Episode Details

Ethan Muse and I spar over the problem of evil, cosmic fine-tuning, infallible popes, and the doctrine of eternal conscious torment.

Video of this interview is available on YouTube.

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EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:44 Rutgers, philosophy, and Catholic apologetics

00:05:08 Ethan’s path into philosophy

00:09:52 The goal of doing philosophy

00:13:52 Ethan’s conversion to Catholicism

00:17:55 Doubts, confidence, and the problem of evil

00:23:45 Miracle evidence and outweighing evil

00:25:04 Fine-tuning and theism

00:28:48 Frequency data, design, and Bayesianism

00:33:43 Mini-verses and apparent design

00:38:20 What fine-tuning means

00:41:04 Apparent design and fragile harmony

00:46:38 The infrared bullseye analogy

00:51:29 Design, stalking horses, and naturalism

00:59:56 Priors, bare theism, and Bayesian machinery

01:04:53 Papal infallibility and alleged counterexamples

01:11:36 Eternal hell and Catholic doctrine

01:19:46 Moral intuition against eternal torment

01:22:42 Saints, sin, and moral authority

01:30:12 Moral progress and Catholic tradition

01:32:57 Moral disagreement and final thoughts