Philosophy of Religion

what is the teleological argument also known as?

The design argument

What is the argument based on?

It is based upon observing purpose in living things

Summarise the main arguments:

From observing the universe and nature, it is clear that everything has been designed with a purpose in mind, this pose suggests that here is an external intelligence that has created it with a purpose in mind, directing it towards that purpose. The intelligence behind the purpose in the world is God.

What is the analogy of the archer given by Aquinas?

An arrow cannot achieve it’s purpose without the direction of an archer, in the same way that God directs the universe.

What does aquinas argue the teleological argument from?

Design Qua regularity

What does Aquinas argue?

The overall order in the world is proof of a designer that we call God. Everything works together to achieve order, despite inanimate objects having no mind or rational capabilities to do so.

Strengths of Aquinas:

clear examples in nature of non thinking beings acting to achieve a purpose- eg a sunflower turns towards the sun.Natural things are directed towards their purposewe need an explanation for purpose as purpose suggests conscience- God is an explanation which works.

Weaknesses of Aquinas’ teleological argument:

could be another explanation for apparent purpose- living beings/organisms look purposeful but they have evolved to suit their environment.seems to have a design but but really its just a process of the less adapted dying out- Darwinism+ natural selection ( the selfish gene)Aquinas makes an assumption about purpose- could be down to chance.natural things may not have innate purpose- down to human constructPurpose may change/have different purposeAquinas is accused of committing a logical fallacyEven if there is an external force of intelligence directing the world, who says it’s the Christian god. Why not Aristotles prime mover?

What is William Payless argument?

The design of the universe cannot be by chance due to its extremely complex nature- cannot have come about by accident- it must have been designed. It’s the natural world that’s complex not just the things Human Make. IE. The eye is extremely complex

What analogy does Payley use to demonstrate his argument:

The analogy of the watch

Critisms of Payley

There are things which do not have an obvious purposeWhat happens if complex things produce complex thingsEvolutionInfinite regressDesigner doesn’t have to be a the theistic god- world incompatible with qualities of a Christian God.Humans have influence on the worldInductive leap

How does evolution undermine the teleological argument?

Payley unaware of evolutionEvolution hasn’t been designed, its been adapted over millions of years“Natural selection”- not randomPayley would argue that God created polar bears with white fur for protection but really their white fur is a result of adaption over millions of years

How would you counter the critique of evolution?

There must be some design to evolutionEven though evolution seems random- God has planned it we just don’t know it.

How could you undermine this argument?

The “design” of evolution entails a plan when clearly there is no planEvolution is not random it is a consequence of natural selection

Analyse the argument that the design argument doesn’t prove the exisistence of God as it would lead to infinite regress?

God\= necessary beingHowever- what makes him necessary?

What is the Piece of work called where Richard Dawkins Critiques Payley ?

“The blind watchmaker”

What does Richard Dawkins argue?

Evolution produces something that seems complex

What does Hume call Payley analogy?

an “unsound” analogy

How does David Hume critique Payley?

Intelligence is governing the world, it doesnt have to be God, could be gravity etc.Hume uses analogy of the house- There are several creators- not one creater, whilst Payley would argue there is only one designer- who says this has to be God?WE DON’T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE UNIVERSE TO SAY THERE IS DESIGNER

What does John Stuart Mill argue?

Humans influence the design of the world.

What does Darwin say about evolution?

Just because it seems ridiculous and difficult to understand it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.

What is FR Tenants Anthropic principle?

The universe is fine tuned for humans exisistenceIf we shifted the laws of physics slightly then nothing would existGod is simplest answer to this- ochamzs razor

How would you critise the anthropic principle?

only 13% of universe is habitable for humansWorld is extremely hostile to humans

What type of reasoning did Plato believe was the key to unlocking reality?

A priori

What is A priori knowledge?

Knowledge which is not dependent on experience.

What do the prisoners in the story of the cave represent?

The ordinary people in our world

What does the cave represent?

The empirical world that we see and hear around us

What do the shadows represent ?

Our every day sense experiences

What does the escapee represent?

The philosopher who is able to access knowledge

What does the difficult ascent represent?

The road to philosophical Knowles’s is difficult

What does the outside world represent ?

The real world, the world of the forms

What does the sun represent?

The highest of all forms, the form of the good.

What does the return to the cave represent?

The philosopher once englightened feels it is his duty to free and educate others.

What does the difficulty in adjusting to the darkness represent?

Once a philosopher knows the truth it is difficult to experience things as an ordinary person would.

What does the persecution govern by the other prisoners represent?

