A sit down with one of the greats in the field.

Whenever someone opens an A level Philosophy or Religious Studies textbook, few names are mentioned more than that of Prof. Richard Swinburne. Being one of the most influential members in contemporary analytic philosophy of religion, the same can be said about his work in academic discussions. For this reason, it was a great privilege to be able to host Prof. Richard Swinburne on my channel Philosophy for All to talk to him about the philosophy of religion.

Instead of trying to focus on a specific area of his expertise, I wanted this interview to be at a more general level. I wanted to talk to him about his own journey in the field, how he has seen it develop through the years, and how his ideas have changed and evolved. While, for the most part, we spoke about his contributions to arguments for the existence of God as well as his response to the problem of evil, we also touched on his advice for Christian philosophers of religion as well as advice for the many high school students who have grown up reading his work.

For a brief overview of the interview, here are the timestamps:

0:27 How did Richard Swinburne discover religion Christianity?

1:45 What tradition did he grow up in and how did his faith develop?

3:05 How did you develop your interest in the philosophy of religion?

6:02 How did your academic interests in philosophy develop over time?

7:42 What was the landscape of the philosophy of religion like when you started?

11:02 How has the philosophy of religion developed since?

16:26 How has the strength of the cumulative case for God develop over time given developments in arguments for and against God?

22:33 Arguments for the existence of God

25:43 Richard Swinburne and the problem of evil

39:00 Swinburne’s theodicy vs Hick’s soul-making theodicy

41:09 Why Swinburne became Orthodox?

43:00 What is the direction of philosophy of religion going forward?

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I highly recommend you to go check out this interview which, as always, is found both on the YouTube channel Philosophy for All and my podcast: