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Satan’s Counterfeit: Relative Truth vs. Revatism
Relative Truth: Put God's will as central, overriding a universal morality.
Relativism: Put's your individualist will as central.
Satan's Counterfeit: Indeterminism and Determinism
The rational mind, anthropomorphized by Satan would have us believe that the only metaphysical options are indeterminism and determinism, one associating on the side of nihilistic chaos, and the other on the side of totalitarian order. The LDS Perspective is that individuals have moral agency within physical and psychological bounds.
Satan's Counterfeit: Dogmatism and Relativism
The LDS perspective believes that there is an absolute truth residing in God himself, and that the relative truth he provides us in our idiosyncratic circumstances. The Secular perspective stipulates either that you are dogmatic in your truth or relativistic. The therapist either can be directive, forcing his views upon others, or non-directive, leaving all choices up to the client.
Satan's Counterfeit: Salvationism and Humanism
Salvationism posits that individuals have no free will and may only redeem themselves through God or have free will but can only be saved through him. Humanism on the other hand believes that man may only redeem himself and is totally responsible for the circumstances of his life. The LDS perspective is that through his grace we may create our own works, and thusly we may be saved.
What does William’s mean when he says human beings are agents?
Our actions are more than just a product of the things that happen to us
Human ontology
To know how to help we need to know who we are
Williams: Agency: Philosophical and Spiritual Foundations for Applied Psychology*
- Agency as a watershed issue (Williams, 2005, Williams, 2017)
The concept of agency will completely change the direction you will go as a psychologist. Someone who believes will be different path than someone who does not believe it.
Our ontological definition of agency determines to a great extent, the positions we hold in other aspects of our philosophy, and these philosophical positions have therapeutic, societal, and interpersonal ramifications. For example, without genuine moral agency, morality or choosing between good and bad is not possible and the whole of our theistic philosophy falls to shambles. Whether you conceptualize human beings as agents or not will completely change how you think of human beings and how you conceptualize psychology.
Williams: Agency: Philosophical and Spiritual Foundations for Applied Psychology*
o Whether you conceptualize human beings as agents or not will completely change how you think of human beings and how you conceptualize psychology
Williams: Agency: Philosophical and Spiritual Foundations for Applied Psychology*
- Williams’s account of agency
Yielding oneself to something
Living truthfully
Living authentically and truthfully
Williams: Agency: Philosophical and Spiritual Foundations for Applied Psychology*
- Necessary conditions for agency (Pay attention)
Agency requires a moral sphere
Recognizing our human ontology: we are
We are pre-existent, eternal, intelligent, beings
We are the kinds of beings that act rather than being acted upon
Agency and freedom require truth
Agency requires a moral sphere to operate in
Agency requires freedom of choice of a particular kind
1. We are preexistent, eternal, and intelligent beings: Intelligence is fundamentally attributed to our ontological makeup, and without this our agency would be constrained to the point of it not representing agency.
2. We are the kind of beings that act, rather than type of ones that are acted upon: This is a necessary attribute of our ontological makeup, if we did not possess it we would be mere mouthpieces for the naturalistic forces that are postulated as causing all in the Hobbesian, Newtonian, or Scientism philosophies.
3. Agency and freedom require truth: Agency is not simply choosing, it is choosing of a very specific nature. Specifically, it is choosing to live in truth. This involves knowing in the Socratic sense, of knowing "The Good," as it is an agentic act to understand those things which are, have been, and will be.
4. Agency requires a moral sphere in which to operate: Upon recognizing that morality is bound up in truth and falsity, we see that the world must be one of oppositionality, especially in moral matters as living in truth is only possible if one can live in sin.
5. Agency requires free choice of a particular kind: We don't really have freedom of choice, it is more that we have freedom of action. This bounds our agency to the facticity of our biological, social, and spiritual constraints, as well as to the level of truth we act to understand.
