Challenges To Religious Belief Flashcards
How was religion a product of the human mind Sigmund Freud?
Used idea of the psyche and it’s consistent parts of the ID ego and superego.
He noted that people who suffer from obsessional neurosis involve compulsive repeat actions exhibiting similar patterns of behaviour to religious people.
He know that that also both have meticulous detail in the way actions must be carried out and there was at least one significant difference as people suffering obsessional neurosis did not understand the meaning of the actions while religious people do.
it was due to instinction Olympus as such a sexual age that lead to a sense of guilt and temptation. Using the defence mechanism of displacement be displaced their own guilt onto an omnipotent being that would therefore make them feel more comfortable he called this a collective neurosis.
What was freud’s theory of religion as a neurosis or the primal horde.
His conclusion with that religion itself is a form of neurosis caused by trauma deep within the psyche after this hero totem and taboo which he sought to explain the origins of the traumas.
He speculated that the horde had been dominated and driven by a single dominant males killed off arrivals Anderson’s and recognise that this single alpha male surrounded by a harem of females was similar to the arrangement of gorillas groupings.
what would happen was he would be overthrown by his son’s or brothers and male group and after the event the young males felt guilty as they both loved and feared the father so instead of one of them taking the place a totem took the place of the father and United the tribe.
Fried sore correlation between totemism and Darwin’s primitive horde theory and the children became worshipped as a god.
What is the Freud theory of neurosis in the relation to the Oedipus complex.
Freud thought that guilt played a fundamental role in the site and operate and consciously.
fried account the primal horde led him to realise that the power of the sun bitterness towards the father stand on the fact that the father was preventing the sexual dryers and being for filled he referred to this as the Oedipus complex.
Freud’s opinion boys aged 3-6 have a sort of love affair with their mothers and at this stage see the father as a rival. And experience unconscious anxiety and he suggest three reasons for the sphere as the boy is deprived of the mother’s breast which he thought was part of him parents had discovered him exploring his penis and appears upset and he would have discovered that some humans do not have a penis and would interpret this as punishment.
And Oedipus complex going and resolved and repressed then neurotic behaviour with a result andaz beauty argued beliefs and practices of religion were merely expressions of neurotic behaviour and a way to stem behaviour.
What is freud’s argument against religion as an illusion or wish fulfillment.
Freud outlined his idea of religion as an illusion based on wish fulfillment of the yearlings and longings of the ideal ego aspect of the superego.
fried propose that the origin of religion leissner deepest wishes such as a desire for Justice and the desire to escape death religion has a made from such desires.
fried argue that individuals who invented the religious doctrines so because a doctrines for filled their wishes and made them feel at peace with wish fulfillment.
What is freud’s argument against religion as an illusion or a reaction against helplessness.
freight connected religious ideas to a person’s obvious helplessness in the face of the forces of nature and we are comforted by natural forces against which of your defenseless and so invent a source of security e.g. god.
Equally we struggle with the internal forces of nature such as aggression religious teaching six delimit war and violence and introduces ideas of protecting the week and loved ones enemies.
What are the three case study examples that supports freud’s theory and explained.
Daniel schreber - judge midlife neurosis where God occupied and penetrated his body gradually turning him into a woman. - believed neurosis came from homosexual desires of father rather than his mother. and it emerged as the belief that God was turning into woman for the desire for his father being transformed into an acceptable desire.
Little hans - had a phobia of being bitten by a horse so try to avoid horses interpreted it as a fear of castration, should great anxiety once he saw a horse collapse in the street showing the boy interpret this as an unconscious reminded the hands of the deathwish against his father.
The wolfman - wolfman had a dream of a child with him lying in bed when the windows suddenly opened and he saw 6 or 7 white wolves and terror of being eaten he woke up, said this was repressed trauma of witnessing his parents having sex.
What are some supporting evidence and challenges to Freudian explanations of religion neurosis.
+ 1. Supporting evidence of instinctive desires from the evolutionary basis of Charles Darwin as this was the foundation in of which all behaviour is a result of a few basic animal drives produced by natural selection.
