Essential Scholars Flashcards

1
Q

David Hume and Richard Dawkins general argument?

A
  • Belief in the transcendent (ideas that exist above and beyond our universe) goes against common sense (counterintuitive)
  • Both require stronger (empirical and material) evidence
  • Transcendent and spiritual reality is meaningless
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2
Q

Logical positivists general argument?

A
  • Emphasis on empiricism and rejecting ‘a priori’
  • Knowledge is gained through experience, not an innate connection to the world of forms
  • Against all arguments concerned with the existence of God or metaphysical existence
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3
Q

AJ Ayer quote on metaphysical

A

“The term ‘God’ is a metaphysical term. And if ‘God’ is a metaphysical term, then it cannot even be probable that God exists.”

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4
Q

Aristotle general arguments

A
  • Experience is a requirement of how we learn
  • Challenges Plato and dualism of the soul
  • Also applies to ontological argument as it relies on reason instead of empirical evidence
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5
Q

Aristotle experience quote

A

‘If a man has the theory without the experience … he will often fail’

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6
Q

Davis Hume and Bertrand Russell arguments

A
  • Challenged the existence of God and ancient Greek understanding of metaphysics
  • The universe holds no purpose of telos, it is just ‘brute fact’
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7
Q

Richard Dawkins arguments (materialism and evolutionary theory)

A

Materialism –
- ‘transcendent is meaningless’
- Hard materialist approach
Evolutionary Theory –
- Evolutionary biologist who builds upon Darwin’s work
- Challenges Augustine, Design, and Aristotle

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8
Q

Jean Paul Sartre arguments

A
  • No intrinsic purpose to the universe

- Existential philosopher who relies on empirical evidence

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9
Q

Sigmund Freud arguments

A
  • Psychological challenge to God’s existence
  • Psychiatrist who’s his studies into religion and religious experience led him to conclude that the idea of God was a form of neurosis
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