In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Aaron Segal, philosophy professor and student of both Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Alvin Plantinga, to discuss God from the perspective of analytic philosophy.

Analytic philosophy is mathematical, breaking claims into small pieces to rigorously analyze the language and concepts. The cost of this approach is its unwieldiness and high standards, which Aaron believes has precluded it from providing a capital-P proof of God’s existence. But one can still reason about God, and though some would claim belief in God is irrational, Aaron thinks its rationality is justified.

-What are the approaches one can take to belief in God?
-What are the limits of analytic philosophy in talking about God?
-What are the limits of a philosophy like Plantinga’s reformed epistemology?
-Can one’s knowledge of God be purely experiential?

Tune in to hear Aaron talk about both the power and limits of reasoning applied to God.

References:
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein
Kuzari by Yehuda HaLevi
Metaphysics by Peter van Inwagen
Advice to Christian Philosophers by Alvin Plantinga
The Source of Faith is Faith Itself by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein
"The Source of Faith..." Examined by Aaron Segal
Kurt Godel's ontological argument - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ontological-arguments/#GodOntArg

Scholarly Mentions:
Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Alvin Plantinga, Kurt Godel, Bertrand Russel, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Yehuda HaLevi, David Hilbert, Immanuel Kant, David Chalmers, Georg Cantor, John Locke, David Hume, David Johnson (YU)

For more, visit https://18forty.org/topics/god.

Dr. Aaron Segal is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and formerly taught philosophy in Yeshiva University. Aaron received his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame, where Alvin Plantinga was one of his thesis directors. He has co-authored and co-edited books on Jewish philosophy, such as Jewish Philosophy in an Analytic Age. Aaron is masterful in his knowledge and comfort in the profound questions of analytic philosophy, and also received Semicha from the Chief Rabbinate in Israel.