Williams: Agency: Philosophical and Spiritual Foundations for Applied Psychology*
- Problematic ways to explain agency in terms of meaningful grounds (Look at the slideshow “Why Libertarian Free Will Won’t Work”
Williams: The Freedom and Determinism of Agency
- Determinism vs. Indeterminism
I: The worldview that all being and becoming is random, or undetermined. There are no meaningful antecedents.
D: The worldview that all being and becoming is determined by only meaningful antecedents.
Slife, Reber, and Lefevor Article, When God Truly Matters
- Features of Naturalism
Naturalism leads to lawfulness and Godlessness which can be dangerous
A metaphysic or worldview that posits that there are laws or immaterial forces that control all being and its transformation in the world.
Slife, Reber, and Lefevor Article, When God Truly Matters
- Naturalism vs. Theism ****
Theism: The functional relevance os God is the central thrust of any theistic worldview, by definition. “God it already and always intimately acting in nature which depends from moment to moment… upon divine activity”. Thus unlike a soft or weak definition of naturalism, where God is not essentially required, a theist would at least argue that God is essentially required for any theistic conceptualization in psychology.
Naturalism: Its lawfulness and godlessness. (Methodological and metaphysical) All methods require pre-investigatory assumptions about the world in which they are to be successful, so naturalistic methods have to make assumptions just like another other methods, including implicat metaphysical assumptions about eh type of world in which they will be operating. (Considered to consist of a network of laws and principles that govern the natural world)
Theistic psychologist assumes that GOd’s activity is at least a necessary factor for a complete study and explanation of psychological phenomena, whereas the naturalistic psychologist denies this requirement
Slife, Reber, and Lefevor Article, When God Truly Matters
- 3 areas of practical implication
research: if you are applying a theistic worldview then it would include God as an involved being instead of a soft theism (weak theism)
Theory: theories would include the idea that God is inseparable from the relationships we have
Practice: If God is being taken seriously then they see that God can make a difference to their patients (enhancing their ability to make good choices will enhance good outcomes)
Implementing the idea that God is active
Judd article*
- Nature of man
We are innocent not necessarily inclided to good or evil
We are not a blank slate, we are jsut innocent and immediately start to be influenced by what is around us
Judd article*
- Lucifer’s philosophy in pre-mortal realm
Satans version of moral agency. His plan
He was taking away agency because he was taking away the difference between what is right and what is wrong
Satan's plan is to take from us our moral agency in the guise of determinism or indeterminism or to destroy truth through conceiving it as dogmatism or relativism, or to destroy grace/works in the guise of salvationism and humanism.
Judd article*
- Relative truth vs relativism
The major way relative truth differs from the satanic strategy of reletivism is that the former (relative truth) places God’s will at the center of the decision, while the latter (relativism) does not.
Judd article*
- Satan’s counterfeits in general (The textual descriptions are correct, NOT the table presented in the reading, as it is incorrect.)
Gods version vs. Satan’s counterfeit
Moral agency vs indeterminism
Bounds vs. determinism
Relative truth vs. relativism
Absolute truth vs. dogmatism (practice of laying down certain principles as totally true without understanding of certain principles)
Grace vs. salvationism (only grace nothing we do matters)
Work vs. humanism (we can bring about our own salvation and we are not dependent on God as humans)
Human nature according to: science/psychology, Judd, Williams, Jackson (see appropriate articles)
Proponents of free will and those of a deterministic view of human behavior
Dr. Gantt’s arguments to debunk 5 main points of scientism to level the playing field* (really know this)
- Objectivism/Value-neutrality
objectivism/value-neutrality (science is not objective and there are hidden assumptions)
Dr. Gantt’s arguments to debunk 5 main points of scientism to level the playing field* (really know this)
- Verificationism (Science proves theories true)
Verificationism: science proving theories true
(just because you observe what you thought you would does not mean you hypothesis confirmed it or had something to do with it. when science tries to prove theories true, which is bad logic)
Dr. Gantt’s arguments to debunk 5 main points of scientism to level the playing field* (really know this)
- Falsification (Science proves theories false)
Falsification: science proving theories false
(when science tries to prove theories false. although it is impossible to control all variables so this is impossible to make a conclusion)
Dr. Gantt’s arguments to debunk 5 main points of scientism to level the playing field* (really know this)
- Science can establish causality
Science can establish causality (Since you cannot prove causality this means tests cannot prove this either)
Dr. Gantt’s arguments to debunk 5 main points of scientism to level the playing field* (really know this)
- Probability/stats tells us how the world likely works
Probability/stats: (tells us how the world likely works)
Operational definitions (You cannot base emotional things like how much you love someone, based on a stat such as kissing your spouse meaning how much you love them)
Slife and Williams article about Scientism
- The logic of experimentation
The truth/method question: Truth comes from a proper application of the method. This problem comes from the fact that all methods for accruing knowledge in the scholarly discipline, including science, were developed by human beings as they confronted the problems and questions in their world.
