Ep. #91 – Salvaging Pascal’s Wager
Summary
How can Pascal’s Wager possibly work if there are so many religions to choose from? Also, how is it supposed to work when multiple religions offer infinite value? Plus, isn’t there a worry that choosing a religion based on value is *dishonest* and opposed to truth-seeking? Dr. Liz Jackson joins the podcast to answer these questions and more.
Guest Bio
Liz Jackson is a Research Fellow at Australian National University and an Assistant Professor of philosophy at Ryerson University (starting Fall 2020). Her research focuses on questions in epistemology and philosophy of religion. Her dissertation was on the relationship between belief and subjective probability (credence). Much of her research in epistemology revolves around the question “what should we believe?” In philosophy of religion, her research focuses on the rationality of religious commitment, specifically, the relationship between faith and reason and Pascal’s wager. She completed her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame in May 2019.
Topics Covered
- Dr. Liz Jackson’s background
- An Overview of her first paper on Pascal’s Wager
- The Many God’s Objection
- How she deals with the Many God’s Objection
- The objection that the Wager is dishonest or opposed to truth-seeking
- The Homer Simpson objection
- How the Wager may relate to the Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Resources Mentioned
Salvaging Pascal’s Wager (essay) by Liz Jackson and Andrew Rogers
Wagering Against Hiddenness (essay) by Liz Jackson
Taking Pascal’s Wager by Dr. Michael Rota