- Lack of anthropological evidence for primal horde as the basis of Darwin’s theory were just mere speculation, the primal horde has never been observed.
- No firm psychological evidence that universal Oedipus complex - all of freud’s theories are merely speculation and have no actual observable evidence.
What is Carl Jung theory of religion necessary for personal growth collective unconscious.
He agreed with fried that the personal unconscious consisted of lost or repressed memories some of which take form of complexes.
so for young the psyce consisted of the eagle the personal unconscious and the collective unconsciousness just as evolution and heredity are seen as providing a blueprint for the body young so evolution and heredity provided blueprint for the psyce.
the collective unconscious consist of primordial images derived from early human history he claimed these images can be traced to the individual’s own past experiences they are like predispositions how to act like our ancestors and the resemblance of these contents mythical and religious themes have appeared throughout the centuries young refer to them as archetypes.
What is Young’s theory of religion necessary for personal growth archetypes.
Archetype meaning original pattern the function to organise how we experience certain things and emerge from archetypes saved by the human race.
usually become conscious of them when project outwards in form of myths and symbols religious stories symbolisms and rituals.
archetypes are not I said definitive mythological images on motives they are dynamic unconscious entities that generated images in the conscious mind but cannot be drawn directly.
Therefore the number of archetypal images are limitless and this is where religion has emerged from.
What are the 4 archetypes presented by Carl Jung.
The persona - the mask we wear to make particular impression on others anime concealer true nature.
The shadow - refers to the suppressed unconscious portion of the personality such as original sin.
The anima and animus - these are in an attitude that take on the characteristics of the opposite sex as a person develops gender identity they repress the aspect of their personality which might be consider reflective of the opposite sex.
The self - the most important archetype is the self and is the midpoint of the personality balancing between the conscious and unconscious.
What is carl young’s explanation for personal growth and individuation of religion.
young agreed that we acquired a qualities of an archetype from the collective unconscious we’re press those attributes of our true self because you do not conform to the archetype however repressed traits that are true self must be integrated into our consciousness this is the process called individuation.
The way archetypes are brought into a consciousness from the collective unconscious is buying means of symbols and archetypes.
What does Carl Jung explanation of religion necessary for personal growth the God within.
call young considers that God is a deep inner reality rather than external object of person and good is an expression of the collective neurosis a religious experience with a god is really an encounter with the self and considered that the self archetype creator symbolism that always Express deity.
What is some supporting evidence challenges for Young’s theory.
+ 1. Recognition of religion as a source of comfort - view religion as a positive factor of psychological value although religion is an error never less it was a positive error the provided people with strength and determination this can be seen.
+ 2. recognition of religion as promotion of personal and social mindsets arising from religious belief - significant difference between Western and Asian lions Buddhist meditation etc while Western had nothing so they harmonize the fuller picture and felt that the n word for people of the West was more difficult. he has evidence from symbols and organised religion had become objects and therefore lost them meaning and power the actualizing archetype organised religion was a failure.
- Lack of empirical evidence - such as freud’s theories young has no actual empirical evidence for collective neurosis and archetypes they are merely suggestions that may be true however they cannot be falsified and therefore on meaningless.
- Reductionist views regarding religious belief - many would argue that experience which stems from the mind is a Norway external to the subject and cannot be turned religious Christ for example is more than just a simple and as a historical person therefore it seems that young did not believe in the existence of God in the traditional sense of external being.
What are the four types of atheism?
Negative weak atheism - I don’t believe God exists but tell me why do you believe in God.
Positive strong atheism - I know god does not exist here are my reasons so why do you believe in God.
Protest atheism - even if god did exist I could not morally accepted.
New atheism - I don’t believe God exists and neither must you it is a threat to our survival.
What is the rise of the new atheism.
on September 11th 2001 coordinated attacks took place knighted States and after this there was a powerful attack on religion it triggered and movement that so not just religious extremists but religion in general as dangerous.
First person to express this with Sam Harris and then joined by Richard Dawkins and Daniel dennett and the year after Christopher hitchens.
atheist in a past argue that God was not existed but showed no hostility however now in New anti theism it displays intense anger against religion as it is harmful.
