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Quentin Persifor Smith (August 27, 1952, Rhinebeck, New York – November 12, 2020, Kalamazoo, Michigan) was an American philosopher. He was professor emeritus of philosophy at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked in the philosophy of time, philosophy of language, philosophy of physics and philosophy of religion.
Smith published over 140 articles. Of his published books, he authored three, co-authored two, and co-authored and edited seven. He was an editor for Prometheus Books and was the chief editor for Philo from 2001 to 2007. He debated William Lane Craig over the existence of God.
Early life and education
Quentin Smith was born in Rhinebeck, New York. His father was a psychology professor at Bennington College and he spent most of his early life in Canada.
He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Antioch College, advancing to receive a PhD in philosophy from Boston College.
Career
After college, he received a job as assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky. Smith found that he could not afford to lose the time he spent teaching, so he resigned from the university to become an independent scholar.
After accepting a position as a visiting professor at Antioch College, he took a position as professor of philosophy at Western Michigan University in 1993 and retired in 2015.
Philosophical Work
Smith's work was across a wide range of disciplines. In the philosophy of religion; he was considered a leading defender of Atheismand was responsible for pioneering many different arguments against the existence of God from Quantum Cosmology, General Relativity, Big Bang Cosmology, Evil Natural Laws, and Hartle-Hawking Cosmology. He engaged in many debates with leading theists such as William Lane Craig and Alvin Plantinga.
Death
Smith died on November 12, 2020.
Published works
- Epistemology: New Essays (Editor) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 0-19-926494-5
- Einstein, Relativity and Absolute Simultaneity. (co-edited with William Lane Craig). New York: Routledge, 2007. ISBN 978-0-415-70174-7
- Time, Tense and Reference (co-edited with A. Jokic, and contributing author). Cambridge MA: MIT Press, October 2003. ISBN 0-262-10098-3
- Consciousness: New Philosophical Perspectives (co-edited with A. Jokic, and contributing author). Oxford: Oxford University Press, January 2003. ISBN 0-19-924129-5
- Ethical and Religious Thought in Analytic Philosophy of Language. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. Pp. 264. ISBN 0-300-06212-5
- Time, Change and Freedom. (co-authored with L. Nathan Oaklander). New York: Routledge, 1995, pp. 218. ISBN 0-415-10249-9
- The New Theory of Time. (co-authored and co-edited with L. Nathan Oaklander). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Pp. 378. ISBN 0-300-05796-2
- Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology. (co-authored with William Lane Craig). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Pp. 357. ISBN 0-19-826383-X
- Language and Time. First Edition. New York. Oxford University Press. 1993. pp. 259. ISBN 0-19-515594-7
- The Felt Meanings of the World: A Metaphysics of Feeling. Purdue University Press :West Lafayette, 1986 (Paperback 2010). ISBN 0-911198-76-8
See also
References
- "Transcript of Debate with William Lane Craig". March 22, 1996.
- "Second Debate With William Lane Craig". Harvard University. April 2003.
- Burgis, Ben (January 3, 2021). "There Will Be Time". Medium. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
- Smith, Quentin (1997). "Quantum Cosmology's Implication of Atheism". Analysis. 57 (4): 295–304. ISSN 0003-2638.
- Smith, Quentin (January 1, 2000). "Problems With John Earman's Attempt To Reconcile Theism With General Relativity". Erkenntnis. 52 (1): 1–27. doi:10.1023/A:1005547412396. ISSN 1572-8420.
- "Quentin Smith Cosmology » Internet Infidels". Internet Infidels. December 31, 1969. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
- Smith, Quentin (1991). "An Atheological Argument From Evil Natural Laws". International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 29 (3): 159–174. doi:10.1007/bf00141329.
- "Remembering Quentin P. Smith".
External links
- Official website
- Quentin Smith's "Real Atheology" interview on Natural Evils and Immaterial Minds (2017).
- Quentin Smith's faculty page for Western Michigan University.
- Quentin Smith's "Closer To Truth" (PBS) interviews with Robert Lawrence Kuhn (2008).
- Quentin Smith's collection of essays at Infidels.org.
- The Sci Phi Show: "Outcast (#26)": "Interview with Dr. Quentin Smith" (00:37:09 minutes long) (2006).
- Video of Veritas Forum-sponsored discussion on "Science and Religion" on YouTube featuring Quentin Smith, William Lane Craig, Alvin Plantinga, and Richard Gale at California Polytechnic State University (2004).
- Stephen Neale and Jim Holt on the Saul Kripke plagiarism controversy.
- 1952 births
- 2020 deaths
- 20th-century American philosophers
- 21st-century American philosophers
- American atheists
- American book editors
- Antioch College alumni
- Atheist philosophers
- American philosophy academics
- Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni
- People from Rhinebeck, New York
- Philosophers from Michigan
- Philosophers from New York (state)
- American philosophers of language
- American philosophers of religion
- Philosophy journal editors
- Prometheus Books
- University of Kentucky faculty
- Western Michigan University faculty