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Robin Collins

Robin Collins
Robin Collins

Distinguished Professor of Philosophy

Robin Collins

Distinguished Professor of Philosophy

RCollins@messiah.edu (717) 796-1800, ext. 3100

Office: 451 Boyer
Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Theology

Statement of Faith

Professor Robin Collins, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy. He specializes in philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and philosophical theology. He is well-versed in issues relating to science and religion, with graduate-level training in theoretical physics. He has written almost forty substantial articles and book chapters in these areas with some of the leading academic presses, such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Blackwell, and Routledge. He has also spoken on issues relating to God and the cosmos at many colleges and universities (including Oxford University, Cambridge University, Yale University, and Stanford University) and has appeared in the popular Christian and secular media 鈥 for example, in Christianity Today, Lee Strobel鈥檚 Case for the Creator, and Robert Kuhn鈥檚 PBS series Closer to the Truth. Professor Collins is widely regarded as the foremost expert on the fine-tuning argument, an argument for the existence of God based on the extraordinarily precise structure that the universe must have for life to exist. He is currently finishing two books on this topic: one that provides a detailed analysis of the evidence for fine-tuning and one that carefully makes the philosophical case from fine-tuning to divine creation. Besides his work on fine-tuning, he has written on the philosophy of quantum mechanics, the relation between the mind and the body, the nature of prayer, atonement, and a variety of other topics in philosophy of science and philosophy of religion.

  • Ph.D., Philosophy 鈥 University of Notre Dame, 1993
  • B.S. Physics, B.A. Mathematics, Washington State University, 1984
  • Problems in Philosophy
  • Asian Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Issues in Science and Religion (Team taught with Professor Ted Davis and Associate Professor David Foster)
  • Christian Apologetics
  • Metaphysics
  • 鈥淎gainst the Epistemic Value of Prediction over Accommodation.鈥 狈辞没蝉, Vol. 28, No. 2, June 1994, pp. 210鈥24.
  • 鈥淎n Epistemological Critique of Bohmian Mechanics.鈥 In Bohmian Mechanics and Quantum Theory: An Appraisal, James T. Cushing, Arthur Fine, and Sheldon Goldstein, eds., Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996, pp. 265鈥76.
  • 鈥淓vidence for Fine-Tuning.鈥 In God and Design: The Teleological Argument and Modern Science, Neil A. Manson, ed., New York: Routledge, 2003, pp. 178鈥99. [This article has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Turkish.]
  • "Evolution and Original Sin.鈥 In Perspectives on an Evolving Creation, Keith B. Miller, ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003, pp. 469鈥501.
  • 鈥淐ontributions from the Philosophy of Science.鈥 In The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science, Philip Clayton and Zachary Simpson, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 328鈥44.
  • 鈥淭he Multiverse Hypothesis: A Theistic Perspective.鈥 In Universe or Multiverse?, Bernard Carr, ed., New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 459鈥80.
  • 鈥淭he Case for Cosmic Design,鈥 and 鈥淐larifying the Case for Cosmic Design: A Response to Paul Draper,鈥 in God or Blind Nature?: Philosophers Debate the Evidence, edited by Paul Draper, infidels.org, 2008. (This is the first online book debating the merits of theism versus atheism).
  • 鈥淢odern Physics and the Energy-Conservation Objection to Mind-Body Dualism.鈥 American Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 1, January 2008, pp. 31鈥42.
  • 鈥淭he Teleological Argument: An Exploration of the Fine-Tuning of the Universe.鈥 In The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology, William Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland, eds., Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, pp. 202鈥81.
  • 鈥淕od and the Laws of Nature,鈥 in Philo: A Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 12, No. 2, Fall鈥揥inter 2009, pp. 142鈥171.
  • 鈥淒ivine Action and Evolution.鈥 In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology, Thomas P. Flint and Michael Rea, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 241鈥61.
  • 鈥淎 Scientific Case for the Soul.鈥 In The Soul Hypothesis: Investigations into the Existence of the Soul, Mark C. Baker and Stewart Goetz, eds., New York: Continuum International, 2011, pp. 222鈥46. [Defends the existence of a soul distinct from the body.]
  • 鈥淭heism and Naturalism.鈥 In The Routledge Companion to Theism, Charles Taliaferro, Victoria Harrison, and Stewart Goetz, eds., New York: Routledge, 2012.
  • 鈥淣on-Violent Atonement,鈥 Brethren in Christ History and Life Journal, April 2012
  • 鈥淢odern Cosmology and Anthropic Fine-tuning: Three Approaches.鈥 In Georges Lema卯tre: Life, Science and Legacy. (Astrophysics and Space Science Library.) Rodney Holder and Simon Mitton, eds., New York, New York, Springer, 2013.
  • 鈥淭he Fine-Tuning Evidence is Convincing.鈥 In Oxford Dialogues in Christian Theism, Chad Meister, J. P. Moreland, and Khaldoun Sweis, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  • 鈥淭he Connection Building Theodicy.鈥 In The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil, Dan Howard-Snyder and Justin McBrayer, eds., Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, forthcoming.
  • 鈥淯niverse or Multiverse? A Theistic Perspective.鈥 Invited Plenary Speaker, Symposium on the Multi-Universe Hypothesis, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, March 27鈥30, 2003. Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.
  • 鈥淭he Case for Theism.鈥 (A debate with philosopher Doug Jesseph (University of Florida), sponsored by the Philosophy Club at Florida Gulf Coast University at Fort Meyers, FL, March 25, 2009.)
  • 鈥淭he Fine-Tuning Argument for Theism,鈥 Invited talk for the Second Annual Distinguished Lecture in Philosophy and the Christian Faith, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, April 6, 2010.
  • 鈥淭he Atonement: A New and Orthodox Theory,鈥 Invited talk for the Second Annual Distinguished Lecture in Philosophy and the Christian Faith, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, April 7, 2010.
  • 鈥淐osmic Fine-Tuning: Three Approaches and Their Implications.鈥 Invited Plenary Speaker (all expenses paid plus honorarium), Georges Lema卯tre Anniversary Conference, Faraday Institute, Cambridge University, April 7鈥10, 2011.
  • Invited Workshop Leader for 鈥淭he Fine-Tuning Argument: A Series of Three All Day Workshops.鈥 June 15鈥18, 2011, St. Thomas Summer Seminar in Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology, University of Saint Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, Michael Rota and Dean Zimmerman, seminar directors.
  • Seminar Co-leader. 鈥淪cience and Religion Pedagogy.鈥 June 27, 2011 鈥 July 27, 2011. Calvin College Summer Seminar for Chinese Professors, co-taught with Professor Ted Davis.
  • 鈥淣on-violent Atonement,鈥 invited speaker, Brethren in Christ Study Conference, Grantham, PA, November 12, 2011.
  • 鈥淪aving Our Souls from Materialism,鈥 invited speaker, Church of the Servant, Grand Rapids, MI, March 3rd, 2013. (Point/counterpoint in which I defended belief in an immaterial soul for and another speaker defended Christian materialism.).

