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Philosophy of Religion > Final Exam > Flashcards

Final Exam Flashcards

1
Q

Epistemically justified

A

If a belief is good within a relevant category of evaluation

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2
Q

Martin’s connection between justification and argument?

A

for a belief that p to be justified, one must be able to justify that belief/give a good argument for its truth

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3
Q

Examples challenging Martins’ connection between justification and need for arguments

A

3 year old could have a belief but is unable to justify it, like they saw a deer in the backyard; even if can’t say what it is based on, it’s still justified
1 plus 1 = 2 (we dont’ have a good argument for it, but seems to be true)
General reliability of cognitive faculties

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4
Q

What is the regress/Pyrrhonian problematic?

A

Caused by Martin’s connection between justification and argument
Seems that P’s being argumentativtively based on Q can confer justification on P only if Q is justified, but this means that fully accounting of rate justification of P will require that we then proceed to give an account of the justification of Q - leads to either infinite chain, circular chain, or chain with a starting point

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5
Q

What are the three options for the regress problem

A

Infinite chain
Circular chain
Chain w/ starting point

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6
Q

Infinitism implications and objections

A

Need infinite string of arguments involving different propositions, also would need argument just for infinite number of propositions; maybe impossible

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7
Q

Coherentism implications and objections

A

Beliefs justified in virtue of being part of a coherent system of beliefs (circular chain insufficient on account of question begging)

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8
Q

Foundationalism implications and objections

A

Some beliefs are properly basic; they are not justified in virtue of being based on other justified beliefs, but for some other reason; other claims justified in virtue of being conclusion of an inferential chain terminating in proper basic beliefs; do not need inferential support to be justified; criticized for being too dogmatic

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9
Q

Basic belief

A

A belief that is accepted without being based on other beliefs that one holds, for example “I am seeing a tree”; contrasts with derived beliefs

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10
Q

Properly basic belief

A

rationally justified and appropriate for a person to accept that belief in a basic way

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11
Q

If she religious beliefs are properly basic, then…

A

the question of whether religious beliefs are justified will not come down to whether there are good arguments for religious belief

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12
Q

Evidentialism:

A

justified religious belief must be based on evidence that is,, in principle, publicly available and dialectically effective

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13
Q

Reformed epistimology

A

religious beliefs could be properly basic, justified without argumentative support

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14
Q

What are two types of non-evidentialism

A

Reformed epistemology and pragmatism

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15
Q

Examples of religious experience

A

answered or unanswered prayers
apparent miracles
perceptual experiences (appearance that is relevantly analoguous to sense perception)
experiences of insight (in worship, epiphany, meditaiton)

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16
Q

What does James say on the noetic quality of mystical experience

A

The insightful character of mystical experiences; unlike mere visual perception, mystical experience purports to bring some sort of cognitive improvement or deeper understanding (deeper significance is appreciate)

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17
Q

Catch with James’ noetic quality of mystical experience

A

For mystical insight to have philosophical experience, it must be integrated into a theory informed by more standard philosophical reasoning

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18
Q

Contrast between noetic and purely perceptual mystical experiences

A

Noetic gives you new insights/ways of understanding

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19
Q

Affective rationalism:

A

Proper affective responses/emotionally engaged experiences can play a crucial role in facilitating rational insight into the plausibility of some position; these insightful experiences could increase rational probability; but still emphasizes rational assessment x

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20
Q

What is the argument with affective rationalism

A
  1. appropriate affective response arguably crucial to facilitating isngihtt into moral and value claims
  2. Traditional theism relies on claims that a good God is responsible of world, so our assessment of theism will depend on worthiness judgments (could a world like ours be worthy of creation by a good god?)
  3. Cannot assess these claims dispassionately
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21
Q

Example of when affective rationalism comes into handy

A

Unable to assess power of responsibility theodicy without assessing how valuable mutal responsibility is, and if it is valuable to the level that would warrant God doing that even though it could cause pain

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22
Q

What might Martin-style critiques of experience-based grounds for religious belief imply and then the rejoined?

