George I. Mavrodes (November 23, 1926 – July 31, 2019) was an American philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Michigan.[1]
Mavrodes received his B.S. degree (1945) from Oregon State College, his B.D. degree (1953) from Western Baptist Theological Seminary, and his M.A. (1960) and PhD (1961) degrees in philosophy from the University of Michigan.[2] He retired on March 31, 1995, being named professor emeritus of philosophy after thirty three years at the University of Michigan.[3]
One of his more widely studied works is titled "Religion and the Queerness of Morality", where he questions whether genuine moral obligation could make sense in a world as described in Russell's "A Free Man's Worship".
He distinguished two major ways of understanding evolution. The first is the "naturalistic" way of understanding evolution as "explicable entirely in terms of natural law without reference to a divine intention or intervention." But a "theistic" understanding of evolution holds that "there was a divine teleology in this process, a divine direction at each crucial stage in accordance with divine plan or intention." In other words, a theistic understanding of evolution holds that although evolution occurred, God still directed evolution. Evolution is merely the tool of God's design. Evolution, and even the great struggle for existence that "selects" some animals to survive and others to die, is the instrument with which God designs human beings and other animals. On this view, Darwinian evolution is consistent with the belief that God, through evolution, produced human beings for a purpose. Other philosophers, such as Henri Bergson and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, have also argued that the process of evolution is not blind and random, but directed and purposeful.
BibliographyEdit
AuthorEdit
Belief in God: A Study in the Epistemology of Religion (Random House, 1970)
Revelation in Religious Belief (Temple University Press, 1988)
EditorEdit
Problems and Perspectives in the Philosophy of Religion (Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1967)
The Rationality of Belief in God (Prentice Hall, 1970)
^. um2017.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2013-08-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External linksEdit
University of Michigan Faculty page
August 25, 2023
george, mavrodes, november, 1926, july, 2019, american, philosopher, professor, emeritus, philosophy, university, michigan, contents, biography, work, bibliography, author, editor, also, references, external, linksbiography, editmavrodes, received, degree, 194. George I Mavrodes November 23 1926 July 31 2019 was an American philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Michigan 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 Work 3 Bibliography 3 1 Author 3 2 Editor 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditMavrodes received his B S degree 1945 from Oregon State College his B D degree 1953 from Western Baptist Theological Seminary and his M A 1960 and PhD 1961 degrees in philosophy from the University of Michigan 2 He retired on March 31 1995 being named professor emeritus of philosophy after thirty three years at the University of Michigan 3 Work EditMavrodes is the author of Belief in God A Study in the Epistemology of Religion 1970 and Revelation in Religious Belief 1988 He has nearly one hundred articles covering such topics as revelation omnipotence miracles resurrection personal identity and survival of death and faith and reason as well as ethics and social policy issues that intersect with religion and morality abortion pacifism the just war and nuclear deterrence Mavrodes has served as president of the Society for Philosophy of Religion and the Society of Christian Philosophers and as a member of the executive committee of the American Theological Society Mavrodes has held editorial positions with American Philosophical Quarterly Faith and Philosophy and The Reformed Journal One of his more widely studied works is titled Religion and the Queerness of Morality where he questions whether genuine moral obligation could make sense in a world as described in Russell s A Free Man s Worship He distinguished two major ways of understanding evolution The first is the naturalistic way of understanding evolution as explicable entirely in terms of natural law without reference to a divine intention or intervention But a theistic understanding of evolution holds that there was a divine teleology in this process a divine direction at each crucial stage in accordance with divine plan or intention In other words a theistic understanding of evolution holds that although evolution occurred God still directed evolution Evolution is merely the tool of God s design Evolution and even the great struggle for existence that selects some animals to survive and others to die is the instrument with which God designs human beings and other animals On this view Darwinian evolution is consistent with the belief that God through evolution produced human beings for a purpose Other philosophers such as Henri Bergson and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin have also argued that the process of evolution is not blind and random but directed and purposeful Bibliography EditAuthor Edit Belief in God A Study in the Epistemology of Religion Random House 1970 Revelation in Religious Belief Temple University Press 1988 Editor Edit Problems and Perspectives in the Philosophy of Religion Allyn and Bacon Inc 1967 The Rationality of Belief in God Prentice Hall 1970 See also EditAmerican philosophy List of American philosophersReferences Edit George Mavrodes Obituary Visitation amp Funeral Information memorials niefuneralhomes com Retrieved 27 September 2019 Memoir Faculty History Project um2017 org Archived from the original on 23 April 2018 Retrieved 22 April 2018 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2012 07 25 Retrieved 2013 08 03 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link External links EditUniversity of Michigan Faculty page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George I Mavrodes amp oldid 1170865162, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
