Richard Granville Swinburne (

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioner ...

) (born December 26, 1934) is an English philosopher. He is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. Over the last 50 years Swinburne has been a proponent of philosophical

arguments for the existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorized ...

. His

philosophical 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. Som ...

contributions are primarily 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 Text (literary theo ...

and

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ulti ...

. He aroused much discussion with his early work in the philosophy of religion, a trilogy of books consisting of ''The Coherence of Theism'', '' The Existence of God'', and ''Faith and Reason''.

Early life

Swinburne was born in

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

, Staffordshire, England, on 26 December 1934. His father was a school music teacher, who was himself the son of an off-licence owner in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

. His mother was a secretary, the daughter of an optician. He is an only child. Swinburne attended a preparatory school and then

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

Academic career

Swinburne received an open scholarship to study classics at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, but in fact graduated with a first-class

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. Swinburne has held various professorships through his career in academia. From 1972 to 1985 he taught at

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Kee ...

. During part of this time, he gave the

Gifford lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

from 1982 to 1984, resulting in the book ''The Evolution of the Soul''. From 1985 until his retirement in 2002 he was Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion at the

(his successor to this chair was

Brian Leftow Brian Leftow (born 1956) is an American philosopher specializing in philosophy of religion, medieval philosophy, and metaphysics. He is the William P. Alston Professor for the Philosophy of Religion at Rutgers University. Previously, he held the N ...

). He has continued to publish regularly since his retirement. Swinburne has been an active author throughout his career, producing a major book every two to three years. He has played a role in recent debate over the

mind–body problem The mind–body problem is a philosophical debate concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness in the human mind, and the brain as part of the physical body. The debate goes beyond addressing the mere question of how mind and bo ...

, defending a substance dualism that recalls the work of

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathe ...

in important respects (see ''The Evolution of the Soul'', 1997). His books are primarily very technical works of academic philosophy, but he has written at the popular level as well. Of the non-technical works, his '' Is There a God?'' (1996), summarising for a non-specialist audience many of his

and plausibility in the belief of that existence, is probably the most popular, and is available in 22 languages.

Christian apologetics

A member of the Orthodox Church, he is noted as one of the foremost

Christian apologist Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in th ...

s, arguing in his many articles and books that faith in Christianity is rational and coherent in a rigorous philosophical sense.

William Hasker R. William Hasker (; born 1935) is an American philosopher and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Huntington University. For many years he was editor of the prestigious journal ''Faith and Philosophy''. He has published many journa ...

writes that his "tetralogy on Christian doctrine, together with his earlier trilogy on the philosophy of theism, is one of the most important apologetic projects of recent times." While Swinburne presents many arguments to advance the belief that God exists, he argues that God is a being whose existence is not logically necessary (see modal logic), but metaphysically necessary in a way he defines in his ''The Christian God''. Other subjects on which Swinburne writes include

personal identity Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time ca ...

(in which he espouses a view based on the concept of a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

), and epistemic justification. He has written in defence of

Cartesian dualism Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—from his Latinized name ''Cartesius''. It may refer to: Mathematics * Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory *Cartesian coordinate system, mode ...

and

libertarian free will Libertarianism is one of the main philosophical positions related to the problems of free will and determinism which are part of the larger domain of metaphysics. In particular, libertarianism is an incompatibilist position which argues that fre ...

. Although he is best known for his vigorous defence of Christian intellectual commitments, he also has a theory of the nature of passionate faith which is developed in his book ''Faith and Reason''. According to an interview Swinburne did with ''Foma'' magazine, he converted from Anglicanism (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

) to

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonica ...

around 1996:

I don't think I changed my beliefs in any significant way. I always believed in the Apostolic succession: that the Church has to have its authority dating back to the Apostles, and the general teaching of the Orthodox Church on the saints and the prayers for the departed and so on, these things I have always believed.

Swinburne's philosophical method reflects the influence of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

. He admits that he draws from Aquinas a systematic approach to philosophical theology. Swinburne, like Aquinas, moves from basic philosophical issues (for example, the question of the possibility that God may exist in Swinburne's ''The Coherence of Theism''), to more specific Christian beliefs (for example, the claim in Swinburne's ''Revelation'' that God has communicated to human beings propositionally in Jesus Christ). Swinburne moves in his writing program from the philosophical to the theological, building his case and relying on his previous arguments as he defends particular Christian beliefs. He has attempted to reassert classical Christian beliefs with an apologetic method that he believes is compatible with contemporary science. That method relies heavily on inductive logic, seeking to show that his Christian beliefs fit best with the evidence.

National Life Stories National Life Stories is an independent charitable trust and limited company (registered as the ‘National Life Story Collection’) based within the British Library Oral History section, whose key focus and expertise is oral history fieldwork. S ...

conducted an oral history interview (C1672/15) with Richard Swinburne in 2015–2016 for its Science and Religion collection held by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

Major books

* ''Space and Time'', 1968 * ''The Concept of Miracle'', 1970, * ''The Coherence of Theism'', 1977 (new edition 2016) (part 1 of his trilogy on Theism) * ''The Existence of God'', 1979 (new edition 2004, ) (part 2 of his trilogy on Theism) * ''Faith and Reason'', 1981 (new edition 2005). (part 3 of his trilogy on Theism) * ''The Evolution of the Soul'', 1986, .
1997 edition online
* ''Miracles'', 1989 * ''Responsibility and Atonement'', 1989 (part 1 of his

tetralogy A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- ''tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies ...

on Christian Doctrines) * ''Revelation'', 1991 (part 2 of his

on Christian Doctrines) * ''The Christian God'', 1994 (part 3 of his

on Christian Doctrines) * '' Is There a God?'', 1996, ; revised edition, 2010, * ''Simplicity as Evidence of Truth'', The Aquinas Lecture, 1997 * ''Providence and the Problem of Evil'', 1998 (part 4 of his

on Christian Doctrines) * ''Epistemic Justification'', 2001 * ''The Resurrection of God Incarnate'', 2003 * ''Was Jesus God?'', 2008 * ''Free Will and Modern Science'', Ed. 2011, * ''Mind, Brain, and Free Will'', 2013 * ''Are We Bodies or Souls?'', 2019,

Spiritual autobiography

* Richard Swinburne, "Natural Theology and Orthodoxy," in ''Turning East: Contemporary Philosophers and the Ancient Christian Faith'', Rico Vitz, ed. (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2012), pp. 47–78. * Richard Swinburne, "The Vocation of a Natural Theologian," in ''Philosophers Who Believe'', Kelly James Clark, ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), pp. 179–202.

References

Footnotes

Works cited

* * * * * * * *

External links

* * – Includes a curriculum vitae and more complete list of publications
Presentation at Gifford lecturesRichard Swinburne, Faith and Reason
review fro
DiapsalmataMoscow Center for Consciousness Studies'' video interview with Richard Swinburne
31 May 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Swinburne, Richard 1934 births Living people 20th-century English philosophers 20th-century English theologians 21st-century English philosophers 21st-century English theologians Academics of Keele University Academics of the University of Hull Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Analytic philosophers Christian apologists Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Anglicanism Critics of atheism Eastern Orthodox philosophers English Eastern Orthodox Christians Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Nolloth Professors of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion Philosophers of religion Philosophers of science Philosophical cosmologists Writers about religion and science People educated at Charterhouse School