Journal: Global Journal of Classical Theology
Volume: GJCT 08:1 (May 2010)
Article: Alvin Plantinga: An Evaluation Of Reformed Epistemology
Author: Jessica Wagner

Alvin Plantinga: An Evaluation Of Reformed Epistemology

Jessica Wagner

Patrick Henry College

Is there a God? How does one know God exists? What is the relationship between faith and reason? These are some of the fundamental questions of human experience. Alvin Plantinga is an important modern Christian philosopher who has had much to say on the subject of belief and knowledge of God. Plantinga has written numerous books and articles dealing with a variety of theistic questions, but he is most well-known for his ‘Reformed Epistemology.’ This paper will briefly consider Plantinga’s life and work while focusing mainly on an exposition and critique of Plantinga’s epistemology.

Background

Alvin Plantinga was born on November 15, 1932, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.1 His mother, Lettie, was of Dutch-American descent, and his father, Cornelius, was born in Friesland but moved with his family to America while still a young boy. Both of Plantinga’s parents came from strong Calvinist backgrounds dating back several generations, and Plantinga was raised in the Dutch Reformed Church.2 His father was also a philosopher holding a Ph.D in Philosophy from Duke University as well as a M.S. in Psychology, and it was from him that Plantinga gained an early love of philosophy.3 Plantinga’s father moved his family from place to place over the course of his academic career, but the bulk of Plantinga’s junior high and high school years were spent in North Dakota where his father taught at Jamestown College. Plantinga enrolled at Jamestown College his senior year of high school but then transferred to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan when his father accepted a position as a philosophy professor there. Plantinga spent two semesters studying at Harvard later returning to Calvin where he studied under William Harry Jellema and received his undergraduate degree in 1954. He began graduate work the same year at the University of Michigan studying under William P. Alston, Richard Cartwright, and William K. Frankena and received his M.A. in 1955.4 Plantinga married his wife, Kathleen De Boer (also of a Dutch Reformed background), the same year. They have four children, Carl, Jane, William Harry, and Ann.5 Plantinga earned his Ph.D in Philosophy from Yale in 1958, and began his teaching career in the Directed Studies Program there in 1957, but accepted a position as professor of philosophy at Wayne State University in Detroit in 1958. In 1963, Plantinga transferred to Calvin College where he was hired as Jellema’s successor. After 19 years at Calvin, Plantinga ...