Frame: an American Calvinist philosopher focused in the areas of epistemology and ethics
• Étienne Gilson, who wrote The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy, The Spirit of Thomism, Being and Some Philosophers, and many other works. In the field of Thomism he is considered one of the main figures credited with starting the movement within Thomism known as Existential Thomism, which emphasis the primacy of the act of Being (Esse) in understanding everything else that is.
• René Girard, French philosopher of social science, anthropologist, historian and literary critic who developed the idea of mimetic desire and wrote on scapegoating, reinterpreting the atonement as an mechanism for overcoming human violence and the sacrifice system
• Juozas Girnius, Lithuanian existentialist philosopher
• Robert Kane, philosopher who works on free will, now emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, who is also a Catholic
• Anthony Kenny, English philosopher specializing in the philosophy of the mind, philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy; leading figure in Analytical Thomism
• Luigi Giussani, an Italian priest of 1922-2005, who wrote the Why the Church?
• William Hasker, American philosopher who specializing in philosophy of the mind, writing extensively on the mind-body problem and arguing for emergentism, former editor of the journal Faith and Philosophy; advocates for open theism
• Robert Koons, metaphysician at the University of Texas at Austin
• Peter Kreeft, an American Catholic philosopher and Christian apologist at Boston College
• Roel Kuiper, Dutch historian and philosopher who is part of the Reformational philosophy movement
• Jon Kvanvig, epistemologist at Baylor University
• John Lennox, mathematician and philosopher of science
• Knud Ejler Løgstrup: Danish philosopher of religion who wrote widely in the area of ethics, metaphysics, and phenomonlogy
• Bernard Lonergan: He was a Canadian Jesuit. The Lonergan Institute specializes in his works, while The Lonergan Review is an academic journal which is dedicated to researching and expanding upon his thought.
• Aleksei Losev, Russian philosopher, philologist, and culturologist who was a leading figure in 20th-century philosophical and religious thought
• J.P. Moreland, American philosopher, apologist, and theologian
• Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish ethicist and political philosopher whose works After Virtue and Whose Justice? Which Rationality? have been massively-influential in modern ethics; notable advocate of virtue ethics; argues from a Thomistic perspective
• John Macquarrie, Scottish theologian and philosopher who was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Anglicanism
• Gabriel Marcel, French existentialist philosopher and playwright who wrote on metaphysics, ontology, and ethics
• Jean-Luc Marion, French postmodern philosopher and student of Jacques Derrida who specializes in phenomenology and philosophical theology
• Jacques Maritain, a French philosopher in the Thomistic tradition
• Trenton Merricks, renowned metaphysician at the University of Virginia
• Paul Moser, American philosopher focusing on the philosophy of religion and epistemology
• Nancey Murphy, philosopher of science who has written extensively on postmodernism and currently teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary
• Tim O'Connor, metaphysician at the Indiana University, Bloomington
• Thomas Jay Oord: theologian and philosopher of religion who is a leading advocate of open theism, and writes on topics such as the relationship between science and religion and postmodernism
• Jean-Michel Oughourlian French philosopher, psychologist and neuropsychiatrist has worked with René Girard, further developing a mimetic theory of desire and its religious implications
• Pope John Paul II, who wrote Fides et Ratio
• Josef Pieper, a German Catholic philosopher whose work concentrates particularly on Plato and Thomas Aquinas
• Alvin Plantinga. moderately Calvinist American philosopher, one of the key figures in the movement of Reformed epistemology, which synthesizes Analytical Philosophy and Christian philosophical concerns. He is professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame.
• Vern Poythress, Calvinist philosopher and New Testament scholar who advocates multiperspectivalism and specializes in the philosophy of philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, linguistics, and hermeneutics
• Stephen G. Post, American ethicist and interdisciplinary scholar specializing in the study of altruism, bioethics, and compassion
• Alex Pruss, metaphysician at Baylor University
• Michael C. Rea, analytic philosopher specializing in metaphysics and the philosophy of religion who teaches at the University of Notre Dame
• Paul Ricouer: philosopher who wrote written widely in the areas of hermeneutics, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, political philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of language
• Hans Rookmaaker, philosopher specializing in art theory, art history, and music; friend of Francis Schaeffer
• Peter Rollins: an Irish philosopher whose work brings together the deconstruction of Jacques Derrida, the "religious turn" of recent works by Slavoj Zizek, and traditions of apophatic theology within Christian mysticism.
