WWU’s Hud Hudson to Discuss the Philosophical Case for the Existence of God June 1 at City Hall

Hud Hudson, professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University, will give a talk titled “A Critical Evaluation of the Fine-Tuning Argument for the Existence of God” from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1, in the Bellingham City Council Chambers.

The lecture is part of the WWU College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Lecture Series and is co-sponsored by the City of Bellingham, which is free and open to the public.

The fine-tuning argument is designed to demonstrate that the fact that cosmic conditions allow for the existence of life is, in itself, very good evidence for the thesis of theism over the thesis of atheism. This argument does not attempt to show that it is true that God exists, but rather just that there is one excellent piece of evidence in favor of the theistic hypothesis over its rival atheistic hypothesis. It is the kind of evidence, or so say its proponents, that could justify belief that God exists.

Hudson joined the Philosophy department at WWU in 1992 after earning his doctorate at the University of Rochester.  While at Western, he has been honored as the recipient of the Peter J. Elich Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award and of the Paul J. Olscamp Research Award. Hudson specializes in contemporary analytic metaphysics and the philosophy of religion.  He has published four books, “Kant’s Compatibilism” and “A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person” published by the University of Cornell Press, as well as “The Metaphysics of Hyperspace” and “The Fall and Hypertime” published by the University of Oxford Press. He also has 50 articles published or forthcoming in prestigious journals and anthologies on a variety of topics in metaphysics, philosophy of religion, ethics, mathematics, and Kant studies.  A scholar of worldwide reputation, Hudson has given professional presentations in 20 states and 15 countries.

Questions from the audience are welcomed in Hudson’s talk, and the talk will be recorded and shown on Bellingham TV Channel 10.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the university’s largest college, includes the 13 departments of Anthropology, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Communication Studies, English, Health and Human Development, History, Journalism, Liberal Studies, Modern and Classical Languages, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology, as well as three interdisciplinary programs of East Asian Studies, Linguistics, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

For more information contact Kirsten Anderson, administrative assistant of Western Washington University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, at (360) 650-3763 or Kirsten.Anderson@wwu.edu