Philosophy & Religion
What did philosophers say about religion/god? Kongfuzi (Confucius) - Chinese philosopher - secular humanism. Role of free will and choice in moral decision making. Aristotle - golden path (between two extremes of behaviour) - e.g. stinginess vs wastefulness. Augustine of Hippo - evil is turning away from god Thomas of Aquinas - to achieve happiness, people must follow god s laws
Philosophers and Religion Machiavelli, Martin Luther - humanist ethics. They questioned traditionalist values during Renaissance period (1350-1550 AD) John Locke - tried to reconcile humanist and religious views Kant and Nietzsche - rejected a link between humanist and religious ethics
Ontological Argument for God Anselm of Canterbury God is a supremely perfect being. If you acknowledge the existence of God in your mind, then because he is perfect and there is nothing more perfect or as great as him, then he also must exist in reality.
Cosmological Impossible for something to create itself Everything comes from something else There has to be a beginning The beginning is a supreme being
Teleological Argument Argument from design An all powerful agent is responsible for creating the order of the universe The universe is orderly and runs like a machine so it could not have come from nothing
Atheism Karl Marx, Freidrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre = atheists Reject idea of omniscient/omnipotent supreme being Reject due to cruelty of world, supreme all loving being would not do that A soothing fiction - like Santa Claus Fulfills a psychological need for security, order, and meaning Freud - There is no question that religion derives from the need for help and the anxiety of the child and mankind in its early infancy Science used to show that god is an unverifiable and useless theory, as science has already discredited most arguments
Skepticism Questioning attitude about knowledge, facts, opinions/beliefs stated as facts OR doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere. Philosophical skepticism - approach that requires all new information to be supported by evidence. Comes from Skeptikol - group of philosophers who asserted nothing
Religious Skepticism Doubting given religious beliefs or claims Socrates - doubted many religious claims during his life Modern - process for finding evidence rather than blanket non-acceptance E.g. Jesus existed (believe due to historical documentation) but skeptics may doubt he performed miracles Religious people generally skeptical of other religions that clash on beliefs NOT the same as agnosticism or atheism
Philosophical Skepticism Pyrrhonism Refrains from making truth claims Does not claim that truth is impossible (that would be a truth claim!) Academic Skepticism Platonism Claimed knowledge of truth was impossible Epistemology The theory of knowledge Used to find out what is true Requires that for something to be knowledge - it has to always be true, always, every way.
Rationalism Any view that emphasizes the importance of human reason Starts from premises that cannot be coherently denied, uses logical steps to deduce every possible object of knowledge. Parmenides (500BC) - impossible to doubt thinking actually occurs. Thinking must have an object, therefore something beyond thinking really exists. Plato - combined rationalism with realism. Characteristic of essences is that they are universal (The nature of a man, a triangle, a tree, applies to all men, all triangles, all trees)
Rationalism Descartes - modern rationalism. We are directly aware of ideas, rather than objects. Questions arising from Descartes: 1. Is an idea a true copy of the real thign that it represents? 2. How can physical objects such as tables and chairs give rise to mental items such as ideas? (mind-body problem) 3. If all the contents of awareness are ideas, how can we know that anything exists apart from ideas? - I think, therefore I am
Empiricism Contrast to rationalism Dismisses the ability of reason alone to yield knowledge of the world Preferring to base any knowledge we have on our senses Francis Bacon, John Locke & David Hume - modern empiricists
Ethical Egoism People ought to do what is in their own best self-interest Different than psychological egoism - says that people can ONLY act in their self-interest Rational egoism - it is rational to act in one s self interest Ayn Rand Familiar with our own wants/needs, not as familiar with others, therefore should not try to put their needs first - might screw it up
Altruism Belief that moral agents have an obligation to help and serve others No personal gain for an individual s efforts Considered a selfish act if done for any reason that will benefit the person who is doing it (e.g. volunteering to help you get a job)
Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs Can we be altruistic without fulfilling the rest of the hierarchy?
Idealism Consciousness, not matter, is the ground of all being.