A
  1. Suggest that primary way religious experience might help ground religious belief is by providing material for an inference to the best explanation; but in reality religious experience might give someone a new and meaningful way of shaping the world that shapes the apparent plausibility of religious outlooks
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23
Q

Alston’s perceptual model of experience-based religious belief

A

There is an apparent perceptual experience of God, and this experience is the justifying ground for belief in the existence of the perceived reality; most beliefs formed by sense perception are justified non-inferentiallly

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24
Q

Alston’s thesis

A

If God exists, then many religious experiences could be genuinely counted as cases of perceiving god

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25
Q

Alstons’ analogy:

A

going from a mystical experience to the conclusion that God exists isn’t any different from going from sense perception to conclusion that something exists

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26
Q

Defeaters

A

just because properly basic beliefs start off juried doesn’t mean they cannot lose this justification

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27
Q

Two examples of defeaters and explanations

A

Rebutting defeater (evidence that p is false)
Undercutting defeater (undercuts basis for believing p - untrustworthy source)

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28
Q

How does Alston say we can establish ultima facie justification

A

Need to show prima faciejsutificaiotn can survive undercutting defeaters

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29
Q

What is a potential undercutting defeater for those beliefs based on religious “perception?”

A

Martins’ Negative principle of credulity: the seeming absence of God is as powerful “perceptual” justification as the putative appearance of God

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30
Q

Does Platinga prioritize sense perceptual beliefs among non=inferentially justified beliefs we might have?

A

No - perception shouldn’t be the paradigm for religious belief

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31
Q

Why does Plating dislike classical foundationalist conception of proper basicality (2)

A
  1. It would require many paradigmatically reasonable beliefs to be dismissed as unjustified (belief in the reality of a long past, belief that other people are conscious)
  2. Self-undermining
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32
Q

What does classical foundationalism admit as properly basic

A
  1. self-evident (a priori, math/logical truths)
  2. incorrigible (my toe is in pain)
  3. evident to the sense
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33
Q

What is Platinga’s view of a warranted belief?

A

A belief that comes from truth-oriented properly functioning faculties; if theism is true and God exists, then belief sin God are probably the result of truth-aimed proper cognitive faulcites.

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34
Q

Great Pumpking Objection

A

Structurally similar to proper functionalist account could be used to justify this; also why is Great Pumpkin not basic belief?

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35
Q

What is Plantinga’s alternative to classical foundationalism as whether holding a belief is warranted?

A

Proper functionalist account of warrant: Belief B on the part of a subject as warrant if and only if that belief is a result of the subject’s faculties functioning properly in an appropriate environment according to got a design plan that successfully aims at truth acquisition

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36
Q

Implications of proper functionalist account?

A

If this is true and God exists, then makes sense to think God would design us so that theistic belief was natural

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37
Q

Response to Great Pumpkins Objection from reformed epistemologists:

A

no reason to expect that the correct philosophical account of rationality/warrant will provide us ways to distinguish between silly and respectable views (if it did, it might lead to classical foundationalism with skeptical results); might have to look at world and base it off of that (in a world w/ very reliable dreams, our belief that we’re awake is not as justified as in a world w/out very reliable dreams)

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38
Q

Pragmatism

A

religious belief might be rationally based on practical reasons that do not ear on truth or probability of religious belief, but instead on question of whether it would be in some way good or advantageous to have the belief in question

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39
Q

Practical/pragmatic reasons

A

reasons that support the conclusion “it would be good to believe p” but that do not support the conclusion “p”

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40
Q

What are three types of pragmatic arguments for religious belief?

A

Prudential
Moral
Existential

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41
Q

Prudential pragmatic arguments

A

Faith is instrumental for a good we have (Pascal for happiness)

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42
Q

Moral pragmatic arguments

A

Our confidence in objective reality of moral life rationally requires faith (Kant)

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43
Q

Existential pragmatic arguments

A

Faith not just instrumental to some goal, but is in some sense consitituve of the kind of person or way of life that is most excellent, noble, or beautiful

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44
Q

Utility of Pascal’s wager?

