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person1970s-present

Robert Adams

Disciplines:
ethics
theology/philosophy of religion
metaphysics

Summary

American philosopher who has developed a sophisticated divine command theory of ethics, a modal metaphysics of essences, and contributed to the study of Leibniz.

Core Contribution

Finite and Infinite Goods: the most systematic defense of divine command theory since the medievals — moral rightness is a matter of God's commands, but this is not arbitrary because God commands what is good by his nature. A theory of virtue as excellence. Leibniz: Determinist, Theist, Idealist: a comprehensive account of Leibniz's metaphysics and theology.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Adams's version of divine command theory escapes the Euthyphro dilemma: God does not arbitrarily command the good, but God's nature is the good — the commands flow necessarily from God's perfectly good nature.

Notable Works & Achievements

Finite and Infinite Goods

Leibniz: Determinist, Theist, Idealist

The Virtue of Faith

Historical Influences

Leibniz Kierkegaard

Intellectual Lineage

Analytic Philosophy of Religion Christian Philosophy

Contemporaries & Peers

Alvin Plantinga William Alston

Minds Influenced

Philosophy of Religion

Intellectual Posterity

Divine Command Theory

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