Theories of the resurrection of the body are logically coherent.
Theories of resurrection of the body are logically coherent. Discuss. The idea of the resurrection of the body immediately implies life after death. It also implies that a body that has been destroyed can come back in a state of physicality. In this essay, I will argue that such way of approaching the idea of life after death is not wholly logically incoherent. However, I will also consider dilemmas linking to questions such as: does the idea of the resurrection of the body defies our personal continuity? Is the body necessary for personal continuity? And, finally, is death a reality or a type of incarnation of the body into another form? The key issues in arguing for the resurrection of the body comes when we begin to explore such questions as: does life after death necessarily necessitate a body? Can life after death ensure continuity of our personal identity? Firstly, I believe it is important to distinguish between the concept of 'resurrection' of the body and that of 'immortality' of the soul as both concepts argue for life after death. By 'resurrection' of the body I understand that a body that has experienced death and physical disintegration is able to come back to its original form. For instance, the example of Jesus' resurrection fits exactly the category. The body is destroyed and then resurrected exactly to how it was prior death. According to the doctrine of
Give an account of Fletcher's Theory of Situation Ethics.
Situation Ethics 3.a) Give an account of Fletcher's Theory of Situation Ethics. Joseph Fletcher published his book on Situation Ethics in 1963. It was called 'Situation Ethics, The New Morality'. The 'swinging sixties' as it was known brought about a great deal of social change. There was an opposition to traditional values such as the role of women, so it was a good year to bring about new ideas. Fletcher was an American Anglican Theologian, so his theory had a sense of Christian morality. Fletcher said there are three ways one can make a decision. The first one is legalism. This is where someone obeys the law, always sticks to what the rules say. The second is antinomianism, when people ignore or go against the law or rules. This theory lies in-between the two, this is known as Situationism. Each situation should be dealt with individually, you should remember the rules but be prepared to put them aside, it allows people to think for themselves. He believed that if one was to always to stick to the rules, it produces the 'immorality of morality'. This means that in some situations, if you go by what the law says, the outcome will be immoral. For example if a mother killed someone to defend her children and she was condemned for it, this would be immoral. A situationist would look at the outcome and not see this as an immoral action as the woman was doing the loving thing
Assess Empiricism. In this essay I intend to seek the values of Empiricism through analysing its key concepts.
Assess Empiricism In this essay I intend to seek the values of Empiricism through analysing its key concepts. Empiricism is the belief that all knowledge derives from experience - as opposed to Rationalism which is the view that the source of knowledge is reason. Empiricists claim that we are born knowing nothing. Instead we gain knowledge through our five senses, thus of our knowledge and thoughts must relate to what we have seen, smelled, touched, tasted or heard. Aristotle supported the Empiricist view with his idea of comparing the mind to a 'tabula rasa', or blank slate. This idea suggests that the mind is without thoughts and senses and it is only through sense experience that our knowledge of the world is built up. This idea is appealing as it seems that what we have to learn what we know about the world through life experiences. For example, a new born baby knows nothing of colours, tastes, smells or sounds but gradually learns to recognise which foods it likes or have recognition of its name. What we consider as basic knowledge, such as a reflection from a mirror, was at one point a new discovery. However, Rationalists dispute this as the source of knowledge in the form of innate knowledge. Rationalists believe that we are born with certain instincts, such as crying when we are hungry or to suckle. Though it is debateable to whether this counts as knowledge. Do
Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the design argument for the existence of God.
i) Examine the ways in which the design argument provides evidence for the existence of God. (21) ii) Comment on the view that the weaknesses of the design argument show that the universe can be explained without reference to God. (9) The design arguments for the existence of God are often known as teleological arguments, which mean the end results are more important as they are used in order to draw one's conclusion. Design arguments are a posteriori as they look at our experiences of the world and draw conclusions from it. They are also inductive arguments as they reach conclusions which are statements of probability rather than conclusive proofs. It is therefore up to us to decide whether we agree with the premises and whether we think that the argument can persuade us for belief in the existence of God. The design argument usually relies on an analogy. In this essay, I will examine the ways in which the design argument provides evidence for the existence of God. The design argument usually follows a pattern using premises: * P1: Whenever we see things made by people, which are ordered in pattern, or beautiful, or complex, which work particularly well to achieve a goal we can infer that they must have been designed by an intelligent designer. * P2: Order, beauty, and complex do not arise by blind chance. * P3: We can look at the world and see that there is order,
Evaluate the weaknesses of design arguments for the existence of God
Evaluate the weaknesses of design arguments for the existence of God (9) The design argument is an a posteriori argument for the existence of god based on apparent design and purpose in the universe. The argument is based on an interpretation of teleology where in purpose and intelligent design appears to exist in nature beyond the scope of any such human activities. The teleological argument suggests that, given the premise, the existence of a designer can be assumed, typically presented as God. It is an inductive argument which means that we learn something new and it goes beyond the truth of the premise which may or may not be a good thing. The fall of it going beyond the truth of the premise is that we can never fully trust the conclusion which may mean that we cannot fully justify and explain the argument. The design argument is also a posteriori argument which means everything is based on experience of the world. This means that we can find evidence in the world to support the premises of the conclusion. Although, Kant emphasised that the design argument depended on the assumption that there is design in the universe. The design must be the independent work of a designer who imposed order and purpose in the universe. The argument is based on the assumption that there is irregularity, order and purpose in the universe. Kant argued that the universe may be in chaos