A

Expected utility of Wager exceeds expected utility of not wagering as long as the probability of “god exists” is some positive finite number

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45
Q

what does Pascal suggest if you can’t cause the belief?

A

Take actions that might lead to that

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46
Q

Possible objections to Pascal’s wager

A

Other gods/jealous gods objection
Calculating
Problems with “infinite utilities”

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47
Q

Jealous Gods objection

A

By wagering for one God, maybe you wager against another; maybe some Gods less rewarding than others

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48
Q

Calculating objection

A

Maybe God will punish you for doing utilitarian calculation

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49
Q

Problem with infinite utilities

A

Uncertainty regarding which actions really count as wagering on God

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50
Q

in what way does Kirkegaard appeal to faith?

A

Not as something we have, but rather as most desirable way to be human

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51
Q

Objective truth

A

Right conception of reality; obtained by believing true propositions

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52
Q

subjective truth

A

Right relation to reality; obtained by living in a humanly excellent way

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53
Q

What is necessary for passion, in Kirkegaard’s opinion?

A

Thinking uncertainty

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54
Q

Does Kierkegaard think we can have both objective and subjective truth?

A

No - pursuing objective knowledge limits subjective truth

55
Q

Example of pursuing objective truth limiting subjective truth

A

We intellectually domesticate God and render him comprehensible, maybe makes God less worth of our devotion; distorts the truth by trying to accommodate it to our finite minds

56
Q

Why is there a tradeoff between objective truth and subjective truth?

A

Objective inquiry holds back as it attempts to approximate the truth, subjective truth demands passionate commitment now

57
Q

What does K see as relationship between objectivity and passion?

A

Objectivity limits passion

58
Q

What is subjectivity, according to K?

A

The engagement of our passion, being that which makes us a human subject, not merely a knowing mind who understands and who can be disinterested and disengaged from the world

59
Q

What, according to K, makes God such a fitting object of faith?

A

That it is so elusive to our mind and can only be seized out of passion

60
Q

What is the major objection to pragmatism

A

Involuntarily challenge

61
Q

Involuntarily challenge

A

Is it possiblee to believe in the faith of great uncertainty/suppose unrealistic voluntarist conception of belief?

62
Q

2 Responses to the Involuntarist challenge to pragmatism

A
  1. Maybe can still lean into certain way of seeing reality; perhaps faith need not involve belief but “acceptance,” maybe non-believing commitment is enough
  2. Maybe faith can be voluntary in certain situations
  3. Maybe can voluntarily put yourself in certain situations where it is more likely you form the belief
63
Q

Clifford’s stance on believing without sufficient evidence

A

Always wrong, in every situation; anytime you do so, creates insesitivity to evidence

64
Q

James’ stance on believing without sufficient evidence

A

In some cases it is okay, when the truth cannot be determined by purely intellectual means; differences between religious belief and assessing mundane beliefs since religious beliefs lack a non=controversial rational framework to settle the degree of evidential support

65
Q

Criticism of Clifford’s stance on believing w/out evidence

A

Regress problem - non-skeptical epistemology will need to recognize a great many beliefs that we confidently accept

66
Q

What is something in support of James’ stance on believing w/out sufficient evidence?

A

Some cases, the benefit of believing w/ questions evidential support outweighs the costs - don’t want to miss out on God, belief in free will in connection to moral actions, religious belief and its connection to social beneficial behavior

67
Q

Religious epistemology

A

Do those with different religious views have the same or similar knowledge? How do the truth claims made by different religious traditions relate to each other

68
Q

Exclusivism

A

Religions are making different truth claims; there’s one right answer when there’s important disagreement; only those who accept that right answer can reap the benefits of that answer, namely salvation

69
Q

Example of exclusivism

A

Buddhist salvation vs. Jesus as salvation

70
Q

Incluvisivism

A

Religions are making different truth claims, and terse’s one right answer when there’s important disagreement, but others who disagree cn still live in accord with that truth and reap the benefits of that answer

