Description

On October 18-19, 2002, the Center for Philosophical Education at Santa Barbara City College hosted a symposium honoring Professor Adolf Grunbaum's contributions to contemporary philosophy. This work, an outgrowth of that symposium, contains essays by leading philosophers on Grunbaum's vast influence on philosophy of religion and philosophy of science. The symposium participants have either significantly reworked their original papers or written entirely new ones for this special publication. A reprint of Grunbaum's "The Poverty of Theistic Cosmology" further enriches the book.

A highlight of the present volume is an extended "Autobiographical-Philosophical Narrative" in which Grunbaum traces his intellectual journey, beginning with a poignant account of his early experiences with anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany and his initial queries about religious belief, continuing through the major milestones of his career, and concluding with his current interests. Also of great value is a complete bibliography of Grunbaum's published works.
Besides Grunbaum, the contributors include Nancy Murphy, Bas C. van Fraassen, Michael Tooley, Steven Humphrey, Nancy Cartwright, and Edward Erwin.