Works of Scholars - Context to Critics of Religious Belief and Points for Discussion Flashcards
1
Q
what is dawkins main argument within ‘the god delusion’?
A
- religion is a ‘virus of the mind’, an outdated survival mechanism that promotes blind faith and suppresses critical thinking
2
Q
dawkins: atheism
A
there are different types of atheism many reasons why people argue from atheistic points of view:
-> weak atheism: an implicit form of atheism, entails an absence of belief in god. a weak atheist is someone who not a theist - lacks belief in supernatural beings
-> agnosticism: similar to weak atheism, agnostic says ‘I dont know’
-> strong atheism is more explicit form of atheism, denies the very possibility of gods existing
3
Q
state some arguments provided within dawkins ‘the god delusion
A
- religion is the enemy of science, theologians bring nothing as they rely on myths and discredited story, whilst philosophers rely on nature of the universe - making religious belief compatible with science would effectively spell the end of religion
- the universe is not a grand design created by an intelligent designer; evolution rules out ordered universe with clear distinction and purpose
- religion often leads to violence, because believers feel threatened by criticism; can be used as an excuse to carry out violent and irrational actions
4
Q
westphal interpretation of atheist critiques
A
- atheist critiques of religion (eg marx, swinburne), are not necessarily arguments against the existence of god but how religion is practiced
- the enlightenment gives rise to deism. deists affirm that god exists but reject divine revelation, we cannot have direct experiences of god, so we can only know about him from reason and logic
- deists make a distinction between the ‘kernel’ of religious belief -> the husk, the kernel, god. the husk is removable but the kernel - belief in a rational and non-intervening god remains essential
5
Q
criticisms of dawkins
A
- many scholars argue that dawkins presents a simplistic and ‘strawman’ version of religion, rather than engaging with complex theological ideas
- dawkins argues that science disproves god, but science deals with natural, world but god is beyond empirical measurement
- dawkins claims that religion causes violence and oppression, but critics argue that secular ideologies (e.g communism) have also led to atrocities
6
Q
what are the main strengths of religious belief?
A
- provides meaning and moral purpose
- encourages community and social cohesion
- arguments for god’s existence (eg cosmological, teleological)
7
Q
what are the main weaknesses of religious belief?
A
- lack of empirical evidence
- occurrence of evil challenges benevolent god
- lack of freedom
8
Q
how does Dawkins critique strengths of religious belief?
A
- argues religion is a ‘virus of the mind’ that spreads irrationally
- faith discourages scientific inquiry and critical thinking
- morality does not depend on religion but can be explained by evolutionary ethics
9
Q
how does Westphal respond to critiques of religious belief?
A
- religion is not about belief in god but also lived experience and interpretation
- argues critique of religion should account for its role in existential and moral life
- suggests Dawkins offers a ‘modern’ view of religion rather than ‘postmodern’
10
Q
hume + kant on context of religious beliefs
A
- for westphal, both hume and kant have a significant role within the deist project, both philosophers focus on the role of reason in understanding god, stating if god exists he can be discovered through reason
- kant/hume both argue god cannot be a priori, the ontological argument doesn’t work as proof of existence of god, you cannot define a being into existence as existence is not a predicate (quality/attribute)
- hume argues from the appearance of design to an intelligent designer, to know god created the universe we would need to go back in time to observe it taking place
11
Q
Friedrich Schleiermacher - diasgrees with kant/deists
A
- schleiermacher disagrees with kant/deists as he states god cannot be discovered through reason/moral arguments. religion is a personal practice, concerned with inner consciousness of god
- belief in god is having an encounter with the divine, disagreeing with kant/deists in the fact they want to overcome religious experience and revelation, but religious experience is at the heart of religious belief
12
Q
karl marx; sociological critique on religious belief
A
- marx describes religion as a form of alienation, a drug which keeps the working class subdued and under control, religion legitimises power and privilege of dominant classes by making their position seem utterly controlled
- eg) belief that the monarch is god representative on earth ensures total obedience by god’s authority
13
Q
atheism
A
means ‘without god’ or ‘no god’, it refers to the viewpoint held by individuals that there is no god
14
Q
weak atheism
A
held by individuals where they do not believe that god exists. but do not explicitly believe or partially acknowledge that god does not exist
15
Q
strong atheism
A
- viewpoint held by individuals whereby they have an explicit/firm belief that there is no god
- its wrong to believe that god exists, those who do must be corrected
16
Q
agnosticism
A
- belief that it is not possible to know whether god exists or not, agnostics may be open to the idea/possibility of belief but feel they have insufficient knowledge/insight
17
Q
reasons for atheism
A
- science: provides natural explanations for the universe when these events were originally seen as miracles, Darwin origin of species argues everything is in trial and error + Freud psychoanalysis of the unconscious mind removed the idea of gods voice speaking
