On the Nature and Existence of God

Richard M. Gale

doi:10.1017/CBO9781316499054

First published in 1991, Richard M. Gale's classic book is a response to and critique of new, contemporary arguments for the existence of God from analytical philosophers. Considering concepts including time, free will, personhood, actuality and the objectivity of experience, Gale evaluates the new versions of cosmological, ontological, pragmatic and religious experience arguments that emerged in the late-twentieth century. Presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, and including a specially commissioned preface written by Paul K. Moser, illuminating its enduring importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry, this influential work has been revived for a new generation of readers.

'On the Nature and Existence of God is a remarkable book … [it] can hardly fail to be a rich source instruction, reflection, and - last, but not least - entertainment.'

Source: Dialogue

'… Gale's book is a treasure of contemporary philosophy of religion. Closely and cogently argued …'

Source: International Journal for Philosophy of Religion

'… clear, forceful, witty and provocative.'

Source: Religious Studies

'On the Nature and Existence of God was first published in 1991 and it is still a valuable contribution to the philosophy of religion. It deals with important questions concerning the philosophical and theological adequacy of a particular concept of God (that of classical theism).'

Benedikt Paul Göcke Source: Reading Religion

- Aa Reduce text
- Aa Enlarge text

View selected items
Save to my bookmarks
Export citations
Download PDF (zip)
Save to Kindle
Save to Dropbox
Save to Google Drive
Save content to
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to .

To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Please be advised that item(s) you selected are not available.
You are about to save
Your Kindle email address

Please provide your Kindle email.

@free.kindle.com @kindle.com (service fees apply)

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services

Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Dedication
pp v-vi
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Contents
pp vii-viii
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Preface to this edition
pp ix-x
- By Paul K. Moser
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Acknowledgments
pp xi-xii
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Introduction
pp 1-10
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Atheological arguments
pp 11-12
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

1 - Atheology and the nature of God
pp 13-30
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

2 - The creation–immutability argument
pp 31-46
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

3 - The omniscience–immutability argument
pp 47-81
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

4 - The deductive argument from evil
pp 82-151
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

5 - The argument from world-relative actuality
pp 152-170
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Theological arguments
pp 171-172
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

6 - Ontological arguments
pp 173-203
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

7 - Cosmological arguments
pp 204-243
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

8 - Religious-experience arguments
pp 244-294
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

9 - Pragmatic arguments
pp 295-332
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Index
pp 333-337
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Total number of HTML views: 0

Total number of PDF views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

Total views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

On the Nature and Existence of God

This Book has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref.

Book description

Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Dedication
pp v-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

Preface to this edition
pp ix-x

Acknowledgments
pp xi-xii

Introduction
pp 1-10

Atheological arguments
pp 11-12

1 - Atheology and the nature of God
pp 13-30

2 - The creation–immutability argument
pp 31-46

3 - The omniscience–immutability argument
pp 47-81

4 - The deductive argument from evil
pp 82-151

5 - The argument from world-relative actuality
pp 152-170

Theological arguments
pp 171-172

6 - Ontological arguments
pp 173-203

7 - Cosmological arguments
pp 204-243

8 - Religious-experience arguments
pp 244-294

9 - Pragmatic arguments
pp 295-332

Index
pp 333-337

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

Accessibility Information

On the Nature and Existence of God

Book description

Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Save Search

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

Accessibility Information