Stephen Law is currently Director of the Certificate in Higher Education and Director of Philosophy at Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. He was previously Reader and Head of Department, Philosophy, Heythrop College University of London. Stephen holds B.Phil and D.Phil degrees in Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where he was also a Junior Research Fellow (The Queen’s College). Before entering University as a mature student, he was a postman.
Stephen’s research focuses on philosophy of religion, essentialism, mind, and philosophy of language (Later Wittgenstein, and Kripke). His paper ‘The Evil God Challenge’ is the most viewed paper of the journal Religious Studies of the last decade, and has even been made into a short animation, available here:
Accessible introductions to some of his work on e.g. Wittgenstein and religion and Kripke and essentialism can be found here:
https://aeon.co/users/stephen-law
Stephen is also a well-known popularizer of philosopher, having authored many introductory books, including the prize-winning The Philosophy Gym and the children’s book The Complete Philosophy Files. He is also founding editor of the Royal Institute of Philosophy journal THINK: Philosophy for Everyone.
Selected publications:
Books
Believing Bullshit (Prometheus, 2011)
The Philosophy Gym (Headline, 2003)
The Complete Philosophy Files (Orion 2011) ( for children)
Articles: Philosophy of Religion
‘The X-Claim Argument Against Religious Belief’, Religious Studies 54 (2018) 15-35.
‘Wittgensteinian Accounts of Religious Belief: Non-cognitive, Juicer, and Atheist-Minus’, European Journal of Philosophy 25 (2017) 1186-1207
‘The Pandora’s Box Objection to Skeptical Theism’, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 78 (2015): 285-299
‘Miracles, Evidence, and the Existence of Jesus’, Faith and Philosophy 28 (2011): 129-151
‘The Evil God Challenge’, Religious Studies 46 (2010): 353-373
Articles: Metaphysics and Mind
'Natural Kinds of Substance’, Australasian Journal of Philosophy 94 (2016): 283-300
‘Naturalism, Evolution, and True Belief’, Analysis 72 (2012): 41-48