The persuasive (Power of scientific studies): Major premise (all men are mortal) minor premise (Socrates is man) Conclusion (therefore, Socrates is mortal)
The Possibility of Verification: If the hypothesis is true then X will be observed. X is observed (affirming the consequent) Therefore the hypothesis is true
The possibility of Falsification: If the hypothesis is true, then X will be observed. X was not observed (negating the consequent). Therefore, the hypothesis is not true (the antecedent is false)
The problem of establishing causality: there are independent and dependent variables. It is difficult to say if X is the cause of Y, then whenever X is present, Y occurs. Therefore X is the cause of Y
Proplem with operationalization: We cannot physically observe those things. Like gravity. we can see the results but not the actual law
Problem with objectivity: since humans always have to be involved there is always a change that the experiment is not objective and will always be nonobjective because of human involvement
Slife and Williams article about Scientism
- What certain methods of inquiry can and can’t do
In order to falsify a theory or establish what causes it you have to have a crucial test where you have to have EVERYTHING accounted for (all of the potential variables are controlled)
Slife and Williams article about Scientism
- What scientism is and is not
People see scientism as completely neutral and objective
BUT it has assumptions and is metaphysically committed to a certain assumption that you have
Scientism is like a religion
Most people deny that scientism exists and that it has assumptions and is a specific world view (not normally acknowledged)
Slife and Williams article about Scientism
- Central tenets of scientism
idea that only knowledge that is scientifically certified counts as knowledge
The same methods applied to natural sciences can be applied to all sciences like psychology
Metaphysics so it is based on naturalistic and deterministic point of view
Wilkens and Sanford (Individualism)
- Types of individualism
Wilkens and Sanford identity two main types of Individualism: Utilitarian Individualism and Expressive Individualism.
Utilitarian individualism is the idea that the social good of society is best achieved when all the actors of society are left to pursue their individual interests within an established set of rules that facilitate negotiation and provide recourse for wrongdoing.
The first form of individualism is a more restrained version of individualism. According to Wilkens and Sanford, this approach sees “a church, government, or corporation as a necessary evil;”
Expressive individualism is the idea that the uniqueness of the self should be expressed and validated in spite of social or society constraints and conventions. Rules and norms are seen as a “threat to personal expression and individuality.”
whereas expressive individualism “views corporate entities as more evil than necessary” because they are intrinsically oppressive of the individual. Both ideologies, however, prioritize the individual self – the former, however, is simply more restrained in its approach than the latter.
