...the design argument for the existence of God? (10 marks) (b) Identify the strengths of this argument. To what extent are these strengths more convincing than its weaknesses? (10 marks) 2. (a) Describe the main strengths and weaknesses of the cosmological argument for the existence of God. (14 marks) (b) To what extent do the weaknesses of this argument limit its effectiveness? (6 marks) 3. (a) Examine the characteristics of BOTH a religious and a scientific interpretation of the origins of the universe. (14 marks) (b) Comment on the view that the differences between these interpretations rule out any major disagreement between them. (6 marks) 4. (a) What do religious believers mean by the ‘problem of suffering’? (5 marks) (b) Select any TWO theodicies and consider how far they offer solutions to this problem. (15 marks) 5. (a) Examine TWO philosophical reasons for belief in miracles. (6 marks) (b) Outline at least TWO problems with belief in miracles. (8 marks) (c) Consider the claim that there are no acceptable solutions to these problems. (6 marks) 2002 1. (a) Outline the design argument for the existence of God. (7 marks) (b) ‘The design argument fails because of its weaknesses.’ Examine and comment on this claim. (13 marks) 2. (a) What are the key ideas of the cosmological argument for the existence...
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...an intellectual hero to many atheists. His arguments against religion are clear, incisive and devastating. However, some people have misconstrued his agnosticism to represent faith and claim that while Hume challenged conventional religion, he himself believed in God. In this paper I will attempt to refute some of these claims by briefly highlighting some of Hume’s most compelling arguments against religion and showing how they leave little room for belief. I will also delve into some of the context surrounding Hume’s work to show how speaking against religion was a dangerous game in those times and restricted Hume’s ability to speak freely. Some of the primary sources used for this paper include Hume’s most famous works on religion, including The Natural History of Religion and Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. Secondary and tertiary sources include scholarly critiques of Hume’s texts as well as reviews and journals interpreting his work one way or another. To start with, lets have a look at an excerpt from, The Natural History of Religion, published in 1757. In the following passage, Hume summarizes his views on religion as “sick men’s dreams”: What a noble privilege is it of human reason to attain the knowledge of the supreme Being; and, from the visible works of nature, be enabled to infer so sublime a principle as its supreme Creator? But turn the reverse of the medal. Survey most nations and most ages. Examine the religious principles, which have, in fact, prevailed...
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...has been a topic worthy of great debate. This truth typically centers on the idea of the existence of a higher power or being. That being said, not many have been able to deliberate for or against the existence of God quite as eloquently as C.S Lewis and Sigmund Freud. Dr. Armand Nicholi extensively explores the worldviews of both Lewis and Freud in his novel, The Question of God. He does this by examining both of their life experiences, from childhood to death. Through meaningful moments and various human interactions, Freud and Lewis develop their personal view about the world and the question of God. With these views, both assert their differing ideas on the meaning of life, suffering, and love. Although...
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...In the following essay I will examine the arguments for and against the idea that there is such a thing as a fixed and essential human nature. This is a debate which goes back to antiquity, to the time of Socrates and to his idea that a person must endeavor to know oneself. Thus founding the first philosophy, which was the study of man and of human nature. Firstly I will examine the argument for a fixed human nature in the form of the theory of argument from design and also determinism. Then I will proceed to examine the argument against a fixed human nature, in the theory of existentialism. Lastly I intend to show the evidence, as to why I conclude that there is no such thing as a fixed human nature, and that the theory of existentialism is the plausible argument. I will examine now, the idea that all humans have a fixed human nature. Plato and Aristotle were the first to concur on metaphysics as the first point of study. They differed to each other in so far as Plato had a dualistic approach and believed in a world outside of the changeable physical world, that we exist in. He thought this world, was just a world of appearances' another world known as the world of ideals or forms. Plato thought the only way we come to know the world of forms was through the intellect. Aristotle however was concerned only with the material world and what he could learn about through his senses. He rejected Plato's idea of an immaterial reality and was concerned only with this world as the...
