Philosophy of Religion Lecture Notes

A series of flashcards based on lecture notes covering key concepts in the philosophy of religion, including arguments for God's existence and critiques thereof.

What is Religion?

Religion explains the universe's creation, posits a powerful creator, provides moral guidance, and offers hope in the afterlife.

Why is Religion Pervasive and Influential?

Religion explains natural phenomena, provides comfort, offers hope of justice, fulfills desire for transcendence, and builds community.

What is the Teleological Argument?

The argument that design implies a designer, with Paley's Watchmaker Analogy as a key example.

What is Paley's Watchmaker Analogy?

If you find a watch, you assume it has a maker; the universe's complexity suggests it too has a designer.

What are examples of Teleological Systems in Nature?

Human eye, heart, kidney, liver, and photosynthesis are seen as complex, goal-directed systems.

What are the problems with the Design Argument?

The inference validity, the identity of the designer, and Darwin's critique of evolution as an alternative explanation.

What is the Cosmological Argument?

A family of arguments asserting that since things exist and have causes, there must be a first cause.

What is Aquinas' version of the Cosmological Argument?

Aquinas argues that nothing causes itself, and there must be a first cause, which he identifies as God.

What is the Kalam Cosmological Argument?

Everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began to exist, therefore the universe has a cause.

What is a major point of contention regarding the Cosmological Argument?

Critics question why God, as the first cause, wouldn't also require a cause, or challenge the idea that an infinite regress of causes is impossible.

What is the Principle of Sufficient Reason?

The principle that everything must have an explanation, asserting that the universe needs an explanation outside itself.

What is the Ontological Argument?

An argument that tries to prove God's existence through reason alone, defining God as the greatest conceivable being.

What is the essence of Anselm's Ontological Argument?

God is defined as the greatest conceivable being. A being that exists in reality, not just in the mind, is greater than one that exists only in the mind. Therefore, God must exist in reality.

What is the core problem with Anselm's Ontological Argument?

It assumes the existence of God in its premise, leading to question-begging reasoning.

What is Guanilo's objection to the Ontological Argument?

Guanilo parodied Anselm's argument, claiming one can conceive of a perfect island but this does not mean it exists.

What are Pragmatic Arguments for God's Existence?

These arguments focus on the practical benefits of belief in God rather than proving God's existence.

What is W.K. Clifford's view on belief?

It is morally wrong to believe anything upon insufficient evidence, using the shipowner's story as an example.

What conditions does William James propose for believing without evidence?

Judgment is unavoidable, the decision is momentous, there is no strong evidence either way, and it is practically useful.

What is Pascal's Wager?

Believing in God is a rational gamble with potential infinite reward versus minimal loss.

What are some criticisms of Pragmatic Arguments?

You can't choose to believe at will, it may not be morally right to believe for reward, and there are multiple gods to consider.