71
Q

Example of inclusivism

A

Dalai Lama; still thinks Buddhism is the best way, but can work toward salvation in other religions; still might reap some benefits

72
Q

Religious pluralism

A

The truth claims made my different religions are compatible; either different traditions are making meaningfully different claims and many can be correct, or different traditions are actually making the same truth claims even if it sounds like different claims

73
Q

Example of religious pluralism

A

John Hick and the elephant

74
Q

Foru positions on religious diversity

A

Exclusivism
Inclusivism
Pluralism
Nonrealism

75
Q

Nonrealism

A

Religious claims are actually about living a meaningful life rather than about the truth

76
Q

Examples of nonrealism

A

religious claims can be truth claims, but religious meaning claims are preferable and religious truth claims are best avoided, because religious sources of authority are epistemically untrustworthy

77
Q

Hick’s concerns about inclusivism

A

Inclusivism doesn’t make much sense - why maintain a specific tradition’s authority if its benefits are accessible to those who have no contact with that tradition? Wont’ lead you to have stable commitment to a view

78
Q

Hick’s main claim about religious pluralism

A

Different religions represent different ways of relating to the Real or Ultimate and orientation oneself to it

79
Q

2 concerns with Hick’s view about religious pluralism

A
  1. Hick fails to distinguish between personal god and impersonal divine order (Christmas God vs. karma)
  2. Hick assumes separation between everyday experience and ultimate reality, but could double that all traditions have such strong a separation
80
Q

What is an objection to Hick’s rejection of inclusivism

A

Analogy: just because someone can be a good person w/out knowing about the correct moral theory, doesn’t mean we should stop promoting it

81
Q

What is another objection to Hick’s endorsement of pluralism?

A

People’s religious claims only make sense/have forced when viewed in specific contexts; pluralism is dangerous because it doesn’t let you make sense of things w/out their contexts

82
Q

What is Gould’s NOMA view

A

Lack of conflict between science and religion arises from lack of overlap between their respective domains of professional expertise

83
Q

Three reasons Gould uses to support NOMA

A
  1. Descriptive: Science talks about constitution of universe, religion nabout ethical values
  2. Eunemical: Room for and need for science and religion in making sense of world and our place in it
  3. Practical: dialogue between science and religion facilitiated/made less adversarial by recognition of NOMA
84
Q

What is objection to the descriptive support for NOMA?

A

Sometimes the religious make quasi-scientific claims (creationism)
In softer sciences (psychology, economics) hard to say there is nothing value-based, so they do seem to overlap

85
Q

What is objection to eunemical support for NOMA?

A

Philosophy can fill the holes left by science; no need for religion

86
Q

What is ovreall objection to Gould for NOMA?

A

Might be relying on a dubious fact-value dichotomy, when in reality maybe certain values are underpinned by certain facts, or vice versa; hard to separate

87
Q

What is Polkinghorne’s view?

A

Philosophical gaps left by science might be filled by religion, science needs supplementation with metaphysics, completely licit to use religious claims to fill the gaps here

88
Q

Two arguments for Intelligent Design

A
  1. Concrete case argument
  2. Computational Argument
89
Q

Concrete case argument for ID

A

Complex structures card to explain in terms of evolution by natural selection; difficult to make sense of intermediate steps between lack of eye altogether and presence of an eye; subparts that don’t confer any evolutionary advantage, ned to be able to explain intermediate phase

90
Q

Kitcher’s response to concrete case argument for ID

A

oriented toward some function, then slight changes that slightly augment vision; varying degrees of photosensitive organs terminating in a fully developed eye (not a half an eye)

91
Q

Computational argument for ID

A

Unlikely life could arise via natural selection in time frame in which it’s supposed to have occurred (1/30,000 chance you get the combo of genes for a certain result)

92
Q

Kitcher’s response to computational argument for ID

A

Particular use of probability dubious here; also various physical-biological features can constrain the probabilities in ways we are not aware of

