Philosophical Theology: The Basics

The book guides readers through the basic theories and thinkers in western philosophical theology from Plato to Plantinga, presenting key concerns that have led to debates within secular and Christian philosophy throughout history and encouraging readers to engage with these debates.

What is philosophical theology? How does philosophy relate to theology? Should theology be philosophical? This book explores answers to these questions from the ancient world to the present day, introducing the reader to the basic theories and thinkers in philosophical theology, within the Judaeo-Christian tradition.

The book guides readers through the basic theories and thinkers in western philosophical theology from Plato to Plantinga, presenting key concerns that have led to debates within secular and Christian philosophy throughout history and encouraging readers to engage with these debates. It explores theories and schools of thought that have been developed to try and answer some of the most pressing questions in philosophy and theology across the following areas:

• faith and knowledge
• arguments for the existence of God
• mysticism
• religious language and experience
• the soul and life after death
• good and evil
• conscience and religious ethics
• human freewill
• divine providence and miracles

Accessibly written, this book is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a full introduction to philosophical theology as well as broader themes in philosophy of religion and systematic theology.

Introduction: What is Philosophical Theology? 1. Faith verses Knowledge? 2. God’s Existence 3. Mysticism and Religious Language 4. Religious Experience and Religious Ethics 5. The Soul and the Afterlife 6. Evil, Providence and Miracles Conclusion: Philosophical Theologies

"Philosophical Theology: The Basics offers a clear and engaging introduction to philosophical theology. The authors guide the readers through the central questions, methods, and debates which have shaped Judeo-Christian thought, adopting an analytic approach, but gesturing towards wider horizons of thinking across different traditions and perspectives. The result is a text that will inspire as well as inform, inviting students to imagine how the field might expand, whilst giving them the tools to participate in this exciting journey. Essential reading for undergraduates and anyone seeking to grapple with the Big Questions."

- Fiona Ellis, Professor of Philosophy, University of Nottingham

Dr Dafydd Mills Daniel is Lecturer in Divinity, University of St Andrews. Previously McDonald Lecturer, University of Oxford, he is author of Conscience and the Age of Reason and, with David Mills Daniel, of Briefly: 25 Great Philosophers from Plato to Sartre, Briefly: Nietzsche''s Beyond Good and Evil and AS/A2 Ethics and Moral Philosophy. His BBC radio documentaries include: Where do human rights come from? and Sir Isaac Newton and the Philosophers'' Stone.

Dr David Mills Daniel is creator of the Briefly series of books on leading figures in the history of western philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle to Bertrand Russell and A.J. Ayer. A former headmaster, researcher at the University of Leeds and A level Chief Examiner, his books include: Briefly: Aquinas’ Summa Theologica, Briefly: Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Briefly: Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Briefly: Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason, Briefly: Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling.