Agents Under Fire

Materialism and the Rationality of Science

Agents Under Fire cover

Agents Under Fire

Materialism and the Rationality of Science

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In the first study of its kind, Agents Under Fire defends a robust notion of agency and intentionality against eliminative and naturalistic alternatives, showing the interconnections between the philosophy of mind, theology, and Intelligent Design. Menuge argues that Behe's irreducible complexity is a challenge to reductionism not only in biology, but also in psychology, and shows the inability of the Darwinian psychology proposed by Dawkins, Dennett, and Steven Pinker to explain the integration, unity, direction, and reliability of rational thought.

This fascinating defense against scientific materialism is the only book-length study relating Intelligent Design to contemporary issues in the philosophy of mind. Drawing on his experience as both a philosopher and a computer scientist, Menuge deftly shows the reader that the materialist's attempts to rid science of all commitment to teleology can only result in incoherence, and presents instead his own unique argument for the legitimacy of Intelligent Design.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 Skyhooks and Cranes: The Challenge of Reductionism
Chapter 4 Strong Agent Reductionism: Materialism and the Rationality of Science
Chapter 5 Weak Agent Reductionism: Science and the Rationality of Materialism
Chapter 6 Bait and Switch: Indirectness and Biological Unity
Chapter 7 The Alchemy of the Mind: Indirectness and Psychological Unity
Chapter 8 Beyond Skinnerian Creatures: A Defense of the Lewis-Plantinga Argument Against Evolutionary Naturalism
Chapter 9 Intentionality, Information and Displacement: The Legitimacy of Design
Chapter 10 Science and Christianity: Dogmatism and Dialogue
Chapter 11 Index
Chapter 12 About the Author

Product details

Published Jul 01 2004
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 264
ISBN 9780742534049
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions 229 x 161 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

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