He prisoners are naive and shallow minded so the philosopher will be ridiculed and threatened.

What is A posterior knowledge ?

Knowledge which is dependent on sense experience, can only be known after sense experience.

What are the key messages of the cave?

Metaphysics- what is real?Epistemology- How do we gain knowledge? - plat believes it is through the mind, not sensesPolitics-Who should rule? Democracy puts power in the hands of the majority who lack knowledge.Ethics. What is good?- Only the philosopher understands what is good.

What are the weaknesses of Plato’s cave?

The information we gain through are senses are still essential and we need them to surviveNo proof of another realms and he is unclear on how the two worlds relate with each otherGuilty of elitism- differences in a degree of KnowledgeWhy should philosophers rule if this is only a shadow world?

What are the objects in our world according to Plato?

Merely shadows of real objects in the world of the form.

What are forms according to Plato?

The name Plato gives to ideal concepts that exist in reality

What are particulars?

The name Plato gives to the objects in the empirical world which are merely imperfect copies of the form.

Why does Plato believe that there are forms?

difference between our changing world and the mathematical world- mathematical truths do not change .Plato believes in the same way that there is a similar unchanging truth about every type of object/quality.

What are the qualities of the world of the forms ?

each form is one single thing ( one idea of perfect beauty)They are known by the intellect or reasonThey are eternalThey are immutableThey are non-physicalThey are perfect

What are the qualities of the wold of particulars?

There are many particulars ( many beautiful things Known through empirical senseThey pass in and out of existenceThey are constantly changingThey are physicalThey are imperfect

What is the ultimate form?

The form of the good.

What does the form of the good do?

the form of the good illuminates the other formsIt is the reason why the forms are goodIt enables us to “see” the formsIT is the ultimate end in itself.

What is Plato’s argument for the forms: The one over many argumen?

When we observe different particulars, eg chairs, cats and beautiful things we are able to recognise that they have similar qualities. Eg a child can identify a cat when they have never seen one like it before.We can acknowledge similarities between objectsWe have an innate ability to recognise the forms tat our souls know before we were born. Our souls were in the world of the forms before they were tied down to earth.Without the forms it is not possible to explain “sameness”

What is Plato’s argument for the forms: The ideal standard?

idea of forms can be used to support a belief in absolute unchanging moral rules.Higher form such as goodness and justice seem to important to be a matter o opinion. The form of the good gives us an absolute idea of what goodness really is, it’s not a matter of opinion.

What are the two arguments for the world of the forms?

The one over many argumentThe ideal standard.

Why did Wittgenstein reject the one over many argument ?

His family resemblance theorythere is “no one over many” but simply overlapping characteristics- just like a family, resemble each other but there is no specific one thing to that family

What is the “third man” argument ?

Responds to the theory’s claim to explain realityIf we need the forms to explain why things have qualities in common, what’s to stop us from asking what the forms have in common and therefore require a “third man” it explain thisIndefinite process

What does Stephen Law say?

Plato’s claim of the forms can be carried to absurdityhe says “the form of the bogey”

Why do new inventions and extinction cause a problem for Plato?

Plato’s belief in the unchanging nature of the world of the forms seems to require there always be a “form of the iPad”

Why is evolution a threat to Plato’s argument ?

The theory of evolution and advances in chemistry mean that we do now have an empirical means of explaining what similer objects or animals have in common.

Do Plato’s forms have practical value?

no- don’t have practical value, study of them takes us away from useful scientific study of the world.If there are forms of every possible number, as Plato claimed there are an infinite number of forms.

Why can critism be undermined?

Critism only arise if you take Plato to literally- Plato is ambiguous about whether all objects have forms. He is primarily concerned with properties such as justice and beauty.

What are the three main disadvantages to Plato’s forms?

seems illogical - ideal standards not practical infinite regress

What are the min advantages to Plato’s forms?

explains imperfections in the world explains recognition Encourages us to question everything

What does Descartes define God's Omnipotence as?

God can do absolutely anything. Gods exisistence is prior to the rules of logic so God is not bound by these laws.

What does Thomas Aquinas define God's Omnipotence as?

God can do anything that is logically possible- Asking can god make a square circle would be absurd- logically impossible. Can God then ride a bike this is logically possible.

What does Augustine say on Gods Omnipotence?

God can do anything he wills to do, but he wouldn't will to do anything evil. He has divine self limitation. As humans we are aware of our limitations, God is not therefore he only does what he wants.

What is the paradox of omnipotence?

Some things seem impossible for God to be able to do, if can't make a stone so heavy that no one can lift it then he is not omnipotent but if he can but he can't life it then he is still not omnipotent.

