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Philosohy And Ethics > Philosophy- The Existence of God > Flashcards

Philosophy- The Existence of God Flashcards

1
Q

Teleological

A

Explanation by reference to end, goal or purpose , derived from the Greek “telos” meaning end , purpose or goal and “logos” meaning reason

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2
Q

Aesthetic

A

Appreciation of beauty

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3
Q

Anthropic argument

A

The argument that nature is planning in advance for the needs of humans

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4
Q

Analogy

A

A comparison of two or more things to show how they are similar

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5
Q

Contingent existence

A

. A contingent thing is one which does not exist necessarily and so could have failed to exist

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6
Q

Deductively valid argument

A

An argument in which the premises entail the conclusion. If the premises are true, the conclusion is true.

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7
Q

Inductive argument

A

An argument which is probabilistic , because the truth of its conclusion cannot be guaranteed by the truth of its premises

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8
Q

Necessary existence

A

A necessary thing is something that could not possibly have failed to exist

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9
Q

Predicate

A

A word that refers to the properties of things

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10
Q

Sound argument

A

An argument which is valid and in which all the premises are true

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11
Q

Valid argument

A

An argument in which the conclusion follows from the premises

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12
Q

Premise

A

A proposition that supports , or helps to support , a conclusion

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13
Q

Conclusion

A

A statement that purports to be drawn from a set of premises

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14
Q

Deduction

A

If the premises are true , then the conclusion must be true

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15
Q

Truth value

A

Whether a statement is actually true or false

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16
Q

A priori

A

Relies on logical deduction and not on sense experience . It is before a sense experience

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17
Q

A posteriori

A

After experience , derived from observed facts

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18
Q

Design qua purpose

A

The basis of the argument is that there is evidence of design in the universe around us. Everything appears to have been designed to fulfil a function

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19
Q

Design qua regularity

A

The basis of the argument that the Universe appears to behave according to some order or rule

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20
Q

Sceptic

A

Someone who is inclined to doubt what he or she is told or wishes to suspend judgement unless there is certainty; someone who is keen to point out the limitations of knowledge

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21
Q

Epistemic distance

A

A distance in knowledge or awareness

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22
Q

Cosmology

A

The study of the origins and structure of the universe

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23
Q

Quote for Anselm

A

“A being than which nothing greater can be conceived “

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24
Q

Quote for Kant

A

“Existence is not a predicate “

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25
Q

Quotes supporting Aquinas’ 3rd Way

A

“That which does not exist begins to exist only through something already existing”

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26
Q

Quotes supporting Russell

A

” I should say that the universe is just there , and that is all “

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27
Q

Hume summary

A
  • Against the Cosmological argument
  • Empiricist
  • Atheist
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28
Q

Subject

A

Refers to who or what the sentence is about

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29
Q

Analytical

A

Statements/propositions that are true by the meaning of the words used

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30
Q

Ontological argument summary

A

Based on the claim that God’s existence can be deduced from his definition

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31
Q

Anselm’s argument summary

A

P1: God is the greatest conceivable being
P2:It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind
C:Therefore as the greatest conceivable being , God must exist in reality

32
Q

Guanilo’s criticism summary

A

P1:It is possible to conceive the greatest island
P2:It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind
C:Therefore the most perfect island must exist

33
Q

Anselm’s response to Guanilo

A

God alone has the predicate of being necessary because he is the greatest conceivable being

34
Q

Who is Anselm?

A

•1033-1109
•Benedictine monk and an Archbishop of Canterbury
Wrote Proslogium and Responsio

35
Q

Who is Kant ?

A
  • 1724-1804
  • Lived and died in Prussia
  • One of the most influential modern philosophers
36
Q

Who is Guanilo?

A
  • French Benedictine monk and contemporary of Anselm
  • First to criticise Anselm
  • Wrote ‘On Behalf Of A Fool’
37
Q

Who is Barth ?

A
  • Swiss Protestant theologian
  • Wrote ‘Faith Seeking Understanding’
  • 1886-1968
38
Q

Paley’s argument summary

A
  • A posteriori, inductive as probability not a proof
  • Based on the observations of the biological world, regularity of the orbits, purpose of the designer
  • Analogy of the watch and the universe
39
Q

Hume’s critique of Design Arguments

A
  • The cause of design in the universe needs only to be proportional to its effect
  • The existence of evil and imperfection suggests a limited designer
  • An analogy is just anthropomorphism
  • The universe could have developed into a comparatively ordered state by chance
40
Q

Weaknesses of Paley’s Design Argument

A
  • The level of evil in the world
  • If nature can order itself then the universe might be able to
  • Our ideas about the universe making are anthropomorphic and limited
  • An omnipotent God is a greater cause than is needed to account for the appearance of design in the universe
41
Q

Strengths of Paley’s Design Argument

A
  • God is the simplest explanation of the appearance of design in the universe
  • Paley argued that evil may be unavoidable
  • Based on induction
  • The conclusion that the designer is metaphysical and transcendent still seems reasonable
42
Q

The status of Paley’s argument as a proof

A
  • Proof can mean “sufficient evidence for a proposition”
  • Reasonable inductive probability
  • Best explanation of the order we see in the universe
43
Q

The relationship between reason and faith

A
  • The belief that God exists is a reasonable hypothesis based on evidence
  • For others , only faith gives certainty
  • However, fideism itself can be seen as justifying absurd beliefs
  • Pope John Paul 2 argues that truth can be known only through a combination of faith and reason
44
Q

The value of Paley’s Design Argument for religious faith

A
  • Supports faith by reasoning
  • Forms a reasonable defence of religious faith against atheism
  • However , some claim that fideists faith does not depend on reason or proof so the argument offers no support
45
Q