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...Critically examine A.J. Ayer’s theory of verification… (35 Marks) In his most famous work, Language, Truth and Logic, A.J. Ayer presents his theory of verification. In this work Ayer distinguished between the two key adaptations of verification; weak and strong verification. Ayer was one of the logical positivists of the Vienna Circle, a group of philosophers who were inspired by the theories of Ludwig Wittgenstein. The Vienna Circle were interested in how we use language to convey truths. Ayer begins his thesis by arguing that for a statement to be ‘meaningful’ or ‘factually significant’, it must either be a tautology or provable by sense experience. This approach is inspired by Hume’s fork, which claimed that meaningful language was either a priori analytic (knowledge from deduction) or a posteriori synthetic (knowledge from experience). Ayer’s approach is rather scientific. He argues that because statements such as ‘God Exists’ cannot be empirically proven and are not analytical (because he rejects the claims of the ontological argument), they are thus meaningless. Many philosophers, such as J.H. Randall find weaknesses in this theory as it is too reductionist and reduces language to less than what it literally is. Subsequently philosophy becomes reduced to analysing words. On the other hand, it does provide a basic grounding for deciphering fact from meaningless statements, by examining language on an analytical form. Furthermore John Hick refutes the notion that...
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...“GOD IS NOT YET DEAD” The pervasive presence and usages of religion in all the spheres of contemporary social life. INTRODUCTION : Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others for thousands of years. In philosophical terms, such arguments involve primarily the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being, existence, or reality) and also the theory of value, since concepts of perfection are connected to notions of God. A wide variety of arguments exist which can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective. Does God exist? Is there a god? The existence of God is subject to lively debate in philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and popular culture. The Western tradition of philosophical discussion of the existence of God began with Plato and Aristotle, who made arguments that would now be categorized as cosmological. The field of theodicy arose from attempts to answer this question. Other arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Aquinas, who presented their own versions of the cosmological argument (the kalam argument and the first way, respectively); Descartes, who said that the existence of a benevolent God was logically necessary for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful; and Immanuel Kant, who argued that the...
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...Introduction Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious vocabulary and texts, and the relationship of religion and science. It is an ancient discipline, being found in the earliest known manuscripts concerning philosophy, and relates to many other branches of philosophy and general thought, including metaphysics, logic, and history. Philosophy of religion is frequently discussed outside of academia through popular books and debates, mostly regarding the existence of God and problem of evil. The philosophy of religion differs from religious philosophy in that it seeks to discuss questions regarding the nature of religion as a whole, rather than examining the problems brought forth by a particular belief system. It is designed such that it can be carried out dispassionately by those who identify as believers or non-believers. Religion: A Part of Metaphysics Philosophy of religion has classically been regarded as a part of metaphysics. In Aristotle's Metaphysics, the necessarily prior cause of eternal motion was an unmoved mover, who, like the object of desire, or of thought, inspires motion without itself being moved. This, according to Aristotle, is God, the subject of study in theology. Today, however, philosophers have adopted the term philosophy of religion for the subject, and typically it is regarded...
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...Khalia Mone’t Brenson, @02577445 Introduction to Philosophy, Dr. Verharen Fall 2009 What are the differences between the philosophies of sociology and psychology toward mental illness? Table of Contents I. Introduction P.1 II. What is Philosophy? P.2-14 i. An Introduction to Philosophyby George S. Fullerton ii. Principles of Philosophyby Rene Descartes iii. The Gift of Fire by Richard Mitchell iv. I and Thou by Martin Buber v. Philosophy: Who needs it? by Ayn Rand III. Sociology P.15-19 i. The philosophy of sociology ii. Sociology towards mental illness IV. Psychology P...
