God, Goodness and Philosophy is the first volume of a series being published by Ashgate, the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion, which is associated with a biennial conference of the same name. The goal of the series is to publish books which will shape contemporary debates, and it is without question that this particular volume in the series should have that effect. This volume's chapters are an excellent example of philosophy of religion in action while making significant contributions to the subject matter. Topics covered in the volume are as diverse as the use of philosophy of religion, Euthyphro dilemma, evolution and the grounds of morality, evil and the goodness of God, and moral responsibility and God.
The volume begins with Victoria Harrison responding to criticisms that analytic philosophy of religion (APR), with its dependence on the scientific method, forces scholars into specialisations and thus is unable to make profitable contributions to contemporary religious questions. Harrison's solution is to re-envision APR so that it can better address issues raised by religion outside the academy. Her solution is to encourage APR to draw upon non-Western religions and philosophies as well as focusing on concepts of religion rather than concepts of God. Despite this fascinating proposal for a way that APR should be conducted in the future, this volume does not adopt this suggestion. In the following chapters the discourses which assume the existence of God to address their perspective topics do so from a predominantly Western outlook.
This discontinuity between themes and issues addressed continues through the edition; however this ends up being one of the overarching strengths of the volume. Though it may not have been able to take up Harrison's call to draw upon different cultures to solve issues in contemporary APR, the volume's diversity of stances shines as one of its educational highpoints, which is most clearly shown in the diversity of interpretations of the Euthyphro dilemma.
Timothy Chappell argues in his chapter that the Euthyphro dilemma as it is conceived of today – is the morally good commanded by God because it is morally good, or is it morally good because it is commanded by God? – is not actually Socrates’ driving concern. Chappell argues that the dialogue's emphasis is not that divine command ethics should be rejected, but rather that Plato's ethical theism is desired over the chaotic polytheism. Euthyphro cannot be an argument against divine command theories of ethics because Socrates himself is a divine command theorist who received knowledge by divine revelation. Along with this fascinating, and rather convincing, argument for a rereading of the dilemma, Anders Kraal, in a later chapter in the volume, specifically argues against Alvin Plantinga's attack on divine simplicity, referring to the Euthyphro dilemma in its currently understood form. This discontinuity between readings of Plato's dialogue is not a negative aspect of the volume. Rather, it shows the breadth of issues being engaged with from a number of different points of view, making this volume accessible and applicable to a wide audience at varying educational levels. With that said, the volume stands out as an edition which would be good to assign to students as well as being of benefit to established scholars.
Other notable chapters in the volume are Herman Philipse's discussion on God, ethics and evolution, as well as Nicholas Wolterstorff's discussion of injustice in generosity and gift giving. Each chapter stands on its own as an excellent piece of work being both clear and accessible. For this reason the volume provides a good starting point for understanding the concepts of different issues while also making contributions to the fields. This volume will be of interest to both philosophers of religion and moral theologians.
