Paul Draper

Who is Paul Draper?

Paul Draper is an American philosopher, most known for his work in the philosophy of religion. His work on the evidential argument from evil has been widely influential. He is currently a professor at Purdue University.

He studied at the University of California, graduating B.A. in 1979, M.A. in 1982 and Ph.D. in 1985. He taught philosophy at Florida International University between 1987 and 2006, when he moved to Purdue University.

Paul Draper was editor of the academic journal Philo from 2007 to 2012. His philosophical inquiry is focused on issues in the philosophy of religion; he has written extensively on the problem of evil, including the argument that the process of natural selection is sufficiently brutal so as to pose a problem for those who believe in an omnipotent and morally good creator. In 1997, he debated Christian philosopher William Lane Craig over the existence of God. He has edited a debate collection called God or Blind Nature? Philosophers Debate the Evidence, released as an e-book in 2007.

One of Draper's influential and widely-reprinted papers is "Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists", published in the journal Noûs in 1989.