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...i) Examine the ontological argument as an a priori proof for the existence of God. (18) Ontology is the branch of philosophy that explores the whole concept of existence. Sometimes scientist have to assume that something exists in reality in the physical world even if they have never come across an example of it, because a combination of factors indicate that there must be X, even if we have not found it yet, in order to explain other things. The ontological argument for the existence of God is an a priori argument, working from first principles and a definition in an attempt to demonstrate the existence of God. It is also a deductive argument, using logic rather than depending on the evidence of sense experience. In this way, then the ontological argument is different from other attempts to argue for the existence of God. The ontological argument argues that almost everything, which exists, does so in a contingent way; it depends upon other factors. We as individuals are contingent beings; everything else apart from God exists contingently. God, however, it is argued by religious believers, is necessary rather than contingent, there was no time when God didn’t exist. There is nothing that could happen which would cause God to cease to exist. The ontological argument begins with assumptions about God, without any empirical evidence such as the characteristics of God: Omnipotent, omniscient and omnipotent. This is what makes the argument an a priori argument, as most of the...
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...ACCRA, NOVEMBER, 2011 Table of content pages Introduction 1 1. Philosophy of history 1 2. Philosophy of religion 4 3. Logic 6 4. Ethics 8 5. Cosmology 10 6. Philosophy of mind 12 7. Metaphysics 14 8. Philosophy of beauty 16 9. Philosophy of language 18 10. Philosophy of science 20 11. Epistemology 21 Conclusion 23 Bibliography 24 Introduction Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom. Philosophy at this contemporary world has gone through a lot of changes before getting to this stage. It can be seen in the historical perspective and also the topical perspective. The historical or chronological is when we look at the ideas of some philosophers in the past how they influence society with their way of thinking and the motive behind them. In these chronological system is the ancient era, the medieval era, the modern era and presently the contemporary era. In the beginning all systematic search for knowledge was philosophy. This is clearly seen in the modern university where the highest degree granted in all of the science and humanities is the Ph. D. the doctor of philosophy. But the children began to leave home. The first to leave was physics and astronomy. As they begun to develop experimental techniques of their own. This exodus, led by Galileo and Isaac Newton and Johannes...
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...AS Religious Studies [pic] PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS Revision Summary Notes Revision Notes Foundation for the Study of Religion Part One: Philosophy of Religion Plato and the Forms Influence of Socrates • Socrates said that virtue is knowledge – to know what is right is to do what is right. • All wrongdoing is the result of ignorance – nobody chooses to do wrong deliberately. • Therefore, to be moral you must have true knowledge. The problem of the One and the Many Plato was trying to find a solution to the problem that although there is underlying stability in the world (sun comes up every morning), it is constantly changing (you never step into the same river twice). 1. An old theory about this problem is that we gain all knowledge from our senses – empirically. 2. Plato disagreed with this. He said that because the world is constantly changing, our senses cannot be trusted. Plato illustrated his idea in the dialogue, ‘Meno’: Socrates sets a slave boy a mathematical problem. The slave boy knows the answer, yet he has not been taught maths. Plato suggests that the slave boy remembers the answer to the problem, which has been in his mind all along. So, according to Plato, we don't learn new things, we remember them. In other words, knowledge is innate. Plato’s Theory of the Forms Plato believed that the world was divided into: 1. Reality and; 2. Appearance |REALITY ...
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...is a God, 2) truth exists, & 3) person can know truth. What is the contemporary usage of the word “theology?” ➢ 1) Science of God and relations between God and the universe, and 2) essential being and His relationship to the universe as set forth in the Holy Scriptures. pg. 7 What is catechism? ➢ A scheme of questions and answers. What are five presuppositions for the task of theologizing? ➢ 1) there is a God and He has revealed Himself, 2) there are laws that are self-evident, 3) man has the ability to know things to the degree to which he directly observes them, 4) truth does not contradict itself, but is consistent and corresponds to reality, & 5) the mind accepts that which is logical and rejects that which is illogical. What are the tests used to verify theological truths? Explain. ➢ 1) test of consistency, 2) test of correspondence, 3) test of priority of data (what’s essential or irrelevant?), 4) test of cohesiveness, & 5) test of thoroughness (examine beliefs) pg. 12 What is the aim of Biblical theology? ➢ To arrange and classify the facts of revelation, confining itself to the scriptures for its material, and treating of doctrine only so far as it was developed at the close of the apostolic age. Where does Biblical theology get its material? ➢ Apostolic age What does historical theology study? ➢ The expression of theology in each age with an examination of its expressed aim, emphasis, omissions and forces that change its expression from generation...
