Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Michael Huemer, philosopher at U.C. Boulder, joins me for a wide-ranging discussion of arguments for and against the existence of God, with special focus on his new argument for atheism: the impossibility of an infinite God.
This interview is also available as a podcast:
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/89-michael-huemers-new-argument-for-atheism/id1776277450?i=1000774227232
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0o7TEOE48NrS38FEyNhc34?si=6eaad701b46340b3
Substack: mileskdonahue.substack.com/publish/post/203571884?r=1pf1v9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Check out my Substack where you can get a paid membership because you're awesome: mileskdonahue.substack.com
To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/mileskdonahue.
Follow me on X: twitter.com/PhilosopherMKD
Huemer's introduction to philosophy, "Knowledge, Value, and Reality: A Mostly Common Sense Guide to Philosophy": amazon.com/Knowledge-Reality-Value-Mostly-Philosophy/dp/B091F5QTDS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HCWO62CI7CGE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.R8vySrvMzKcmRuxYzqm8C-_1dqKZLgKScbjJ2tHfwpnTm2dR_vlT7mWIhUf3qTbdaRYzyLZnKSfAG8qzxfB9dWj4WqeIumz68Qw1vu69Ruink-3ptahcAql0UKMQz0W2o-qTZEDXqSl5BhX4J0GyIQyftoSMo7LuooZbav3u5cpQsGKHNnwTdfMda-hvpdVnwlgAxPdyyQPazUyvBOZTu_yEXlJ58VlCnYo3pCjpg9k.6sGw_ZYP140hEm18vtcr826davFzLSdzxhKDI1UJhGY&dib_tag=se&keywords=knowledge%2C+value%2C+and+reality&qid=1782399491&sprefix=knowledge%2C+value%2C+and+rea%2Caps%2C492&sr=8-1
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:42 Huemer’s research on consciousness
00:05:42 Could LLMs be conscious?
00:08:11 Physicalism and consciousness
00:14:36 Why physicalism became so popular
00:17:16 Metaphysics and scientific evidence
00:21:01 Could God be empirically detected?
00:23:37 Why Huemer is agnostic
00:25:48 Philip Goff’s limited God
00:27:23 Can a limited God explain evil?
00:36:03 Divine psychology and skeptical theism
00:38:37 Can theism make predictions?
00:46:54 Scientific confirmation and theistic arguments
00:51:59 Which theistic arguments fail?
00:53:14 The ontological argument
00:58:06 The modal ontological argument
01:01:03 Necessary beings and modal intuitions
01:07:23 The Kalam cosmological argument
01:08:54 Could time have a beginning?
01:12:22 Can God create time?
01:18:22 Cosmology and the Big Bang
01:23:48 Actual and potential infinities
01:26:00 Huemer’s new argument for atheism
01:29:28 Divine infinity, omniscience, and final thoughts
Michael Huemer, philosopher at U.C. Boulder, joins me for a wide-ranging discussion of arguments for and against the existence of God, with special focus on his new argument for atheism: the impossibility of an infinite God.
This interview is also available as a podcast:
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/89-michael-huemers-new-argument-for-atheism/id1776277450?i=1000774227232
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0o7TEOE48NrS38FEyNhc34?si=6eaad701b46340b3
Substack: mileskdonahue.substack.com/publish/post/203571884?r=1pf1v9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Check out my Substack where you can get a paid membership because you're awesome: mileskdonahue.substack.com
To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/mileskdonahue.
Follow me on X: twitter.com/PhilosopherMKD
Huemer's introduction to philosophy, "Knowledge, Value, and Reality: A Mostly Common Sense Guide to Philosophy": amazon.com/Knowledge-Reality-Value-Mostly-Philosophy/dp/B091F5QTDS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HCWO62CI7CGE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.R8vySrvMzKcmRuxYzqm8C-_1dqKZLgKScbjJ2tHfwpnTm2dR_vlT7mWIhUf3qTbdaRYzyLZnKSfAG8qzxfB9dWj4WqeIumz68Qw1vu69Ruink-3ptahcAql0UKMQz0W2o-qTZEDXqSl5BhX4J0GyIQyftoSMo7LuooZbav3u5cpQsGKHNnwTdfMda-hvpdVnwlgAxPdyyQPazUyvBOZTu_yEXlJ58VlCnYo3pCjpg9k.6sGw_ZYP140hEm18vtcr826davFzLSdzxhKDI1UJhGY&dib_tag=se&keywords=knowledge%2C+value%2C+and+reality&qid=1782399491&sprefix=knowledge%2C+value%2C+and+rea%2Caps%2C492&sr=8-1
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:42 Huemer’s research on consciousness
00:05:42 Could LLMs be conscious?
00:08:11 Physicalism and consciousness
00:14:36 Why physicalism became so popular
00:17:16 Metaphysics and scientific evidence
00:21:01 Could God be empirically detected?
00:23:37 Why Huemer is agnostic
00:25:48 Philip Goff’s limited God
00:27:23 Can a limited God explain evil?
00:36:03 Divine psychology and skeptical theism
00:38:37 Can theism make predictions?
00:46:54 Scientific confirmation and theistic arguments
00:51:59 Which theistic arguments fail?
00:53:14 The ontological argument
00:58:06 The modal ontological argument
01:01:03 Necessary beings and modal intuitions
01:07:23 The Kalam cosmological argument
01:08:54 Could time have a beginning?
01:12:22 Can God create time?
01:18:22 Cosmology and the Big Bang
01:23:48 Actual and potential infinities
01:26:00 Huemer’s new argument for atheism
01:29:28 Divine infinity, omniscience, and final thoughts
