Richard Carrier – Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism

If God does not exist, then what does? Is there good and evil, and should we care? How do we know what’s true anyway? And can we make any sense of this universe, or our own lives? Sense and Goodness without God answers all these questions in lavish detail, without complex jargon. A complete worldview is presented and defended, covering every subject from knowledge to art, from metaphysics to morality, from theology to politics. Topics include free will, the nature of the universe, the meaning of life, and much more, arguing from scientific evidence that there is only a physical, natural world without gods or spirits, but that we can still live a life of love, meaning, and joy.

Dr. Carrier is an established historian and philosopher and former editor-in-chief of the Secular Web, and he draws on his extensive experience for over ten years defending the worldview of naturalism as well as his formal studies in the history of science, religion and philosophy. Most notable is Carrier’s extensive defense of universal moral truth without appealing to supernatural objects or beings, his articulation of leading multiverse theories and why they are simpler and more plausible explanations of our universe than any divine creationism, his summary of the case for mind-brain physicalism, his broad and innovative defense of compatibilist free will, his discussion of the scientific study of beauty, and a philosophical defense of sometimes unorthodox political views. Although it is written for a lay audience, Sense and Goodness tackles the sophisticated attacks on naturalism by the likes of Plantinga, Moreland, Reppert, and others. In the process he presents a complete worldview-in-a-box for easy evaluation, and explains why it is more credible than any other.