• Francis Schaeffer: pastor, philosopher and theologian who founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland and was a major influence in conservative evangelicalism
• Egbert Schuurman, the leading philosopher of technology who actively espouses a Christian philosophical approach
• Robert Spaemann, German Roman Catholic philosopher
• Holmes Rolston III, American philosopher dealing with environmental ethics and the relationship between science and religion
• Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, German historian and social philosopher
• Pope Shenouda III, (b. Nazeer Gayed, 1923) Pope of Alexandria (1971–2012) has written on almost every aspect of Oriental Orthodox Christianity. Has pioneered Christian ecumenism and written over 150 books on many topics including theology, dogma, comparative theology, spiritual theology, and church history.
• Melville Y. Stewart, editor, author of books in philosophy of religion, and a Series on Science and Religion 科学与宗教 (5-volume Series in Chinese, and 2-volume Series in English). Visiting Philosopher at various universities in China.
• James K.A. Smith: a Canadian-American philosopher who draws on three different traditions of Christian thought (Pentecostalism, Calvinism, and Radical Orthodoxy) in dialogue with deconstruction and phenomenology to create practical works for broad, general audiences
• Richard Swinburne: British philosopher of religion
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer and philosopher; won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Peter van Inwagen, a metaphysician who is one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy of religion, teaching at the University of Notre Dame
• Charles Taylor: Canadian political philosopher, philosopher of social science and social theorist
• Charles Taliaferro, an expert in the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of mind. He is a professor of philosophy at St. Olaf College and a senior research fellow at the Institute for Faithful Research
• Paul Tillich Rather than beginning his philosophical work with questions of God or gods, Tillich began with a "phenomenology of the Holy." His basic thesis is that religion is Ultimate Concern. What a person is Ultimately Concerned with in regard to their Ultimate meaning and being can be understood as religion because, "There is nobody to whom nothing is sacred because no one can rid themselves of their humanity no matter how desperately they may try" (Young-Ho Chun, Tillich and Religion, 1998, pg. 14.
• Denys Turner: British philosopher and theologian teaching at Yale University whose work focuses on political philosophy, social theory, and mystical theology
• Nick Trakakis: Australian philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of religion and theodicy
• Bas Van Fraassen, world-renowned philosopher of science, who is also a Catholic
• Cornelius Van Til: Dutch-American Calvinist philosopher, who contributed especially in epistemology and developed one variety of philosophical apologetics known as presuppositional apologetics.
• Gregory Vlastos: philosopher specializes in ancient philosophy
• D. H. Th. Vollenhoven: Vollenhoven's Calvinism and the Reformation of Philosophy (Dutch, 1933) launched a philosophical movement that, after the massive re-inforcing effect of his brother-in-law Herman Dooyeweerd's first trilogy, Philosophy of the Law-Idea (1935–36), led to the formation of the Association for Calvinist Philosophy in 1936. For decades, Vollenhoven served as president of the aforementioned association, which has become the Association for Reformational Philosophy/ Vereniging voor Reformatorische Wijsbegeerte (VRW), still based in the Netherlands but with ever-enlarging interest in the rest of the world. It is disputed whether Vollenhoven's, his colleague Herman Dooyeweerd's, and many among the subsequent generations of philosophers in the Reformational philosophy movement are best described as "modern" or "postmodern," since they anticipated numerous themes that resurfaced in postmodernism, yet remain steadfastly and would-be distinctively Christian and non-Roman.
• Keith Ward: British philosopher, theologian, and pastor who has written widely in the areas of the philosophy of religion and comparative theology, has also made major contributions related to the relationship between science and religion; advocates for open theism
• Simone Weil: French philosopher, mystic, and social activist
• Cornel West, Philosopher, writer, public speaker and political activist who argues for Christian Socialism; has taught at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Union Theological Seminary in New York
• Dallas Willard: notable Christian philosopher at the University of Southern California. Willard has written extensively in philosophy but also in practical Christian theology with an emphasis in Christian spiritual formation.
• Nicholas Wolterstorff: American philosopher at Yale University associated with Reformed epistemology who has written on epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion
• Christos Yannaras, Greek philosopher
• Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski, American philosopher specializing in the philosophy of religion, epistemology and ethics; pioneer in the field of virtue epistemology
• Dean Zimmerman, American philosopher whose work deals with metaphysics and the philosophy of ereligion
• Shawn Graves, American philosopher who specializes in epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of religion.