Philosophy Intro Flashcards
Omnipotent
All powerful
Omnipresent
Everywhere
Omniscient
All knowing, includes everything even the future.
Omnibenevolent
All loving
Why is it logical that God is omnipotent?
Nothing can be as powerful as God otherwise they’d be God.
Creator
Makes things eg. God and the universe
Ex-nihilo
‘Out of nothing’ which is how God created the universe.
Sustainer
Preserving and maintaining the world
Eternal and Infinite
Link! Meaning forever, never ending, no beginning
Transcendent
Above and beyond, exist before and seperately
Immanent
Within/ personal
Perfect
Without flaw
Necessary
Vital, has to be, essential, can’t not exist, independent
Contingent
Reliant on other things
DOES NOT RELATE TO GOD!
What is meant by an argument?
A set of statements which is such that one of them (the conclusion) is supported or implied by the others (the premises)
Premise
Statement
Conclusion
Final statement, logical sum
Give a basic example of an argument in premise/conclusion form
The Eiffel Tower is in Paris
Paris is in France
Therefore the Eiffel Tower is in FRance
Valid
A valid argument is one where there are no mistakes in logic but not all valid arguments are true.
Sound/Proof
Good, solid, reasonable
Compelling
You have to accept (argument), illogical to reject it eg. x=3 y=5 so x+y=8
What are the different types of proofs/arguments?
Direct
Inductive
Deductive
What are the 2 basic rules for checking the validity of a philosophical argument?
- Are the premises true or at least probably true?
- Does the conclusion follow on from the premises or are there massive illogical gaps?
Direct Proof
When we can use our empirical senses to establish the truth of an argument.
Empirical
Based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic eg. senses
What is an inductive argument?
Specific observation to general conclusions, logical assumption
Give a basic example of an inductive argument?
All canaries in my garden are yellow therefore all canaries in the world are yellow.
A posteriori
Based on, after experience or evidence
Synthetic
Bringing things together to form a big/general thing eg. conclusions
Give an example of a philosophical argument which is inductive
Cosmological Argument
Strengths of an inductive argument
Based on observation
Science uses inductive proofs
Way human minds work
Weaknesses of an inductive argument
Never compelling (have to accept, illogical not to)
Always possible to come to a different conclusion
What is a deductive argument?
General observations to specific conclusions, using/analysing someone elses evidence.
Give an example of a deductive argument
All canaries in the world are yellow so all canaries in my garden must be yellow.
A priori
Prior to evidence, not based on empirical observations.
Analytic
Statement with conclusions contained in the premise.
Give an example of a philosophical argument which is deductive
Ontological Argument
Strengths of a deductive argument
Potential to be compelling and therefore absolute proofs.
Weaknesses of a deductive argument
Major issue is that establishing the truth of the first premise.
Therefore we need on the first premise.
Group A posteriori, A priori, analytic, inductive, deductive and synthetic
A posterioir, inductive and synthetic
A priori, deductive and analytic
