Evaluation Questions Whether inductive arguments for God’s existence are persuasive. The extent to which the Kalam cosmological argument is convincing. The effectiveness of the cosmological/teleological argument for God’s existence. Whether cosmological/teleological arguments for God’s existence are persuasive in the 21st Century. The effectiveness of the challenges to the cosmological/teleological argument for God’s existence. Whether scientific explanations are more persuasive than philosophical explanations for the universe’s existence.  

AO2 You are expected to present more than one side of an issue, offering arguments for and against and making good use of evidence, examples and reasons, and then conclude with a critical appraisal of both sides and a balanced and reasoned judgement.

What are these questions really asking you? Page 17 of booklet 2 Strengths and weaknesses of the cosmological argument Strengths and weaknesses of the kalam argument Strengths and weaknesses of the teleological argument Does science rule out religion

Can you think of any strengths of the cosmological argument? Use the white boards to jot down ideas.

Strengths of the cosmological argument Use the pictures to identify strengths of the argument

Peter S. Williams The Cumulative Argument Law court analogy Isolated pieces of evidence may be insufficient on their own to warrant convicting someone ‘beyond reasonable doubt’, but taken together the evidence does warrant conviction. Likewise with the case for God. The cosmological argument does not prove the existence of God. Nor do individual design arguments. But put all those arguments together, and the court may have to decide that God exists."

Swinburne – Ockham’s razor ‘God is simpler than anything we can imagine and gives a simple explanation for the system.’ Richard Swinburne Ockham’s razor – the simplest explanation is often the best – the simplest explanation for the universe is God. the principle (attributed to William of Occam) that in explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary

Activity Make notes on the strengths of the cosmological argument using pages 9 and 10 of booklet 2 This can be Bullet points Spider diagram Paragraphs Just don’t copy them out!

Odd one out - weaknesses Contradiction in saying the universe can’t be infinite but God can Cause not God – many causes? An ancient argument that has survived over 2,500 year No sense experience Newton’s first law of motion Universe is the result of random chance

Evaluating the CA Counter arguments Strengths Ancient Cumulative Don’t need it now –science. Age doesn’t guarantee success Leaky bucket – doesn’t prove anything about God’s characteristics, lots of bad arguments do not make a good one Time is a human made construct. Contradiction in the rejection of infinity. Kalam arguments misunderstand infinity – it has to exist even if humans can’t imagine it. Big Bang was a random occurrence Kant – haven’t had experience of start of the universe. Hume and Russell – Fallacy of composition Not simple to claim God exists – science provides a simpler explanation Russell – Mother ‘brute fact’ Ancient Cumulative Measure time Big Bang See cause and effect and a posteriori Swinburne – Ockham’s razor Satisfies need for a cause

Recap You have five minutes Without using your notes write down as many strengths and weaknesses of the cosmological argument as you can.

Have you included these? Create a memory aid Strengths Weaknesses Ancient Still wrong Cumulative Leaky bucket Time Misinterprets infinity Big Bang Random A posteriori Fallacy of composition Ockham’s razor Science simpler Satisfies need for a cause Brute Fact

AO2 Skills To be successful in evaluative questions (15 marks) you need to be familiar with the type of questions that could be asked and what material you could use in each answer. Ensure that you have a detailed essay plan for each of the questions; it should mean that there are no surprises in May! Referring to criticisms of the arguments is not the same as evaluating them! It is important to recognise that evaluations arise from the strengths and weaknesses of each point you make.

AO2 skills Criticisms of any argument can weaken or strengthen depending on the viewpoint that a person holds. What is convincing for a Christian will not persuade an atheist. In AO2 answers there is never any requirement to favour one side of the debate rather than another. The essential quality of a good evaluation is that both sides are carefully represented and then a conclusion, which is based on the evidence presented, can be drawn. Conclusions are an essential feature of all successful AO2 responses.

What is a good AO2 essay? ‘Can you tell me what makes a good AO2 essay?’ ‘Do you know when you have done a ‘good’ piece of work?’ How could you find out if your essay is ‘good’?

Read the sample answers