- evil: the logical and evidential problem of evil, presented by Empiricus, Mackie and Phillips
- empiricism: knowledge can only be gained through evidence -> Ayer accepted this viewpoint through the verification principle
18
Q
religious responses to atheism
A
- empiricism: ayer’s verification principle rejects himself on the grounds that it doesn’t verify itself
- science: possible to see that scientific theories are compatible with god, science can explain physical reasoning for how the world came about -> doesn’t remove the possibility that god is behind it all
- rejection of moral absolutes: not a threat to believe in god as it leads to extreme moral nihilism (no inherent right/wrong), many would accept moral absolutes such as “do not kill innocent people”
- probability: swinburnes cumulative argument would suggest that its more probable that god exists than doesn’t
19
Q
naturalism
A
- when true knowledge can only be exclaimed through the world around us
- considers belief based on supernatural knowledge to be incorrect as they cannot be empirically verified
- interprets religion as existing only in the natural world, rather than pointing to a higher/other realm
- also influences sociological critique of religion
20
Q
materialism
A
- argues only physical matter exists, interprets humans to be made of purely material substances
eg) mental processes are thus the result of chemical changes in the brain - materialism denies the presence of non-material things such as god
- religion is therefore the result of neurological/psychological factors -> this can influence criticism
21
Q
karl marx - sociological critique of religion
A
- believed religion served the function as it made the masses believe that they could find an escape and freedom through the afterlife, which is offered through religion
- religion served this function as it made the masses believe they could find an escape and freedom through the afterlife, which was offered by religion
- during karl marx writing, many individuals didn’t have rights and were often exploited by factory owners etc.
- marx calles religion the ‘opium of the masses’ this means religion is a drug that changes beliefs of believers and pacifies them
22
Q
sociological critique of religious belief - Emile Durkheim
A
religion is a sociological phenomenon, durkheim interpreted it to be a way to:
- hold + bind societies together
- preserve + enforce social and moral order
- create general consieveness between individuals
- give meaning and purpose to life
23
Q
psychological critique of religious belief: sigmous frueud
A
- freud argues that religion was an ‘illusion’ and existed as believers have a psychological need to protect their fears, anxieties and subconscious onto something greater than themselves
- described it as a way to deal with helplessness, inner impulses and a fears of death
24
Q
postmodernism - metanarrative
A
one account of reality and objectively true if you believe it or not
25
Q
postmodernism - modernism
A
in every area of life is there is a single truth which can be discovered through reason and experience, modernism claims there is one single metanarrative, be it atheist or theist
26
Q
postmodernity - derria
A
- deconstructed and rejected the meta-narrative ‘big stories’ as impossible to tell
-social structures in a state of flux - all meaning is relative and socially constructed
- reality is fragile and confusing
27
Q
what is postmodernity?
A
- skeptical intellectual movement that challenges absolute truths, objective knowledge and grand narratives.
- which emphasises relativism, subjectivity and the social construstuction of reality
28
Q
postmodernity supporting religion
A
- James ineffability and divine mystery are suited to the more mystical aspects of religion. The ‘via negativa’ describes god by saying what he’s not, rather than what he is
- most religions emphasise a practical living religion. Jesus teachings of ‘love thy neighbour’ models this
- some believe that you cannot know anything specific about god, the Christian quakers refer to the ‘light of god’ within the individual and have no specific teachings
29
Q
postmodernity threatening religion
A
- the emphasis on a practical living condition has to go hand in hand with the truth claims of the faith, truth claims are the basis for such practice
-a pick and mix approach to religion undermines doctrine which teaches that you should commit to your faith, not pick out bits eg) liking certain bits of god - not addressing any universal truths contradicts key teachings of many religions, most consider agnostic statements compared to religion
30
Q
work of scholars - dawkins
A
- religion leads to violence and war excuses irrational actions
- being an agnostic (unsure about god existing) is not a position as there is clear evidence so state god doesn’t exist
- religion in the enemy of science -> incompatible
- attempting to prove gods existence through reason (eg ontological argument)
- religious scriptures/revelation are pure fiction
- religion is the opposite of morality as it condones immoral actions eg) Jesus dying on the cross, condemning homosexuality
31
Q
works of scholars - westphal
A
- postmodern theist: engages with postmodernism when defending religious belief
- argues that enlightenment falsely assumes reason is neutral and objective
- suggests that postmodernism exposes the flawed claim to absolute truth, allowing for a renewed perspective on faith
32
Q
westphal argues, when discussing western philosophy:
A
- the enlightenment era was a shift from pre-modernity where religious truth was questioned and the study of philosophy moved away from theological discussion
- led to a shift from theism to design
- the focus was on religion belief and practice rather than gods faith
