David Kyle Johnson (born 1977) is a Professor of

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at King's College in

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

, Pennsylvania. He specializes in logic, metaphysics, free will, and philosophy of religion.

Early life

Johnson was born in Guymon, Oklahoma in 1977. He attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

(from 2000 to 2006) where he earned a master's degree and doctorate in philosophy.

Academic philosophy

Johnson's first published article, ''God, fatalism, and temporal ontology'', was based on his dissertation ''Divine Omniscience and the Fatalist Dilemma''. He has written extensively and debated (in print) with Victor Reppert on the Argument from reason, a debate which began in

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

's ''Christian Apologetics : Pro and Con'', edited by Gregory Bassham. Johnson asserts that Reppert's argument fails for three reasons: 1) It "loads the die" by falsely assuming that naturalism, by definition, can't include mental causation "on the basic level". 2) Physical processes can reliably produce true beliefs. And 3) "reasoning isn’t necessarily mental". In his 2013 article ''A Refutation of Skeptical Theism'', Johnson argued that, contrary to the claims of skeptical theists, observing seemingly unjustified evil does reduce the probability of God's existence. He subsequently exchanged views on the topic with Timothy Perrine. Johnson has published articles in journals such as Sophia,

Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

, ''SHERM (Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry)'', and ''Science, Religion, and Culture'', along with a trilogy of articles, on the existence of souls, free will, and God, for the journal

Think In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, and delibe ...

Popular philosophy

Johnson has produced three lectures for

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series: ''Exploring Metaphysics (2014)'', ''The Big Questions of Philosophy (2016)'' and ''Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy (2018)''. He has edited three books for William Irwin’s Philosophy and Pop Culture series (released via Blackwell Publishing): ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...

and Philosophy: Dark Reflections'', ''

Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action heist film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by inf ...

and Philosophy: Because It's Never Just a Dream'', and ''Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World''. He also co-edited (with William Irwin) ''Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture: From Socrates to South Park, Hume to House''. Johnson gave a popular

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presentation on his book ''Inception and Philosophy''. He is the editor of ''The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy''. He took on the title of executive officer for the Global Center for Religious Research (GCRR) in 2020. In 2015, Johnson released ''The Myths that Stole Christmas: Seven Misconceptions that Hijacked the Holiday (and How We Can Take It Back)''. Johnson has presented many arguments against lying to children about the existence of

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. Specifically, he suggests that the Santa Lie should be avoided because "It's a lie, it degrades your parental trustworthiness, it encourages credulity, it does not encourage imagination, and it's equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior." He also appeared on

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a radio syndication, nationally syndicated talk radio show, has hosted a Hannity, sel ...

’s Fox News commentary program, Hannity, to talk about the issue; afterward Johnson wrote “Sorry Sean Hannity, the Truth About Santa Isn’t “Fake News”. Johnson maintains two blogs for

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...

: "Plato on Pop" and "A Logical Take." He has also written for the London School of Economics’ Blog on American Politics and Policy.

Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (; born November 27, 1955) is an American science communicator, television presenter, and former mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the science education television show '' Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1 ...

has praised Johnson for his work and for creating a personal interest in philosophy. Nye has said of ''The Big Questions of Philosophy'', “I read his book so many times, it fell apart. I had to get another copy.”

Awards

Whilst studying in Oklahoma Johnson won the Kenneth Merrill Graduate Teaching Award. In 2011, the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarl ...

’s committee on public philosophy gave him an award for his ability to make philosophy accessible to the general public.

Bibliography

Books authored

*''Exploring Metaphysics'' (2014) *''The Myths that Stole Christmas: Seven Misconceptions that Hijacked the Holiday (and How We Can Take It Back)'' (2015) *''The Big Questions of Philosophy'' (2016) *''Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy'' (2018)

Books edited

*''Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World'' (2009) *''Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture: From Socrates to South Park, Hume to House'' (2010) *''Inception and Philosophy: Because It's Never Just a Dream'' (2011) *''Black Mirror and Philosophy: Dark Reflections'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, David 1977 births Living people American philosophers of religion American philosophers of logic American metaphysicians American philosophy academics 21st-century American philosophers Philosophers from Oklahoma People from Guymon, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni King's College (Pennsylvania) faculty