Explain how Benthams version of Utilitarianism can be used to decide the best course of action
Explain how Bentham's version of Utilitarianism can be used to decide the best course of action. Jeremy Bentham, father and founder of Utilitarianism, first proposed his theory, now known as and hereby referred to as Act Utilitarianism, as the basis for a complete social reform. Whilst Bentham may have failed in this aspect, he did lay the foundations for future ethicists such as J.S. Mill, P. Singer and H. Sidgwick to expand and explore his theory of Utilitarianism further. Bentham's original theory of Utilitarianism can be boiled down to one underlying principle; the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Bentham proposed that an action's moral worth can be determined by the use of the Hedonic Calculus. This formula takes into account the intensity, duration and number of people affected (amongst other factors) and places a numerical value on the outcome. This may seem like a rather clinical and mathematic way to try and measure what it ultimately an abstract concept such as pleasure or happiness, and subsequently critics have said Bentham's version of Utilitarianism can be used to justify horrific acts such as torture, gang rape or murder. An example of when Act Utilitarianism could be used to decide the best course of action would be in a group of people choosing what topping to order on their pizza. If, for example, 3 out of the four people wanted
Explain how moral decisions should be made according to: Act and Rule utilitarianism
Explain how moral decisions should be made according to: Act and Rule utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory, as it is a philosophical system concerned with conse- quences rather than the motives. Also it is concerned that the happiness of the greatest number should be the result. There are two types of utilitarianism: act and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism is developed be Jeremy Bentham and rule utilitarianism is developed by John Stuart Mill. Jeremy Bentham was an English Philosopher who came up with the theory of Utilitarianism. He was a practical man concerned with the social conditions of his day and particularly with the conditions of prisons and hospitals. He wanted to find a moral basis for law that could serve to benefit the whole of society. In 1789 he wrote 'The principles of moral and Legislation' in which he put forward his ethical theory and divided his book into 3 sections: his view on what drove humans and what goodness and badness is all about, Hedonic Calculus and the principle of utility his moral rule. Bentham had believed that human beings are driven by pleasures and pain, 'nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure'. He believed everyone had an equal right to happiness, irrespective of their situation. He wanted morality to be fair and democratic. Furthermore, because he
The design argument is also known as the teleological argument. The argument looks at the idea of purpose and order within the universe to argue for the existence of God.
The Teleological Argument The Argument The design argument is also known as the teleological argument. Telos means goal, aim or purpose. The argument looks at the idea of purpose and order within the universe to argue for the existence of God. The argument is an a posteriori, inductive, synthetic argument. A posteriori arguments have statements that rely on proof from the external evidence. In inductive arguments the argument is only brought in at the conclusion. Aquinas's 5th way in the cosmological argument (purpose) is strictly teleological as it argues for the existence of God, in regards to the evidence of purpose in nature. The cosmological argument was put forward in the 12th century. Paley posed the most prominent teleological argument in the 18th century. Paley was a clergyman and put forward his argument for the existence of God during the period of enlightenment (where science was being used to prove evolution). Paley used the famous analogy of the watch. He said that if walking across a heath and he came across a stone he could assume that the stone came about through nature. However, if he were to come across a watch the same could not be suggested. The watch shows order (cogs, etc) and purpose (telling the time) and therefore it's not reasonable to assume that the watch came about without the agency of a watchmaker. Paley's analogy compared the watch with the
Give an account of Kants Ethical Theory
Give an account of Kant's Ethical Theory Kant was a philosopher born in the 16th Century. He developed a deontological, absolute and objective ethical theory focused on the idea of moral law. Kant's theory uses practical reason and looks at the argument before deciding what to do about the situation. It is described as being a priori and synthetic; this meaning it is knowable without experience and can be proven to be true or false without using experience. His theory basically explained that humans must do their duty, without having to reference it to experience. Kant believed in right and wrong based on reason, he relies on intuitions or facts. For Kant, practical reason looks at the evidence and the argument, he says it cannot depend on external facts. For freedom, Kant says you must be capable of exercising freedom or autonomy of will. For Kant's Ethical Theory, only good will counts, he believes it is the starting point for the whole of Ethics. Only good will can be unconditional love. So for his theory, we humans must do our duty, which makes the will good. He says that duty is done for its own sake and not for any kind of benefit to our self. He says we know what is good by using reason. Kant says we have an obligation to do our duty; he calls this the Categorical Imperative. Kant has 2 categories, hypothetical and categorical imperatives. The hypothetical ones
Give an account of Kant's ethics
A.) Give an account of Kant's ethics Kantian ethics is a deontological and objective theory of ethics. It is the belief that one may understand what is right and wrong based on reason, and that one should do the right actions because it is the right thing to do. If something is wrong in one situation, it is wrong in any situation regardless of what the consequence might be. Kantian ethics is also based on the idea of one's duty and to obey moral law which is freely self-imposed on one's self by a mere awareness to moral obligations rather than it being imposed on by others. According to Kant one should not behave out of any inclinations or love and compassion. In this essay I will be giving a clear and detailed account of Kantian ethics by explaining the idea of good will and duty, the categorical imperative and it's sub-sections. According to Kant, the highest form of good is good will. He mentioned that good will is carrying out one's duty and doing only the actions which are morally required whilst avoiding any thought of the benefits that will be achieved which are considered to be morally wrong. A duty is good because it is good within itself meaning that one does his duty due to the fact that it is his solely one's duty. With the awareness of happiness, Kant accepted that happiness is also good however one should behave with the idea that happiness will come from