93
Q

What is Kitcher’s fundamental claim about ID’s failure

A

poor theory since it is not sufficiency developed to make predictions about when and how an intelligence would intervene; doesn’t let you make testable predictions

94
Q

In absence of Vic knowing a reason independent of his own visual impression about the dresses, what should he conclude_

A

Given the apparent symmetry of the situation, eh should conciliate/give equal weight to both sides of the dispute

95
Q

Conciliationism

A

In contexts of full disclosure, disagreement with qualified thinkers typically constitutes a reason to reduce confidence in one’s own views to a nontrivial extend, even if one has rightly responded to one’s first-order evidence

96
Q

What is the problem with trusting your perspective more in the dress situation?

A

Arbitrarily privileging of yourself, must have some factor that breaks the symmetry between you and your perspective

97
Q

What is critical requirement for symmetry breakers?

A

They must be internally discernible/thigns you can tell inside
Agent impartiality constraint (controversial)

98
Q

agent impartiality constraint

A

agent-neutral reason that comes from a third person perspective, rather than being a reason that applies only in virtue of who one is or what perspective one happens to occupy

99
Q

Disagreement over Anselm’s ontological argument, where neither student has dispute-independent reasons for thinking they are more likely to be correct; what do strong conciliationists argue?

A

Equal weight verdict should apply; if unreasonable for Vic to accord greater trust to his visual faculties, isn’t It unreasonable for Belinda to put more trust in her argument-assessing faculties?

100
Q

What are the reasons for rejecting that equal weight verdict should apply for Anselm’s ontological argument?

A

Vic’s example had acknowledged rational parity; but in the second case, disagreement persists because one party is making a rational mistake, there is not rational parity (there’s an internally discernible rational difference)

101
Q

More about rational parity and cogency

A
  1. Arguably, someone who is thinking ratinally and clearly can tell that their thinking is cogent; it does not violate internal reason constraint
  2. Arguably, continued confidence need not violate an agent impariatiliy constraint
102
Q

Why does continued confidence not violate an agent impartiality constraint?

A

Cogency of the reasoning for p can be stated in third=person terms and should have force for any person; gives more weight to your own view but not because your own views strike you as more convincing, but oconfidence in cogency of own thinking, that any suitably rational party could appreciate

103
Q

Strong conciliationist’s final conclusion on Anselm example

A

Even if you’re reasoning better than the other side, confidence is only justified when one has agent-neutral, dispute-neutral reasons to prefer one’s side

104
Q

What will the strong conciliationist reply to for the Anselm example to the arguably statements?

A

One more constraint on symmetry breakers: must also satisfy reasons impartiality constraint

105
Q

Reasons impartiality constraint

A

must have indepdencepnt reason (more philosophers agree with me, I have better grades) that are dispute-independent; it’s question-begging to trust your own reasoning because you see it as better

106
Q

What is a critique of strong conciliationism? (2)

A
  1. Could lead to radical skepticism, a radical skeptic could supposedly question all supposedly dispute-neutral reasons
  2. Self-undermining
107
Q

Four possible connections between God and morality

A
  1. God supplies the grounds for morality
  2. Belief in God plays a role in making moral commitment reasonable and feasible
  3. Morality serves as evidence for God
  4. God supplies the grounds for confidence in moral judgments
108
Q

Divine command theory/theological voluntarism:

A

Moral norms ultimately depend on God’s will; varying levels of strength on whether determines good/bad and right/wrong

109
Q

Difference between good and bad

A

A tree falling on a house might not be morally right or wrong, but it is bad; stealing a suitcase containing drugs might be morally wrong, but good

110
Q

Where does the norm to obey God come from?

