Theories of Reality Lecture Notes

Flashcards on Theories of Reality Lecture

Theodicy

Attempts to solve the problem of evil while accepting the existence of an omnipotent and good God, and the existence of evil.

Free Will Theodicy

God has to give us the capacity to do both good and evil in order to give us free will.

Spiritual Development Theodicy

The idea that suffering and evil are necessary for spiritual growth and development.

Defects of Nature

Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and diseases are examples of these according to Hume.

Nietzsche's Statement

It says, a soul who has a why can bear almost any how.

Omnipotent

All-powerful.

The Role of Suffering

Pain and suffering serve a purpose in spiritual development.

Lack of Powers

According to Hume God gives all creatures powers, except to human beings.

Argument from Religious Experience

Argument based on a personal encounter or connection with the divine or a higher power.

Delusions and Hallucinations

Subjective experiences can be misinterpreted.

Occam's Razor

If we can explain something in terms of scientific naturalism, then maybe we go to the supernatural.

Religious Pluralism

The belief that all the world's religions are true in some way.

Kantian Interpretation of Religion

God is a divine noumena or reality in itself that's sort of the ultimate reality.

Evolving Religious Beliefs

Beliefs about God and the interpretation of revelation seem to change over time.

Primitive Beliefs

The belief in these primitive beliefs about not only natural phenomena, but about morality.

Folk Religion

People believe in lucky charms, charms against evil, and the evil eye.

Interwoven Religion and Culture

Religion and culture are interwoven so the content of your particular religion is coming from your culture and that culture is like filters of divine experience.

God makes the sun stand still

The sun stands still in the sky as is written in book of Jashar, book of Joshua.

Problem with Heaven

If one is thinking about how great things are gonna be in heaven that cause them to despise this life because compared with heaven, this life sucks.

Sin and Salvation and Natural Pleasure

There is belief constantly in the sort of sin and salvation mythology that robs us of enjoyment of natural pleasures, through guilt.

Moloch

The God of Canaanite god where people would sacrifice their firstborn to him.

Religion of Moloch

Life with fear, with worrying about the next Jews gonna drop of terrible thing that is gonna happen.

Facing Life Head On

This idea that you should face life with courage and a certain amount of optimism and idealism.

Accepting Reality

Should accept suffering and death as reality and inevitable. Don't put your stock in some future afterlife that's just a cope and and just face life as it comes.

People didn't know what to put their, for God.

Found this idea of progress as that being kinda like this big placeholder, for yeah.

What Scientists Tells You

Scientists tells you you're a transitory causal cohesion of particles, and someday, you'll all break apart.

Asian Fable

A man being chased by a wild beast, and you're chased into a pit. Mice are eating away at the branch that you're clinging to with a pit with a dragon.

Tolstoy's Conclusion

Comes to Tolstoy's conclusion that meanings to be found in the faith of his childhood and the hope of eternal life.

Simple Life of the Peasant

The peasant, works hard, worships god, and has a simple faith in god, and and that is what makes their their lives worth living.

Analog of the Handle

Can have anything you want. Just go over and see that over the wall there. There's a handle hanging on the the wall, and you have to, like, crank this for a few minutes.

Threats to Life

Life is filled with the threats so be proactive in finding something positive to do because you only stand to lose if you do nothing about it.

Nihilism

When there's no values and there aren't any obligations then one can do what they want.

Life According to Macbeth

Life is short. Life is like an actor. You go on, you say you're a bit, and you exit stage left, and that's all there is to you.

Idealism

Russell counsels that there is a certain kind of idealism, to rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Straw Meets Camel's Back

There is some other event where it is thought, oh, jeez, about these these beliefs I have, and this thing in the news is, like, the Straw Brook Camelback Camel's back, and now I'm gonna switch sides.