David Alan Johnson

For other people named David Johnson, see David Johnson (disambiguation).

David A. Johnson (born 1952) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yeshiva University and has previously taught at UCLA, University of Missouri, and Syracuse University. Raised in Nebraska, he earned his BA from the University of Nebraska, where he studied under Robert Audi, and his PhD from Princeton University. His areas of concentration are Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics, and Epistemology. His brother, Edward, is Professor of Philosophy at University of New Orleans.

In his first book, Hume, Holism, and Miracles, Johnson purports to have refuted David Hume's popular argument for the irrationality of belief in testimony of miracles (as can be found in his essay entitled "Of Miracles") as well as several reconstructions of Hume's argument (most notably that of Bayesian philosopher Jordan Howard Sobel). Subsequently, Robert Fogelin (of Dartmouth College) responded to Johnson's critique of Hume in his book A Defense of Hume on Miracles.

Johnson's second book, Truth Without Paradox, consists mostly of Johnson's claimed resolutions of many alleged paradoxes, such as the Liar Paradox. Towards the end of the book, Johnson presents his version of the ontological argument for the existence of God. He also gives a historical argument for the validity of the Bible.

Books

• Hume, Holism, and Miracles (Cornell University Press, 1999)
• Truth Without Paradox (Rowman&Littlefield Publishers, 2004)

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

References

• Yeshiva College: Philosophy Faculty