Brian Evan Anthony Davies (born 7 July 1951) is a British philosopher, Roman Catholic priest, and friar. He is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University since 1995. His An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion is in its fourth English edition and has been translated into five languages.
Contents
Education
Brian Davies studied theology at the University of Bristol (BA 1972) and undertook graduate studies at King's College London (MTh, 1973; Tutorial Assistant, 1974–6; PhD, 1976).
Teaching
He spent the period 1982–95 at the University of Oxford. Throughout those years he was a lecturer in theology and philosophy at Blackfriars, Oxford. Davies was also Tutor in Theology, St Benet's Hall and a member of the Faculty of Theology (1983–95); Regent of Studies of the English Dominican Province (1988–95); University Research Lecturer (1993–95); and member of the Sub-Faculty of Philosophy (1994–95).
In 1994 Davies was appointed Regent of Blackfriars and, as a Head of House, received the degree of Master of Arts by Special Decree by the University of Oxford. In 1995 he took up his current appointment at Fordham University. He held Visiting Professorships at the Beda College, Rome (Spring 1987 and Spring 1988), Fordham University (July–August 1987, July–August 1988, and Fall 1994), and Candler School of Theology, Emory University (Spring 1993).
Problem of evil
Davies takes influence from Thomas Aquinas and is a proponent of classical theism. To solve the problem of evil, Davies has argued that God is not a created person or moral agent and is therefore not responsible for evil in the way that creatures are. God the creator and sustainer of the universe is not existent among others so cannot be expected to conform to moral standards external to himself. In 2008, Davies stated: I want to reject the theistic and nontheistic discussions of God and evil that start from the presupposition that God is the sort of thing I am, a moral agent subject to duties and obligations [...] If someone said, 'Oh well, the tsunamis prove that God isn’t doing what he ought to do,' I am going to describe that comment as very misguided since it does not make sense to suggest that God is subject to moral obligations.
Notable writings and editorial work
As author
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1982; revised edition, 1993; 3rd edition 2003; 4th edition 2020; Korean translation, 1996; Romanian translation, 1996; Ukrainian translation, 1996; Hungarian translation, 1999; Polish translation 2006)
Thinking About God (Geoffrey Chapman: London, 1985)
The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1992)
Aquinas (Continuum: London and New York, 2002)
Aquinas: An Introduction (Continuum: London and New York, 2003)
The Reality of God and the Problem of Evil (Continuum: London and New York, 2006)
Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2011)
Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2014)
Thomas Aquinas's Summa Contra Gentiles: A Guide and Commentary (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2016)
He has also contributed:
more than twenty chapters or articles to books
more than seventy articles in scholarly journals including New Blackfriars, The Downside Review, The Clergy Review, Irish Theological Quarterly, The Monist, Philosophy, Theology, Cogito, International Philosophical Quarterly, Sophia, Revue Internationale de Philosophie, and Think