The basis of the argument in thought

A
  • The Ontological Argument claims that the proposition ‘God exists’ is a priori / deductive
  • The subject ‘God’ contains the predicate ‘exists’ , so God must exist
  • God’s existence is a necessary truth , not a contingent one
46
Q

Criticism from Kant

A
  • God must possess all the perfect predicates as a supremely perfect being
  • Existence is not a real predicate so we are not adding anything to the concept of God
  • God exists necessarily is logically true because that it how we define God but it does not follow that there really is a God
47
Q

Strengths of Anselm’s Ontological Argument

A
  • It is deductive so if it works , it is a proof
  • It is not meant to be a logical proof : it’s a confession of faith . For those with faith , the Ontological argument is clear to their faith
48
Q

Weaknesses of Anselm’s Ontological Argument

A
  • Kant’s two objections defeat all Ontological Arguments

* Christians would reject any attempt to define God

49
Q

The status of Anselm’s Ontological Argument

A
  • The deductive Ontological Argument is a proof if we agree that the argument works
  • If the Ontological Argument was really a proof , there would be no argument about it
50
Q

The value of Anselm’s argument for religious faith

A
  • It is cast in the form of prayer rather than a logical proof
  • Based on a religious experience where God spoke to Anselm
51
Q

Brute fact

A

A fact that has no explanation

52
Q

Contingent

A

Dependent for their existence on other beings or things

53
Q

Cosmos

A

The cosmos usually refers to this space-time universe. The study of the universe is called cosmology

54
Q

Fallacy

A

A fallacy is a failure in reasoning which makes an argument invalid

55
Q

Fallacy of composition

A

This is the fallacy of inferring that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of part of the whole , or of every part of the whole. Russell argues that Aquinas’ third way commits the fallacy composition

56
Q

Grace

A

The Christian doctrine of God’s grace is that God shows humanity an undeserved love and mercy. Roughly speaking , grace is what bridges the gap between the moral standards that God requires and what humans can achieve by their own unaided efforts

57
Q

Infinite regress

A

In the Cosmological Argument , this is an indefinite sequence of causes or beings which does not have a first member of the series

58
Q

Metaphysical necessity

A

A form of necessity that derives from the nature or essence of things . Aquinas’ third way in effect holds that God has metaphysical necessity

59
Q

Occam’s Razor

A

(Attributed to William of Ockham, c. 1287-1347) Given in various forms : if there are competing hypotheses , choose the one that makes the fewest assumptions / entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily / if there are two competing theories that make the same predictions , the simpler one is the better

60
Q

Principle of Sufficient Reason

A

The doctrine that everything must have a reason or cause : very contingent fact about the universe must have an explanation. Leibniz used the principal in connection with his Cosmological Argument to ask ‘Why is there a universe at all , and why is it the way that it is ? ‘, from which he concluded that God must exist as a necessary being

61
Q

Quark

A

An elementary particle assumed to be one of the building blocks of matter

62
Q

The basis of the argument in observation

A

Way 3 is a posteriori and inductive, so is based on observation. The observation is that all things we see in the universe are contingent . From this , Aquinas concluded that something must exist necessarily

63
Q

The argument from contingency and necessity : Way 3

A
  • There must have been a time where nothing existed if everything is existed
  • If this time existed then there would be nothing now
  • There must be an ‘uncaused’ necessary being who sustains all caused necessary beings and all contingent beings
  • This is God
64
Q

Criticism 1 of the Cosmological Argument :(Russell)- Way3 commits the fallacy of composition

A

It is fallacious to say that everything in the universe is contingent and so is the universe because we can claim that the universe as a whole is necessary

65
Q

Criticism 2 of the Cosmological Argument :(Hume and Russell) -the words , necessary being , are meaningless

A

Hume thinks that the claims in the Ontological Argument that ‘God exists ‘ is the same as the one in the Cosmological Argument that is ‘God is necessary’ so rejects it. But this is not a valid criticism of Aquinas because he means that God has a metaphysical necessity not a logical necessity

66
Q

Criticism 3 of the Cosmological Argument -(Hume and Russell) - the universe itself may exist necessarily

A

Aquinas accepts this but argued that the universe could only exist necessarily if it was brought into existence by and ‘uncaused’ necessary being

67
Q

Criticism 4 of the Cosmological Argument : (Russell)

A

The universe exists as an unexplainable brute fact . Against Russell , if the universe is unexplainable , it seems very odd that science works on the opposite principle

68
Q

The Status of the Cosmological Argument as proof

A
  • It cannot be proof in the logical sense , because inductive arguments deal in probabilities rather than proofs
  • The argument does not convince atheist
  • Supports the idea that God exists as a metaphysically necessary being
69
Q

Aquinas on God cresting the universe

A

«Therefore we cannot help but postulate the existence of some being having itself its own necessity , and not receiving it from another , but rather causing in others their necessity . This all men speak of as God»

70
Q

What does Anselm say at the end of Chapter 1 of Proslogium ?

A

“For this too I believe : that unless I believe I shall not understand”

71
Q

What does Anselm describe God as ?

A

“God is … a being than which no greater can be conceived”

72
Q

What does Anselm say about God’s existence ?

A

“God cannot be conceived not to exist - God is that , than which nothing can be conceived not to exist”

73
Q

Quote for belief in and belief that

A

“Surely belief ‘in’ is an attitude to a person , whether human or divine while belief ‘that’ is just an attitude to a proposition”

74
Q

Criticism from Hume on God

A

“Is he both able and willing ? When then is evil?”

75
Q

Fideism

A

The view that faith does not depend on reason

Philosohy And Ethics (13 decks)

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