Max Baker-Hytch

Max Baker-Hytch (born 30 July 1986) is a British analytic philosopher, Christian theologian, and fellow of Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford.

He possesses significant influence on analytic theology, epistemology, and philosophy of religion.

He also proactively defends Christianity and engages in contemporary debates on theological or religious matters such as the existence of god on social media.

Max Baker-Hytch completed the Bachelor of Arts in theology with philosophy at the University of Exeter, graduating with first class honours.

He continued his studies at the same university, obtaining the Master of Arts in ethics, religion, and society with distinctions in 2010.

During this period, he also established a musical ensemble and fulfilled the role of guitarist.

His music successfully gained the media attention, including coverage by the BBC.

In 2014, he attained the Doctor of Philosophy degree from St Cross College, University of Oxford, under the supervision of Brian Leftow.

His thesis titled Reformed Epistemology and Naturalistic Explanations of Religious Belief maintains a comparatively high rate of citations and is considered a phenomenal contribution to the field.

From 2014 to 2015, he held the position of research fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford, where a research was conducted on the project of new insights and directions in religious epistemology.

He then spent an ephemeral period of time in Indiana, United States, where he served as a research fellow at the University of Notre Dame.

Upon his return to Oxford in 2016, he was appointed as a tutorial fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, where he continues his academic research and lectures mature students on philosophy.

Baker-Hytch contends that mutual epistemic dependence is an essential mechanism for human acquisition of knowledge.

Due to the limited cognitive faculties, human beings indispensably depend on fellow creatures' testimony about the external world and are inevitably susceptible to the influence and beliefs of contemporaries, especially in regard to propositions which are neither empirically verifiable nor falsifiable, such as religious or theological matters.

He claims that mutual epistemic dependence provides an optimal equilibrium between three distinct sets of competing attributes: (1) interpersonal trust and precautions against deception, (2) accountability for individual advancement of knowledge and epistemic self-reliance, and (3) potential acquisition, cultivation, and refinement of intellectual virtues and the capacity to overcome and eliminate intellectual hurdles and obstacles.

Mutual epistemic dependence implies that theism is comparatively plausible due to the strong probability of the diverse distribution of knowledge and the indeterminacy of the eternal fate of human beings which is not solely based on their beliefs at the time of their natural deaths.