The Argument from Reason and Rational Agents - by Timothy A Stratton & Joshua R Farris (Hardcover)

About the Book

A mid-level exploration of the Argument from Reason, this book challenges naturalism by defending rational agency, freedom, and theism, while engaging contemporary issues such as AI, consciousness, and transhumanism. It is suitable for students, scholars, and general readers seeking clarity on mind, meaning, and personhood.

Book Synopsis

Challenges naturalism by defending rational agency, freedom, and theism, while engaging contemporary issues such as AI, consciousness, and transhumanism.

In an era when machines compute with superhuman efficiency and public intellectuals question whether rationality distinguishes us from artificial intelligence, the Argument from Reason regains new urgency. This volume offers a fresh, mid-level treatment of the argument, defending the claim that rational inference--the act of believing something because one sees it to be true--cannot be explained by deterministic naturalism or materialist accounts of the mind.

The book engages with the important contributions of Charles Taliaferro and Stewart Goetz (Naturalism), who critiqued classical naturalists such as Dennett, McGinn, Kim, and Searle. It also extends beyond their work to evaluate recent philosophical trends, including Bernardo Kastrup's idealist monism, Philip Goff's panpsychism and cosmopsychism, and Graham Oppy's robust metaphysical naturalism. Distinct from J.P. Moreland's Argument from Consciousness, this project foregrounds the unique irreducibility of rational agency while situating it in today's debates over AI, machine learning, and transhumanism.

Accessible but not simplistic, this book is intended for students, scholars, and thoughtful readers across philosophy, theology, and science-religion studies. Each chapter combines philosophical rigor with cultural relevance, showing why rational agency remains essential for understanding freedom, consciousness, and moral responsibility.

At its core, this book defends not only the distinctiveness of human persons but also the intellectual integrity of religious belief. By reclaiming reason as the hallmark of humanity and as a necessary condition for faith, it offers a rationally robust vision of religion fit for the challenges of a technological age.

About the Author

Joshua R. Farris is a philosopher and theologian specializing in philosophy of mind, theological anthropology, and the intersection of science and religion.

Timothy A. Stratton is an analytic and systematic theologian specializing in the philosophy of free will, epistemology, and metaphysics.