The Problem of Evil

“Anti-theodicy” is the view that a certain way of responding to the problem of evil – specifically, the response of theodicy, where one tries to identify the reasons why God permits evil – is deeply flawed. But, according to the anti-theodicist, theodicies are flawed not because we do not (or cannot) know the reasons why God permits evil, but because theodicies are committed to some dubious moral and metaphysical assumptions. I am in the process of developing further this “anti-theodicy” position, and defending it against objections that have been levelled against it.

A Sense of Place

Following the path taken by poets and artists, but generally avoided by philosophers and philosophical theologians, in this project I seek to show how the ideas of place and locality are a unique and indispensable means for understanding religious concepts and practices and, more broadly, human identity and experience. A book-length study, provisionally entitled Deus Loci: The Place of God and the God of Place in Philosophy and Theology, is projected.

Models of Divinity (ARC Discovery Project, with Prof. Graham Oppy)

Beliefs about gods and divinity vary widely from one culture to another, and have varied widely over time within particular cultures. Nonetheless, to its detriment, Western philosophy of religion remains preoccupied with a very small range of monotheistic models of God and the divine. In this project, we seek to revitalise and globalise Western philosophy of religion by way of an intensive philosophical investigation of a wide range of beliefs about gods and divinity. In particular, we will undertake an exhaustive comparative study of models of divinity, and a careful investigation of foundational questions raised by the existence of these models.

From Dusk to Dawn

A collection of poetry and prose, due to be published by the end of 2011.

Translation of Leivaditis

Tasos Leivaditis (1922-1988) is not a poet often discussed in the English-speaking world, but he is one of the greats amongst the postwar generation of Greek writers. I am in the process of translating one of his latter writings, his masterly collection, The Blind Man with a Lamp (1983).