theology and philosophy eoy year9

theist

someone who believes in god(s)

omnipotent

all powerful

omnibenevolent

all loving

agnostic

someone who is unsure as to weather or not they believe in god as there isn’t enough evidence for/against

atheist

someone who doesn’t believe in god(s)

inductive reasoning

argument from examples/evidence, possible to agree with premises but still not accept conclusion

moral evil

evil that is a result of human wrongdoing

natural evil

evil that is a result of human phenomena eg.natural disasters

theodicy

defence for god’s goodness despite there being evil and suffering in the world

theological/consequentialist ethical theories

bases the morality of an action on the consequences/outcome (from greek word telos)

morality

principles on behaviour about what is right/wrong

omniscient

all knowing

inconsistent triad

god cannot be both all loving and all powerful and evil exists

design qua purpose

design by which there is purpose eg.human eye

design qua regularity

design by which there is regularity eg.the solar system and planets orbiting the sun

dr price

hedonic calculus

duration

brief/lasting

remoteness

distant/immediate

purity

accompanied by pain/painless

richness

one pleasure/ brings many joys

intensity

mild/intense

certainty

unlikely/probable

extent

affects just one person/affects lots of people

essay plan

1. intro (key words) (not compulsory)

2. For paragraph (2x points / develop / evaluate)

3. Against paragraph (2x points / develop / evaluate)

4. conclusion

what is the problem of evil

how can got be all powerful and all loving if there is evil and suffering in the world

Irenaeus’ theodicy

evil is justified as it leads to greater moral goodness

we need suffering in order to grow

Iranean theodicy criticisms

1. not in line with Christian beliefs

2. not all evil is soul making

3. the amount of suffering

Swinburne’s support of Irenaeus

amount of suffering is acceptable as god has set limits to human suffering (passing out)

Augustine’s theodicy

evil is a result of the misuse of free will

evil was brought into the world by the fall of adam and eve

Augustine’s theodicy quote

‘All evil is either sin or the punishment for sin’ - St Augustine

Augustine’s theodicy criticisms

1. the idea of perfection

2. requires pre existing faith in god and the fall

Hick’s vale of soul making

suffering helps us to grow spiritually and become better people

hick’s vale of soul making strengths

• without evil, good would have no meaning

• perfection must be developed

hick’s vale of soul making weaknesses

• unjust that everyone goes to heaven

• cannot explain why suffering is distributed unevenly

who put forward the design argument

william paley

telos meaning

purpose (shows purpose/design suggesting a designer)

analogy

a comparison used to explain something

infinite regress

who designed the designer?

scholars for the design argument

1. polkinghorne

2. brown

polkinhorne

universe is too complex, chance is too much of a coincidence

everything on earth is meant to help us = designer

brown

universe was designed to fulfil a purpose

• ozone blocks harmful uv rays

scholars against the design argument

1. dawkins

2. hune

dawkins

natural selection suggests a designer but the variations in the world were caused by mistakes and that species are selfish and do anything to pass on their genes

hume

1. universe is made of particles and that natural forces evolved to create an ordered system.

2. universe shouldn’t be compared to a machine as it isn’t man made, but instead a carrot that grew on its own.

utilitarianism

teleological theory which states that actions should be judged bow much they increase/decrease human happiness

utilitarianism quotes bentham

1. greatest good for the greatest number

2. nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovreign masters, pain and pleasure

utilitrarianism strengths + scholars

perter singer

• ‘ethics is practical’

• takes in individual situations at a given moment

j.s. mill

• ‘its better to be human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’

• introduces rule utilitarianism

• takes into account societal rules

utilitarianism applied to animal testing

• weighs benefits gained by medicine and saving thousands of lives vs the pain of animals

• could be morally acceptable if the benefits to humans outweigh

• cosmetic suffering is not acceptable as it is unnecessary suffering towards animals

utilitarianism weaknesses + scholars

lord devlin

anthony o hear

• anything can be justified then such as gang rape

hedonic calculus weaknesses

• impractical to measure every moral choice

• cannot quantify happiness, there’s no value to the amount of pleasure

• everyone has different oppinions on happiness