Peter Richard Haddow Forrest (born 1948) is an Australian philosopher.

Early life and education

Forrest was born in 1948 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England, and was educated at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

. His undergraduate work was at Balliol College, Oxford, in mathematics, and he gained a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(PhD) degree in mathematics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. After moving to Australia he gained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in philosophy at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...

, then in 1984 a PhD degree at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, where he was influenced by philosophers

David Stove David Charles Stove (15 September 1927 – 2 June 1994) was an Australian philosopher. Philosophy His work in philosophy of science included criticisms of David Hume's Inductive scepticism. He offered a positive response to the problem of ...

and David Armstrong. He was Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England from 1987 to 2010.

Academic career

In the

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

, Forrest's books ''God Without the Supernatural'' and ''Developmental Theism'' defend a speculative view of God which resembles traditional

theism Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred ...

in regarding God as an entity beyond the world, having creative powers, but also takes God not to violate natural laws and to develop from a state of pure power to a state of pure love. In the

philosophy of time Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, Forrest defends the growing block theory, according to which the present and the past are real, but not the future. He is a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

. He is married, with four children.

Books

* 1986, ''The Dynamics of Belief: A Normative Logic'', Oxford: Blackwell, ; * 1988, ''Quantum Metaphysics'', Oxford: Blackwell, ; * 1996,
God Without the Supernatural: A Defense of Scientific Theism
', Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press ; * 2007,
Developmental Theism: From Pure Will to Unbounded Love
', Oxford: Clarendon Press, ; * 2012,
The Necessary Structure of the All-Pervading Aether
', Frankfurt: Ontos Verlag, . * 2021,
Intellectual, Humanist and Religious Commitment: Acts of Assent
', London: Bloomsbury,

References

External links

Peter Forrest home pagePhilpapers listingCloser to Truth series of interviews
1948 births Living people People educated at Ampleforth College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Australian philosophers Philosophers of religion University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of New England (Australia) Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Philosophical theists {{reli-philo-bio-stub