Secular Media

  • Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine, January 11, 2004. 鈥淭he Deity and the Data: How Science Is Putting God under Its Lens鈥 by William Hageman, January 11, 2004.
  • PBS Series: Closer to Truth: Science, Meaning and the Future, September 22, 2006. This program 鈥渂rings together leading scientists, scholars and thinkers to explore fundamental issues of life, sentience, and universe.鈥 (色综合久久 45 minutes of the interview were broadcast on selected PBS stations throughout the US; the interview is now on the web at .)
  • Stanford University鈥檚 Philosophy Talk Radio, March 17th, 2013. Hour-long live interview on the fine-tuning design argument for. (This was played on selected NPR stations throughout the US).

Christian Media

  • Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards, The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery, (Independent Film), Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing Inc., 2004. On-screen interview in documentary film.
  • Interviews on September 15鈥16, 2010 with an editor from Christianity Today for an article on Stephen Hawking鈥檚 new book, The Grand Design.

  • Templeton Foundation Grant to finish the Well-Tempered Universe: God, Fine-Tuning, and the Laws of Nature. ($91,000, reduces teaching load to half time over the period Spring 2008 through May, 2010.)
  • 鈥淒iscoverability and Providence鈥 grant from the Templeton Foundation. Two-year (2013 鈥 2015), $54,000 grant to work on the evidence that the universe is fine-tuned for discovery and its implications for the relationship between chance and providence.
  • 鈥淣euroscience and The Soul鈥 fellowship, Center for Christian Thought, Biola University, spring 2013. ($45,000 fellowship + expenses).
  • August, 2012 鈥 present: Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, 色综合久久 College
  • 2005 鈥 2011: Professor of Philosophy, 色综合久久 College
  • 1999 鈥 2004: Associate Professor of Philosophy, 色综合久久 College
  • 1994 鈥 1999: Assistant Professor of Philosophy, 色综合久久 College