What is the argument of Sir Michael Dummett?

He reminds us of the differences between Gods sense of Knowledge and ours which is much more subjective, his point is that whatever God's Knowledge, it is not like human knowledge. It is beyond perspective as it includes everything. As humans we misinterpret things and get things out of proportion but this would not happen if we were God.

what is logical privacy?

No one other than me can know my thoughts- i cannot know the thoughts of others.

why does subjectivity of consciousness require an explanation?

Conscience experiences are form a first person point of view

What is Qualia?

This is a term used by philosophers to describe how an experience feels to the person who has the experience.

What does non spatial mean in relation to the soul?

our conscience does not take up physical space.

What is substance dualism?

the view of descartes and Plato- argues that the mind is non physical and is separate to the body.

What is Materialism?

The view of Aristotle that the explanation is a physical one and that we are one material substance.

What does Descartes say we can doubt?

It is possible to doubt all things, including whether our body is real- cannot doubt that we exist however “i think therefore i am’

What is Descartes reasoning for doubting all things?

Senses can be unreliable- what if they were always unreliable ?Hard to know the difference between dreaming and being awakeAn evil demon- who has nothing better but to deceive us about everything could be in charge of the universe.

What is ‘cogito ergo sum” ?

“ I think, therefore I am” - the very act of thinking proves that there is a thinker- Yet this argument only proves the “thinking” part of us.

What is Leibniz law?

The fact that there is a difference between mind and body reveals that there are two things not one.

What is the essence of the mind according to Descartes ?

The essence of the mind is thought- non physical.

What is the wax argument?

Enables Descartes to identify the essential nature of physical matter- After the wax has change- property and extension is the only thing that remains- known through intellect

Why are the mind and body incompatible ?

their substances are incompatible.

What is the essence of the body?

Extension of physical space

What is the essence of the mind?

Non physical thought

What does Descartes say on the divisibility of the mind/body?

Physical things can be divided into section or parts The mind is indivisible and immaterial.

What is Mystical Experience?

A private/personal experience involving direct contact or union with God/higher power

What are Happolds conclusions on mysticism?

Mystics understand this world as only part of the “ultimate reality”- the world comes from a “dive ground”We are compromised of our “ego” and our “eternal self”- The “eternal self” is the aspect that has the divine spark- ability to connect with deeper truthsOur purpose is to “discover” our true “eternal self” and unite with the “divine ground”

What aspect of us allows us to have the ability to connect with deeper truths according to F.C happold?

Our “eternal self”

What is our purpose according to F.C Happold?

To discover our true “eternal self” and unite with the divine ground.

What does St.Teresa of Avila argue in her writings ?

That experiences should be subject to tests to determine whether they are genuine

What type of tests does this include according to St.Teresa Avila?

Whether there is a positive change in the personIf the experience left the person at peaceWhether the teaching fits the teachings of the church.

What is a Numinous experience ?

An experience in Awe and wonder in the presence of an almighty God.

What idea does Rudolf Otto oppose?

The belief that religious experience is intimidate in nature or shows the unity of all things.

What characteristics does a “Numinous experience” have ?

Mysterioustremendous and terrifyingFascinating and compelling

What do all religious experiences have in common according to Rudolf Otto?

all religious experience is numinous in nature.

What is God according to Rudolf Otto?

“Wholly other”

How can Ottos idea of GOd. Being “wholly other” be criticised ?

If God is “wholly other” then he is transcendent and religious experiences wouldn’t happen.

What is an example in the bible of a “numinous” experience ?

Moses and the burning bush.

What does Rudolf Otto say is at the centre of experience ?

Fascination

What does Rudolf Otto say on human language and whos theory does this support?

Our language is based on our ordinary lives and experiences and because god is “wholly other” we struggle to explain the experience Consistent with James’ notion of innefability.

How does Rudolf Otto believe we can provoke an experience ?

With fascination/loving something

What is a conversion experience?

An experience which causes sudden/gradual change in someone’s belief system

What does William James say on conversion experience ?

conversion involves altering their beliefs and way of life- but can be from religion→atheismThere is most likely a psychological explanation of conversion but this doesnt have to be the whole explanation.

What is a key example of a conversion experience in the bible?

Pauls conversion experience from Saul who persecuted Christian’s to a disciple.

What is Edwin Starbuck’s view on conversion?

it is a parallel with adolescence- discovered most conversions happen between 14-17 years old- normal part of growing upTwo types of conversion- gradual or sudden.

What does Anthony Flew say on conversion experience ?

Conversions are almost always to a religion that person has grown up with.