Editing Alvin Plantinga (section)

== Biography ==
=== Family ===
Plantinga was born on November 15, 1932, in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]], to Cornelius A. Plantinga (1908–1994) and Lettie G. Bossenbroek (1908–2007), immigrants from the province of [[Friesland]] in the Netherlands.<ref>"Self-profile", p. 3.</ref> After Cornelius earned a PhD in philosophy from [[Duke University]], he secured a teaching job in Michigan in 1941.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-18 |title=Alvin Plantinga |url=https://www.giffordlectures.org/lecturers/alvin-plantinga |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506120542/https://www.giffordlectures.org/lecturers/alvin-plantinga |archive-date=2019-05-06 |access-date=2017-08-04 |website=The Gifford Lectures}}</ref> Cornelius also had a master's degree in psychology. He taught several academic subjects at different institutions throughout his career.<ref name="Self6">"Self-profile", p. 6.</ref>

Plantinga married Kathleen De Boer in 1955.<ref>"Self-profile", p. 14.</ref> They had four children.<ref>"Introduction: Alvin Plantinga, God's Philosopher" in ''Alvin Plantinga; Deane-Peter Baker ed., (New York: Cambridge University Press), 2007, p. 5.</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704080424/http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/plantinga.html "Alvin Plantinga"]}}, ''Well-Known Dutch-Americans'' at The New Netherland Institute website. Retrieved November 6, 2007.</ref> One of Plantinga's brothers, [[Cornelius Plantinga|Cornelius "Neal" Plantinga Jr.]], is a theologian and the former president of [[Calvin Theological Seminary]] and another, [[Leon Plantinga|Leon]], is an emeritus professor of [[musicology]] at [[Yale University]].<ref name="Self6" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/yalemus/people/emeritus.html |title=Welcome |access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>

=== Education ===
As an adolescent, Alvin Plantinga's family moved from Michigan to North Dakota for his father's job at [[Jamestown College]]. At his father's advice, Alvin skipped his last year of high school to enroll at Jamestown College in 1949 at 16.<ref>"Self-profile", pp. 7–8.</ref><ref name="Baker2007profile">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=34FKFPB0TtkC |title=Alvin Plantinga |last=Deane-Peter Baker |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-85531-0 |pages=2–8 |access-date=16 December 2010}}</ref> That year, his father accepted a teaching job at [[Calvin University]] which began in January 1950. Alvin Plantinga moved to Grand Rapids with his family and attended Calvin University for a semester. He applied to [[Harvard University|Harvard]] and was awarded a scholarship.<ref>"Self-profile", p. 8.</ref>

In the fall of 1950, Plantinga transferred to Harvard, where he spent two semesters. In 1951, during Harvard's spring recess, Plantinga attended a few philosophy classes at Calvin University and was so impressed with Calvin philosophy professor [[William Harry Jellema]] that he returned in 1951 to study philosophy under him.<ref>"Self-profile", pp. 9–16.</ref> In 1954, Plantinga began his graduate studies at the [[University of Michigan]] where he studied under [[William Alston]], [[William Frankena]], and Richard Cartwright, among others.<ref>"Self-profile", p. 16.</ref> A year later, in 1955, he transferred to [[Yale University]] where he received his PhD in 1958.<ref>"Self-profile", pp. 21–22.</ref>

=== Teaching career ===
Plantinga began his career as an instructor in the philosophy department at Yale in 1957, and then in 1958, he became a professor of philosophy at [[Wayne State University]] during its heyday as a major center for analytic philosophy. In 1963, he accepted a teaching job at Calvin University, where he replaced the retiring Jellema.<ref>"Self-profile", p. 30.</ref> He then spent the next 19 years at Calvin before moving to the [[University of Notre Dame]] in 1982. He retired from the University of Notre Dame in 2010 and returned to Calvin University, where he holds the first William Harry Jellema Chair in Philosophy. He has trained [[metaphysics]] and [[epistemology]]-focused philosophers including [[Michael Bergmann (philosopher)|Michael Bergmann]], [[Michael Rea]], and [[Trenton Merricks]].

=== Awards and honors ===
[[File:AlvinPlantinga.JPG|thumb|left|Plantinga in 2009]]
Plantinga served as president of the [[American Philosophical Association]], Western Division, from 1981 to 1982.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://americanphilosophy.net/dmap/apa_presidents.htm |title=APA Presidents |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426082515/http://americanphilosophy.net/dmap/apa_presidents.htm |archive-date=April 26, 2012}}</ref> and as president of the [[Society of Christian Philosophers]] from 1983 to 1986.<ref name="Baker2007profile" /><ref name="nnp">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/plantinga.html |title=NNP, The Casino News Network |website=nnp.org |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704080424/http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/plantinga.html |archive-date=July 4, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

He has honorary degrees from [[Glasgow University]] (1982), [[Calvin University]] (1986), [[North Park College]] (1994), the [[Free University of Amsterdam]] (1995), [[Brigham Young University]] (1996), and [[Valparaiso University]] (1999).<ref name="nnp" /> He was a [[Guggenheim Fellow]], 1971–72, and elected a Fellow in the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1975.<ref name="nnp" />

In 2006, the [[University of Notre Dame]]'s Center for Philosophy of Religion renamed its Distinguished Scholar Fellowship as the Alvin Plantinga Fellowship.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nd.edu/~cprelig/events/index.shtml |title=Events |last=AgencyND : University of Notre Dame |access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> The fellowship includes an annual lecture by the current Plantinga Fellow.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nd.edu/~cprelig/plantinga/index.shtml |title=Center for Philosophy of Religion |last=Agency ND : University of Notre Dame |access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>

In 2012, the University of Pittsburgh's Philosophy Department, History and Philosophy of Science Department, and the Center for the History and Philosophy of Science co-awarded Plantinga the [[Nicholas Rescher Prize for Systematic Philosophy]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.philosophy.pitt.edu/news-story/nicholas-rescher-prize-systematic-philosophy-0 |title=Nicholas Rescher Prize for Systematic Philosophy |last=University of Pittsburgh University Marketing Communications Webteam |access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> which he received with a talk titled, "Religion and Science: Where the Conflict Really Lies".

In 2017, Baylor University's Center for Christian Philosophy inaugurated the Alvin Plantinga Award for Excellence in Christian Philosophy.  Awardees deliver a lecture at Baylor University and their name is put on a plaque with Plantinga's image in the Institute for Studies in Religion. He was named the first fellow of the center as well.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.baylorisr.org/2017/08/15/philosophy-department-baylor-isr-and-major-granting-organization-cooperate-in-opening-baylor-center-for-christian-philosophy |title=Philosophy department, Baylor ISR and major granting organization cooperate in opening Baylor Center for Christian Philosophy {{!}} Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion |website=www.baylorisr.org |access-date=2017-10-16}}</ref>

He was awarded the 2017 [[Templeton Prize]].<ref name="templetonprize.org">{{Cite web |title=Templeton Prize – Current Winner |url=http://www.templetonprize.org/currentwinner.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319075251/http://www.templetonprize.org/currentwinner.html |archive-date=2009-03-19 |access-date=2017-07-27 |website=templetonprize.org}}</ref>