Notes for philosophy

Philosophy & Logic Terms

• Cosmological Argument – An argument for God's existence stating that everything that begins to exist must have a cause, and the universe must have a first cause (God).

• Teleological Argument – Also called the "design argument," it claims that the complexity and order in the universe suggest an intelligent designer (God).

• Pascal’s Wager – A practical argument that says believing in God is the safest choice because the possible reward (heaven) is infinite.

• Paradoxes of Theism – Logical problems that arise when trying to define God’s attributes, such as omnipotence (all-powerful) and omniscience (all-knowing).

• Problem of Evil – The argument that the existence of evil and suffering challenges the idea of an all-good, all-powerful God.

Important Concepts & Theories

• Hilbert’s Hotel – A thought experiment that shows the strange nature of actual infinities, used to argue that an actual infinite number of things is impossible.

• Infinite Regress – A sequence of reasoning that never ends, often used to argue that there must be a first cause (God).

• Free Will Defense – A response to the Problem of Evil that says humans have free will, which explains why evil exists.

• Soul-Making Theodicy – The idea that suffering helps humans grow morally and spiritually.

• Oscillating Model – A once-popular idea that the universe expands and contracts in cycles, challenging the idea of a definite beginning.

Logic & Reasoning

• Logical Fallacy – An error in reasoning that makes an argument weak or invalid.

• Copi’s Rules – Rules for valid reasoning in logic, some of which help distinguish between good and bad arguments.

• Kalam Cosmological Argument – A modern version of the Cosmological Argument that emphasizes the impossibility of an infinite past.