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Comment: The most common way for a philosopher to meet Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion would be to meet WP:NAUTHOR, which requires multiple detailed reviews of the subject's books in reliable sources (e.g. academic journals). If these exist, please cite the reviews of his books in your draft. He may also meet the criteria for inclusion via any of the eight criteria at WP:NPROF. I couldn't find any indication that he meets these criteria on a quick search, but if he does, please add evidence of that. MCE89 (talk) 08:45, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
- Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest policy, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Mppcsd (talk) 11:24, 20 September 2025 (UTC)
Tim Mawson (T. J. Mawson) is a British philosopher who specializes in philosophy of religion. He is the Edgar Jones Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St Peter's College, Oxford. He has served as Dean of the college since 2018.[1]
Education and Career
editMawson earned his BA (Hons) in Philosophy and Theology (1993) and MPhil in Philosophical Theology (1995) as a student at St Peter's College, Oxford, before moving to The Queen's College, Oxford, to undertake the Holwell Studentship, in which he studied for his doctorate under the supervision of Richard Swinburne. He returned to St Peter's College on completion of his doctorate in 1998, his fellowship being renamed ‘The Edgar Jones Fellowship in Philosophy’ in 2015 in honour of an alumnus of the College.[2]
Philosophical Work
editMawson writes in the Analytic tradition of Philosophy, mainly on central topics in the Philosophy of Religion. He has published over 60 articles, books and book chapters on the divine attributes, and on arguments for and against the existence of God. His 2005 book, Belief in God, translated into Spanish as Creer en Dios (Ediciones Siruela, 2012),[3] is the textbook for Oxford's online Philosophy of Religion course[4] and received reviews in Hume Studies,[5] Religious Studies,[6] Philosophy.[7] and the Times Literary Supplement.[8]
Across his writings, Mawson has argued for a traditional theistic worldview: God is best understood as an atemporal, omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good personal being, and there is a balance of reasons for thinking that such a God exists. In an interview for the Philosophy Interview site 3:16 in 2016, Mawson said, "I am a Christian; I was brought up in a Christian family; and I've never really wavered from that worldview."[9] His paper, 'Praying to stop being an atheist' was the basis for 'the atheist prayer experiment' conducted by the show 'Unbelievable?' on Premier Christian Radio.[10] His 2011 book Free Will: A Guide for the Perplexed received reviews in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews[11] and Faith and Philosophy.[12]
Within his published work on the meaning of life Mawson has argued for what he calls a polyvalence view. This is the view that there are many meanings of life and many senses in which lives can have meaning in them. Mawson argues that God, should he exist, is relevant to most of these sorts of meaning of life and meanings in life. His 2016 book God and the Meanings of Life received reviews in Religious Studies,[13] Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews,[14] Theology,[15] and Journal of Analytic Theology.[16] In a symposium on the book, whilst describing it as "the most erudite and intricate book on life's meaning that I have ever read in the Anglo-American tradition of philosophy", philosopher Thaddeus Metz disagrees with Mawson's major claims.[17] He has developed this critique further in his book God, Soul and the Meaning of Life.[18]
His 2019 book Monotheism and the Meaning of Life was reviewed in Religious Studies Review.[19]
Books
edit- Mawson, T. J. (2019), Monotheism and the Meaning of Life, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781108584425
- Mawson, T. J. (2018), The Divine Attributes, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781108598101
- Mawson, T. J. (2016), God and the Meanings of Life, Bloomsbury, ISBN 9781474212564
- Mawson, T. J. (2011), Free Will: A Guide for the Perplexed, Continuum, ISBN 9780826431226
- Mawson, T. J. (2005), Belief in God, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780199284955
References
edit- ↑ "T. J. Mawson". Faculty of Philosophy.
- ↑ "Dr Tim Mawson". St Peter's College.
- ↑ Mawson, T. J. (2012). Creer en Dios: Una introducción a la filosofía de la religión. Translated by Barbero De Granda, Luis. Ediciones Siruela. ISBN 978-84-9841-585-8.
- ↑ "Philosophy of Religion Online". Oxford University.
- ↑ Mason, Andrew S. (2006). "Belief in God: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (review)". Hume Studies. 32 (2): 357–361.
- ↑ Burns, Elizabeth (2006). "Belief in God: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (review)". Religious Studies. 42: 473–500.
- ↑ Insole, C. (January 2008). "Reviewed Work: Belief in God: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion T. J. Mawson". Philosophy. 83 (323): 133–137. doi:10.1017/S0031819108000363. JSTOR 20185293.
- ↑ Wickham, Lionel (24 February 2006). "Religion". Times Literary Supplement (5369): 27.
- ↑ "The Rational Theist". 3:16.
- ↑ "Unbelievable". Premier Christian Radio.
- ↑ White, V. Alan (2011). "Free Will: A Guide for the Perplexed (review)". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
- ↑ Goetz, Stewart (2013). "Free Will: A Guide for the Perplexed (review)". Faith and Philosophy. 30 (1): 107–111. doi:10.5840/faithphil20133016.
- ↑ Waghorn, Nicholas (2017). "God and the Meanings of Life (review)". Religious Studies. 53 (1): 143–150. doi:10.1017/S0034412516000317.
- ↑ Bartholomew, Craig G. (2017). "God and the Meanings of Life (review)". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
- ↑ Ward, Keith (2017). "God and the Meanings of Life (review)". Theology. 120 (5): 384–385. doi:10.1177/0040571X17710205g.
- ↑ Goetz, Stewart (2018). "God and the Meanings of Life (review)". Journal of Analytic Theology. 6.
- ↑ Metz, T. (2018). "God's Role in a Meaningful Life: New Reflections from Tim Mawson" (PDF). European Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 10 (3): 171–191. doi:10.24204/ejpr.v10i3.2538.
- ↑ Metz, T. (April 2019). God, Soul and the Meaning of Life. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108558136. ISBN 978-1-108-55813-6.
- ↑ Barnett, Brian C. (2020). "Review of T.J. Mawson's Monotheism and the Meaning of Life". Religious Studies Review. 46 (2): 215.
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