key words Flashcards
Rationalism
human reason is primary source of knowledge/truth
Empiricism
all knowledge/truth is derived from the senses alone
Revelation
knowledge is revealed to humanity through encounters with god
Theory of the Forms
Plato’s theory of two worlds, reality and appearance
Form of the good
the highest of al forms; the source of knowledge
concept/ideal
the innate, ideal of an object
phenomena/particular
an object in the material world
form (Aristotle)
what makes something recognisable
material cause
what is the object made out of?
efficient cause
who made the object? who brought it into existence?
formal cause
the shape, structure and characteristics of an object
final cause
the purpose (telos) of an object
prime mover
the unchanging final cause of all that exists
telos
end, result, purpose
body/soul distinction
the issue of personal identity
dualism
the belief that humans have two elements
substance dualism
the two elements (the body and the soul) are wholly different substances
monism
the view that humans are one substance, not two
materialism
the only substances is a material one
replica theory
a thought experience
theistic monism
“we are an indissoluble psychophysical unity” (Hick) also known as soft materialism
“soul one” (Dawkins)
non-material life force; an ancient idea being killed by science
“soul two” (Dawkins)
intellectual, reason or consciousness
identity theory
all mental activity is centred in the brain and is purely physical
a posteriori
an argument based on sense experience and observation of evidence
teleological argument
an argument for the existence of god starting with observed design or telos
cosmological argument
an argument for the existence of god starting with observations from existence of the universe
infinite regress
a chain of events going backwards forever
Aquinas’s three ways
way one - motion
way two - cause
way three - necessity and contingency
contingent
depends on something else for its existence; can cease to exist
necessary
must exist, cannot not exist. holds the reason for its being within itself
design qua purpose
design “as relating to” purpose
design qua regularity
design “as relating to” the regular cycles and natural laws in the world
evolution/natural selection
the process in nature where the organisms best adapted to their environment survive and pass on their genetic characteristics while those less adapted tend to be eliminated
epicurean hypothesis
given infinite time, an infinite number of particles could produce order
fallacy of composition
what is observed about the parts cannot be assumed to be the same as the whole
a priori
an argument based on reason alone (before sense experience)
ontological argument
an argument for the existence of god starting with reason
principle of sufficient reason
the complete and full explanation
analytic
a statement that contains the truth needed to verify it within the statement itself
synthetic
a statement which needs external evidence to verify it has true/false
logical fallacy
an error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid
predicate
a quality or property of an object/subject in a sentence
conversion experience
a change of heart and turning around of ones priorities, following a new direction in life
corporate religious experience
a religious experience shared with many people
numinous experience
the experience of the wholly other
William James’ definition
“the feelings, acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may call the divine”
principle of credulity
things are as they seem to be useless we have evidence to the contrary
principle of testimony
we should assume people are telling the truth, unless we have good reason to believe otherwise
passive
not in control of the experience; feeling of being taken over by a more powerful being
noetic
provided new knowledge or insight
ineffable
cannot be described/difficult to be put into words
transient
experience does not last long but its significance is out of proportion with its duration
intellectual vision
seen in the minds eye rather then a physical presence
imaginative vision
a dream
corporeal vision
a physical sighting
mystic experience
an experience of something beyond normal awareness
privation
a lack of essential characteristics or property eg blindness is a lack of sight
theodicy
the justification of god in the face of evil and suffering
inconsistent triad
god cannot be omnipotent and Omni-benevolent or evil would not exist
epistemic distance
the knowledge of gods existence is not obvious to humans in order to allow free will
eschatology
the end times or last days of the universe; often a reference to the afterlife
soul-making
hicks phrase referring to growing from the image into the likeness of god
soul-deciding
often used of Augustine’s theodicy - the individual decides where their soul will go depending on their response to Jesus
moral evil
evil and suffering caused by humans - war
natural evil
evil and suffering caused by natural events - earthquake
dysteleological evil
evil and suffering that does not seem to have a purpose
logical problem of evil
how can god be all powerful and all loving when evil exists
evidential problem of evil
the sheer amount of evil in the world