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...pastors & ministers trying to bridge and mesh this gap that has long existed in our places of worship for various reasons. This gap is the intellectual knowledge of the reasoning and faith. Being that faith and reason are two modes of belief, to explain the relationship of the two one must first explain exactly what reason and faith are. Reason is generally a methodical belief that is gained by utilization of intellectual, moral, or religious principles or evidence. Faith, on the other hand, is belief that is generally a willed attitude of trust motivated by inspiration by a divine authority or revelation. Hence, Reason is more so a demonstrated belief, whereas faith is more so a do-able belief. In our ancestry past, due to lack of access (opportunity) to the faith experience was more of a heart ( do- able ) belief instead of a head ( demonstrated) belief, which was not all wrong , but was not all right neither. Groothuis states ,”Biblically understood, conversion is a radical turn away from sin, selfishness and Satan, and a turn toward God and his kingdom. This incorporates the whole person, not merely the intellect….. Therefore, conversion is necessarily intellectual and involves cognitive assent to propositions taken to be objectively true. “ ( Groothuis, 2011). Basically speaking there is much power in apologetics when the two – faith and reason – are being used in perfect harmony with each other. When trying to determine the best apologetic method to use , we must keep...
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...Abortion Essay “It is a mistake to reject religious principles in favour of secular/ethical principles for guidance in medical ethics” Examine and comment on this claim with reference to the topic you have investigated (50 marks) Abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy after the fertilisation of the human ovum and before birth. Abortion is debated because there are many different views with strong opinions and evidence for the pro-life and pro-choice argument. Pro-life is against abortion as they believe abortion should never be allowed and this is mostly religious people who believe with the pro-life argument, whereas pro-choice is where it is thought to be the mothers choice as it is her body so whatever she wants to happen to the baby can happen so the mother should always come before the foetus. Whether or not religious principles should be rejected in favour of non-religious principles is debated in Philosophy because there are a number of ethical issues which constantly surround this. In this essay I will comment on whether it is a mistake to favour non-religious beliefs over religious beliefs when looking at abortion, including those of Aristotle and John Paul II, and secular views which mean non-religious or spiritual views including those of Warren and Thompson. There are a number of types of abortion for example vacuum aspiration or suction termination which can only happen between the first 7 to 15 weeks of conception, this means that the foetus is...
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...Name Instructor Subject Date Critical Essay Annotation Assignment Halperin, David. “Man’s Fate in the Aeneid.” The Virgin Quarterly Review 53. 1 (1977). Web. March 5, 2015. This article examines the way the Aeneid portrays the powerlessness of human beings in their confrontations with the forces of nature and fate. It suggests that human destiny is preordained, and there is nothing that one can do to change their circumstances or destiny. Thesis The author advances the thesis that the Aeneid captures the condition of human existence, as it portrays human beings to be powerless before higher forces (nature, fate and the gods). It is a moral lesson for individuals to accept their station and obligations in life. The author employs textual evidence to show how the main character (Aeneas) was acting on the orders of a higher power. He tells Dido, his lover, that “it was not my idea” to leave Carthage and set on a mission to found a new city (4.361). This statement emphasizes the idea that human beings are puppets in the hands of the gods/nature, which dictate the circumstances under which they live. This article is useful in understanding the Aeneid as it emphasizes the importance of the make-believe element of literary works. As an epic poem, the Aeneid employs the elements of superstition, which helps to create fantasy in literary works. In this regard, the article helps readers to appreciate literature as a representation of possible...
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