Philosophy Here and Now: chapter two Lewis Vaughn

Chapter 2: God and Religion The Philosopher’s Quest The way of the philosopher is not to ask how you came to have a belief, but whether the belief is supported by good reasons.

Chapter 2: God and Religion Belief and Disbelief A theist is someone who believes in God. Theism is belief in the existence of God. An atheist is someone who denies God’s existence. An agnostic is someone who neither accepts nor denies God’s existence.

Chapter 2: God and Religion Belief and Disbelief Monotheism is a belief in one God. Polytheism is a belief in many gods. Deism is a belief in one God that created the world but left it unattended to run on its own. Pantheism is the view that God and the universe are one and the same thing, a divine Whole. Panentheism is the view that although God and the world are distinct, the world is part of God.

Chapter 2: God and Religion Cosmological Arguments Arguments that try to show that from the fact that the universe exists, God exists. Ontological Argument An argument that tries to demonstrate God’s existence by logical analysis of the concept of God.

Chapter 2: God and Religion Argument from Miracles The argument that the best explanation of the occurrence of miracles is that there is a God. Argument from Evil An argument purporting to show that since there is unnecessary evil, an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good God must not exist.

The Cosmological Argument Aquinas: 1. Everything in the observable world has a cause. 2. Nothing can be the cause of itself. 3. An infinite regress of causes is not possible. 4. If nothing can cause itself, and an infinite regress of causes is not possible, there must be a first cause. 5. Therefore, everything caused must have a first cause—which we call God.

The Cosmological Argument Craig: 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

The Design Argument from Analogy William Paley: Since the universe—with all its complexity, precision, and efficiency—looks like it was designed by an intelligent being, it most likely was designed by an intelligent being—specifically, God.

The Design Argument from the Best Explanation Richard Swinburne: The best explanation of the existence and nature of the universe is that a supreme being or super intelligence created it. Because this theory is best, it is the most likely be true.

The Ontological Argument Anselm: 1. God, by definition, is the greatest being possible. 2. Suppose the greatest being possible exists only in the understanding (in the mind, as a mental object). 3. Then a greater being than the greatest being possible can be conceived, one existing not just in the understanding, but also in reality (for a being is greater if it exists in reality than if it exists only in the understanding). 4. But this yields a contradiction, for a being greater than the greatest being possible is impossible. 5. Therefore, God, the greatest being possible, must exist in reality, not just in the understanding.

The Argument from Evil William Rowe: 1. There exist instances of intense suffering which an omnipotent, omniscient being could have prevented without thereby losing some greater good or permitting some evil equally bad or worse. 2. An omniscient, wholly good being would prevent the occurrence of any intense suffering it could, unless it could not do so without thereby losing some greater good or permitting some evil equally bad or worse. 3. [Therefore] there does not exist an omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good being.

The Theodicy of Free Will A universe where humans have free will is better than one where they don’t, even if they exercise their freedom by engendering moral evil. So God’s gift of free will comes with an unavoidable price—the possibility that free beings will choose evil.

The Theodicy of Free Will Alvin Plantinga: “Of course, it is up to God whether to create free creatures at all; but if he aims to produce moral good, then he must create significantly free creatures upon whose cooperation he must depend. Thus is the power of an omnipotent God limited by the freedom he confers upon his creatures.”

Response to the Theodicy of Free Will J. L. Mackie: “If God has made men such that in their free choices they sometimes prefer what is good and sometimes what is evil, why could he not have made men such that they always freely choose the good?”

The Soul-Making Defense John Hick: Evil in the form of suffering is necessary to provide humans with a world where moral and spiritual progress is possible. Personal growth—soul-making—can take place only when people make free choices in response to the pain and anguish of living.

God and Religious Experience The Argument from Religious Experience 1. Religious experiences occur in which God seems to be sensed. 2. The best explanation for these experiences is that God is indeed sensed (God caused the experience). 3. Therefore, God probably exists.

God and Religious Experience J. L. Mackie: Religious experiences are generally indistinguishable from experiences with a known psychological or physical cause.

Pragmatic Faith William James: Sometimes we may be justified in making a leap of faith to embrace a belief that is entirely unsupported by evidence.

Betting on God Blaise Pascal: We can have only a pragmatic justification for believing in God. We should believe because believing is advantageous; it is our best bet.

Buddhism Karma: The universal principle that our actions result in deserved pleasure or pain in this life or the next. The dharma: The Buddha’s system of teachings about the true nature of reality and how to live correctly to transcend it.

Buddhism The Four Noble Truths: 1. Life is suffering. 2. Suffering is caused by desires (“craving” or “thirst”). 3. To banish suffering, banish desires. 4. Banish desires and end suffering by following the Noble Eightfold Path.