1.6 Belief, uncertainty and unbelief Flashcards
Arguments for God as the first cause in the universe
The cosmological argument.
1) Everything in the universe began to exist
2) Everything that has a beginning has a cause, therefore the universe has a cause of it’s existence
3) No scientific explanation can explain the very beginning
4) Therefore the cause must be personal
Reply to cosmological argument
Premise 2 says the something cannot come from nothing. It is logically possible that the universe came from nothing because we can imagine it
Religious argument on design of the universe
1) If something has complex parts, then it was designed
2) The universe has complex parts
3) Therefore the universe must have been designed
Reply to design argument
David Hume said there is no evidence that the creators a perfect being. There are things like cancer and murderers in our existence and a perfect being would not create that in his ‘world’
Reply to David Hume’s reply to design argument
God had things like cancer to develop the people spiritually. Overcoming cancer makes us thankful for the life we have been given etc
Non-religious argument of there not being a designer
Darwin’s theory on natural selection says there is no purpose in nature. Genetic mutations and procreation by the fittest have led us to the world we are in now. There is no purpose behind this it is pure luck and therefore not designed
Religious argument on meaning an purpose of life
Aquinas Natural Moral Law theory. POWER. follow these precepts to live a full life and achieve our telos.
Buddist argument on meaning and purpose of life
The purpose of life is to escape the cycle of samsara. We should follow the middle way and eighhtfold path until you are relieved from suffering and reach nirvana
Non-religious argument on meaning and purpose of life
Existentialists believe that there is no objective purpose to life. We define our purpose through our every day actions
Arguments for religious experiences providing evidence for God’s existence
Principle of testimony says that we should believe people unless we have a reason to not. Since many people that we have no reason not to believe have experienced God, we should believe that have had this.
Reply to religious principle of testimony
We can see on a day to day experience that people lie without having a verifiable reason to do so. If you lie it makes your credibility decrease. Since lies are very common it is hard to trust peoples opinion. We don’t have a moral obligation to trust people
Reasons people might not believe in God/an ultimate reality
God doesn’t answer to prayers directly and has no contact with human beings. We should believe what has the best explanation and the best explanation is that God doesn’t exist.
Reply to probability that God doesn’t exist
Pascals Wager says that even if we cannot verify God it is best to believe in him because …
Reasons why we shouldn’t believe in God 2
Logical positivism says that if we can’t empirically verify a statement, it is meaningless. We can’t verify that God exists therefore the statement is meaningless and shouldn’t be discussed
Reply to Logical Positivism
There is nothing that can empirically verify the concept of logical positivism so by its own terms is a meaningless. If a concept doesn’t pass it’s own criteria it should not be taken seriously