A

Maybe it’s a norm existing independent of his authority

111
Q

What does “No computer game until you’ve cleaned your room” show

A

That maybe there’s nothing morally wrong with the action, but after it is commanded, going against it might be wrong; parents create moral obligations through their commands

112
Q

3 Motivations for theological voluntarism:

A
  1. Consonant with strong views of divine sovereignty (otherwise would imply something that constrains God’s judgement/he is dependent on)
  2. Gives moral truths a kind of robust metaphysical grounding, one that does justice to the sense that moral truths are objective but also not disconnected from actual care and concern, since made by loving personal being
  3. Explains how moral questions could have determinate/objective answers despite apparent arbitrariness of commonsense morality
113
Q

Two possible objections to theological voluntarism

A
  1. Trivializes God being good if that means that God approves of himself
  2. Arbitrariness objection and the Euthryphro dilemma
114
Q

Two possible response to the trivializes God being good object to theological voluntarism

A
  1. Maybe divine goodness is analogous to but not the same as creaturely goodness, to not trivial to say God is good if divine goodness is not to be analyzed in terms of divine approval
  2. Voluntarism for the wrong/wrong, but not good/bad; so god can still be good in virtue of a goodness not only decided by himself, so still meaningful
115
Q

Socrates thing

A

“X is holy” and “X is god-loved” stand in different explanatory relationship to “gods loving x”, so even if refer to same things, then not the same properties

116
Q

How does the socrates thing relate to divine command theory

A

Is an action right because God commanded it, or vice versa? Vice versa would give up on divine command theory

117
Q

Why is arbitrarines/Euthryop an objection to theological volunatarism?

A

Presents two options:
1. God wills something because it is good - morality exists independently of God
2. Something is good because god wills it - god could do abhorrent things, arbitrary morality in this case

118
Q

What is a way to escape the arbitrariness/Euthrop objection?

A

Robert Adams’ view that right actions are those commanded by a loving God

Or just go with platonism/realism

119
Q

What is platonism/realism?

A

`Truths about morality independent of human minds

120
Q

Question about Gyekye: is morality Is human-centered and grounded in something promoting social harmony, then what about social harmony for future generations or distant tribes? What explains these truths?`

A

Maybe truths of logic or truths of morality that are necessary and exist abstractly

121
Q

Why is it risky for a theist to endorse anti-realism?

A

If goodness is a critical property of God, would want to think morality doesn’t depend on what humans do

122
Q

What is a plausible alternative for theists to divine command theory?

A

Platonism/realism (then you avoid the arbitrary objection)

123
Q

What is the point of Russell’s piece?

A

Commitment to moral truths even in the face of a morally empty world; it is maybe extra noble since will not be rewarded

124
Q

Why would belief in God make moral commitments feasible (2)

A
  1. Belief in free will and moral resolve
  2. Absurdity of moral obligation in a Russellian world
  3. Adams on moral despair
125
Q

Belief in free will and moral resolve

A

Libertian free will arguably more plausible given theism

126
Q

Mavrodes’ objection to Russell’s piece:

A

seems absurd that our set of norms about how we behave is allied w/out self-interest; therefore need alignment with virtue and some higher power that aligns it (evidential argument for God), since our self=interest and our moral obligations obviously do not perfectly overlap

127
Q

Adams on moral despair

A

Makes sense to believe in a god that makes it easier to commit to doing the right thing

128
Q

God supplies grounds for confidence in moral jugments

A

If you doin’t think there’s a god, then maybe should not have confidence;

129
Q

What is Sharon Street’s argument for that w do not have a reason to be confident in moral intuitions?

A
  1. Moral intuitions that we have a result of evolution by natural selection, that are adaptive, no reason to think that having reliable moral intuitions is adaptive; what evolution favors is not constrained by moral rightness
130
Q

Why is there no reason to think that having reliable moral intuitions is adaptive?

A

Changing moral facts would have no effect on evolutionary pressures

131
Q

What dilemma does Street’s Darwinian dilemma lead to?

A

It means you can be a moral realist or a non-skeptic, but not both

132
Q

Why does theism supply a reason for thinking that our moral intuitions are truth-tracking?

A

If there’s a god then maybe dynamics in evolution helped us develop so that we would have access to the moral norms

133
Q
A

Philosophy of Religion (3 decks)

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