Wilkens and Sanford (Individualism)
- 5 Features of Individualism (be able to tell the difference between them and know what they mean)
I am the primary reality in the universe (each individual constitues a center of one’s universe)
My ends justify my means: (gravitates the idea that the ends justify the means and since I am my judge if it is good for me it is justified)
I am my own moral conscience: my goals determine what I find valuable. I am in a better position to judge how well I conform to my own values than anyone else)
Freedom and Fulfillment are my right: (If fulfillment is my right and sensibilities, rules or traditions of others stand in the way of my pursit of fulfillment, I need to be free of these limitations)
Performance defines our values: (If i don’t amount to much, then my universe doesn’t count for much either. My performance defines my self worth. What we do and what we accomplish is equated to who we are)
Jackson Article (Relational Ontology)*
- Know what relational ontology is
He sees it as the cure to psychology (the cure to a lot of problems in psychology is relation ontology)
Psychologist students are afraid that therapy does not actually work but medications and books do.
Jackson Article (Relational Ontology)*
- Know implications of relational ontology
opposite of individualism
You as an individual is secondary to your relational nature
We are fundamentally who we are through relationships
Jackson Article (Relational Ontology)*
- Understand “I-Thou” vs “I-It”
I-thou or I-you: seeing them as a person rather than an object to get what you want
I-It: Treating people for their usefullness to you and more as an object
Garrard’s argument about natural law, God, and eternal matter
- Preference for the scientific method as a source for truth
It promises causality even though it does not.
It has an adherence to logic (which makes people drawn to it)
It is a way we tell ourselves that our view is sound and it is an objective way to truth
Garrard’s argument about natural law, God, and eternal matter
- Description of natural “laws”
We are just describing what is happening
With the apostasy everyone kind of shifted toward science instead of religion for truth
said that religion was linked to mysticism and that science is the only source of truth since anyone can observe it and it is consistent
Saw religion as inconsistent
Garrard’s argument about natural law, God, and eternal matter
- Influence of Augustine and Aquinas
They considered the physical, spiritual and the natural man as one category together that was created by God.
They see it all as one category created by God
Thayne & Gantt: Encouraging Disciple-Scholars in Psychology
- Middle ground between Fundamentalism and Scientism
Intellectual humility: embraces revelation and participating in and valuing rigorous education (science)/scholarship
Thayne & Gantt: Is Life Ruthlessly Determined
- Post-enlightenment account of human behavior
Abstract forces and laws are what determine human behavior
That deterministic naturalistic view
Thayne & Gantt: Agency: What does it Mean to be a Human Being?
- Type 1 Agency vs Type 2 Agency
Type 1: Free choice, (which is not what agency is) Modernism account of agency
Type 2: alternate agency. Agency involves yielding yourself to something. Choosing to yield yourself to something
Thayne & Gantt: Agency: What does it Mean to be a Human Being?
- Modernism account of agency and human behavior
Thus, the first casualty in the triumph of modern contemporary social theory is, indeed, any meaningful concept of human agency. At best, one is left with an empty Hobbesian concept of agency as being able to do what one wants (particularly in order to avoid unpleasant death or pain), despite the fact that our wants, which are the defining manifestation of our agency, are not of our own construction
Human behavior is stumuli then response
The interactions of principle interest are the interactions assumed to occur between various abstractions and the causal effects such interactions produce are particular human behaviors. In the social scientific literature, these powerful abstractions are known variously as laws, processes, principles, forces that work in and on us as “motivations,” “drives,” “needs,” “reinforcements,” “impulses,” “attractions,” “orientations,” “attitudes,” “stereotypes,” “traits,” “characteristics,” “schemata,” “scripts,” “structures,” “systems,” and so forth.
What is agency?
The ability to choose and knowing the right answer which gives you the ability to choose (this is especially true in a moral sense)
What is Necessary determinism vs. Minimal(istic) determinism vs. indeterminism?
Minimal(istic): where all events have meaningful antecedents and things would not be the same without them (where we stand/Middle ground)
Indeterminism: The worldview that all being and becoming is random, or undetermined. There are no meaningful antecedents.
Determinism: The worldview that all being and becoming is determined by only meaningful antecedents.
Necessary Determinism: When event A happens then B must happen
What is relational ontology (jackson)?
