Myron Penner, PhD

Professor of Philosophy; MAIH Philosophy Stream Coordinator; Director; Anabaptist-Mennonite Centre for Faith and Learning

Myron Penner began working at TWU in 2005. He completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Purdue University in 2007. Myron's primary research areas are epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion but also has interests in philosophy of science and twentieth-century analytic philosophy.

B.A. (Columbia Bible College); M.C.S. (Regent College); Ph.D. (Purdue University).

Expertise

Philosophy of Religion, Epistemology (criteria for knowledge and rational belief), and Metaphysics (analyzing concepts necessary for understanding reality)

Awards & Honors

Notable accomplishments and experiences

  • Science and Christianity in Oxford, "Bridging Two Cultures" Grant, Wycliffe Hall Oxford, Templeton Religion Trust ($17,500), 2015-2016.
  • Fundamental Practices of Intellectual Humility, Calvin College Summer Seminars in Christian Scholarship ($1,000), June 2015.
  • John Templeton Foundation Visiting Research Fellow, Ryerson University ($30,000), 2013-2014.
  • Seminar Grant Recipient, Calvin College Summer Seminars in Christian Scholarship ($2,000), 2011-2013.
  • Visiting Graduate Fellowship, University of Notre Dame Center for Philosophy of Religion ($14,000), 2004-05.
  • Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities research Council of Canada ($20,000), 2004-05.
  • Research Grant, Purdue Research Foundation ($12,000 per year), 2004-06.

Recent Publications

  • "Pro-theism and the Added Value of Morally Good Agents," Philosophia Christi 17 (2015). With Kirk Lougheed.
  • "Personal Anti-Theism and the Meaningful Life Argument," Faith and Philosophy, (forthcoming).
  • "Religious Skepticism," Toronto Journal of Theology, Vol. 30 (2014):111-130.
  • "Incommensurability, Incomparability, and Rational World-Choice," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. Vol. 75:(2014):13-25.
  • "The Rise of 'New Calvinists' Among Canadian Mennonite Brethren," Direction. Vol. 42 (2013):148-165.
  • "Analytic Philosophy, Theism, and Contemporary Philosophy of Religion," Toronto Journal of Theology, Vol. 29 (2013):265-270.
  • "Divine Creation and Perfect Goodness in a 'No Best World' Scenario," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. Vol. 59 (2006): 25-47.
  • "The Pacifist's Burden of Proof," Philosophia Christi, Vol. 7:1, 107-123.
  • "Minority Views and the Wider World: Yoder and Plantinga on Particularity" in Exiles in the Empire (2006, Pandora Press), 145-167.
  • "The Quest for Natural Ontological Attitudes Withinin the Limits of Reason," Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association (2002):103-16.