He sees it as the cure to psychology (the cure to a lot of problems in psychology is relation ontology)
Psychologist students are afraid that therapy does not actually work but medications and books do.
What is moral agency vs. free agency?
M: We need morality
F: being able to choose and does not imply morality
What are bounds? (recognize different examples of those)
Agency does have certain bounds in the sense that there are consequences to those actions. If you do something then you will have those consequences from them you will face. Also God sets certain bounds.
There are consequences to ignoring the bounds that are set on our moral agency
What is ontology?
The philosophical branch that defines the nature of being, including agency, time, and morality.
What is weak theism?
Slife: idea that God exists but that he is not really involved or important to science.
What is indeterminism?
The worldview that all being and becoming is random, or undetermined. There are no meaningful antecedents.
What is syllogism and its form?
Concept of one conclusion leading to another conclusion that is not solvable. Make a conclusion based on a previous conclusion which is not solid or reasonable.
We don’t know that the original conclusion is true or the validity of it
What is scientism?
Is an enflaming of life and world that has generated such enthusiasm and enjoyed such popularity that it often receives unquestioned acceptance by scholars and the public.
Reflects enlightenment thought.
Entails a metaphysical commitment to naturalist, reductive, or emergent materialism and tries to define science in a way that includes not only commitment to empirical methods, but also to this particular metaphysic. Questions are framed in terms of this particular metaphysical perspective
What is the self?
Individual sees self as isolated
That is not what relational ontology believes which is that the self is relational
Defined differently by each form of ontology. There are spiritual, mental, physical, and relational ontologies, that each define the self in different ways.
What are types of individualism?
Utilitarian individualism is the idea that the social good of society is best achieved when all the actors of society are left to pursue their individual interests within an established set of rules that facilitate negotiation and provide recourse for wrongdoing.
Expressive individualism is the idea that the uniqueness of the self should be expressed and validated in spite of social or society constraints and conventions. Rules and norms are seen as a “threat to personal expression and individuality.”
What is naturalism and natural law?
A metaphysic or worldview that posits that there are laws or immaterial forces that control all being and its transformation in the world.
Weak theism (soft theism)
Slife: idea that God exists but that he is not really involved or important to science.
What are grounds?
Meaningful grounds to base your decisions on. Needs meaningful antecedents
Problematic ways to explain agency to explain grounds.
There is no meaning behind your decisions if there are no meaningful grounds.
Agency and indeterminism
Agency is not the oppostie of indeterminism
Agency needs meaningful antecedents it is not random
Gants 5 on the wrong parts of science
(be able to recognize these things)
objectivism/value-neutrality (science is not objective and there are hidden assumptions)
Verificationism: science proving theories true
(just because you observe what you thought you would does not mean you hypothesis confirmed it or had something to do with it. when science tries to prove theories true, which is bad logic)
Falsification: science proving theories false
(when science tries to prove theories false. although it is impossible to control all variables so this is impossible to make a conclusion)
Science can establish causality (Since you cannot prove causality this means tests cannot prove their either)
Probability/stats: (tells us how the world likely works)
Operational definitions (You cannot base emotional things like how much you love someone, based on a stat such as kissing your spouse meaning how much you love them)
What is a crutial test? Main point of experimentation
An impossible test that requires infinite time, complete control over infinite variables to understand necessary causality.
The Crucial Test: Merely observing regularities in the world can never ensure necessary causality as noted by David Hume three centuries ago. To do this one would have to perform the crucial test. If we say that the CAUSE of the apple falling is "gravity" that is committing a nominalistic fallacy, where we believe that by explaining something we have explained it.
Appeal of the sientific menthod
It promises causality even though it does not.
It has an adherence to logic (which makes people drawn to it)
It is a way we tell ourselves that our view is sound and it is an objective way to truth
What is the problem of having the difference between science and scientism?
Everything
The main effect is that we all end up as effective meat machines (it takes away the meaning of who we are and takes away the meaning of us and our lives)
Note 
Flashcard (100)