Plato's allegory of the cave

Plato’s analogy of the cave The story of the cave has many meanings behind it; there is not just one moral to the story, but a variety of linked points are made to express Plato’s understanding of the progress of mind from its lowest stage to an enlightened knowledge of the good. In this story the escaped prisoner in the cave represents Socrates, a Greek philosopher. The allegory begins with a description of prisoners in a cave, who are only able to look straight ahead of themselves because they are chained. They have a fire behind them, a wall in front, and the cave has a long tunnel entrance so that there is no natural daylight in the cave, only the firelight. These prisoners in the cave are representing the Greeks; they have their beliefs and they do not want to turn their heads to listen to anyone else’s teachings that are different to theirs. In this allegory Plato illustrates the prisoners as souls and the cave as the human body thus suggesting the body is a kind of prison in which the soul is trapped. This concept suggests that the soul, like the prisoners, has been there since birth therefore showing that Plato believes the soul is immortal, this is backed up by the fact that despite the prisoner (Socrates) died, his ideas and teachings live on forever hence showing the soul is immortal. In the story the prisoner wants to escape the cave and go into the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Plato's Theory of Forms.

Plato's Theory of Forms. Plato, one of the greatest philosophers of all time, has had a profound effect on subsequent ages. He was born into an aristocratic Athenian family in about 428 BCE, and his are the earliest writings of philosophical findings that have been recorded. However Plato not only recorded his own findings, but those of his teacher, Socrates. Socrates, a man who was known by the Grecians to be a 'hornet', forever hovering around, standing up to things, questioning everything and generally being a busybody, was not seen like that in the eyes of Plato. Plato admired Socrates for his teachings, and of his Dialectic method, which was to question and answer everything to show up mortal ignorance, and get as close as possible to 'Real Knowledge'. However, Socrates never had chance to write down his experiences, he only taught by word of mouth, forever battling against the Sophists, in trying to prove that philosophy wasn't just a profession as they thought, but a way of life. Socrates career and life came to a bitter end in 399 BCE, when he was sentenced to death by poison with a charge of corrupting the young (namely young philosophers like Plato) and of introducing new Gods. Instead of leaving Athens forever or appealing for leniency, Socrates decided to give up his life in the name of philosophy and the search for truth. Even though the death of Socrates

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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The Sabbath

RE COURSEWORK MARTIN MCCAFFREY 2D The Sabbath is the weekly day of rest, which lasts from sunset on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, which is observed by Jews. It is viewed as being the most important day of the week. Observing the Sabbath day is the oldest of all Jewish traditions; the Sabbath day goes back to the time of Moses. The Sabbath is looked upon as extremely important for several reasons. It is the only festival mentioned in the 10 commandments, 'observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.' It also is connected with the release of the Jews from Egyptian slavery, the Exodus. The Exodus was the most important demonstration of God's power in Jewish history. Also, it is believed that God created the Earth in 6 days, and he rested on the 7th, so the Jews are following the example of God by resting on the 7th day. The Sabbath day combines the Exodus, and the creation of the Earth, which are the two greatest events in Jewish history. The Pharisees felt very strongly about the Sabbath and its rules, and believed they should never ever be broken, if a law of the Sabbath was broken, it was actually punishable by death. It was so important to the Jews to keep the Sabbath special and to keep up the Jewish tradition, that over time, Pharisees created a number of other rules, the idea of these was to prevent people breaking the main, bigger laws of the Sabbath. Jesus

  • Word count: 2038
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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To what extent is the omnipotence of God a logically coherent concept?

Bailey Bell To what extent is the omnipotence of God a logically coherent concept? (35) The concept of omnipotence and God is not easily understood; the term refers to the notion that God is all-powerful and supreme. For some this concept of God being omnipotent is logically coherent, but for others it is not. For instance, saying God is all-powerful suggests that God can do anything. But one scenario raised by Michael Dummett is can God change the past? Does it make sense to pray in the event that you receive news that a ship that your loved ones were on sank hours ago with few survivors? Could God change what happened or are your loved one already safe because God knew you’d pray. In this sense it is not a very coherent concept as we aren’t entirely clear of the extent of God’s omnipotence. Many that hold the view that God can do anything run into problems; if God can do everything, could he create a five sided triangle? If holding the view that God can do anything it would seem this is logical as God could change the definition of a triangle. But it seems illogical that God would have this sort of power to change the past, as it is contradictory. It could be argued that God’s omnipotence is not a logically coherent concept; humans have two arms and two legs to enable us to run but the other attributes of God contradict each other because if he is all powerful yes

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Utilitarianism. Identify the main problems of Utilitarianism. To what extent do these make Utilitarianism unacceptable?

)What are the advantages of Utilitarianism? Jeremy Bentham, born 1748 was 'an extremely shy and sensitive person, who always felt insecure in the company of strangers.'1 In matters of religion, he was an atheist and he opposed to both Monarchy inherited upper class. He was interested with the social conditions of his day. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, however he changed his course halfway through his studies saying he was 'going to set out to reform it into the perfect system.' The idea he based this aim on was the 'Principle of Utility.' He defined this is the action that is right or creates the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest amount of people. Happiness or pleasure to Bentham is maximum pleasure and minimum pain or suffering. He said that whatever increased or led to pleasure is morally good and whatever led to pain or the decrease of pleasure is morally bad. Bentham used something called the Hedonic Calculus to measure the amount of pleasure and pain in an action. This concerned intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and extent. However, it is impossible to calculate the pleasure or pain an action brings Bentham's use of the Hedonic Calculus was no longer used. Bentham failed to realise that his theory is only the basis of Utilitarianism and that his idea has many faults, for example, he did not make any distinctions

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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The Teleological Argument

The Teleological Argument The word 'teleological' comes from the Greek word 'telos' which means 'end' or 'purpose'. The teleological argument is also known as the design argument, which is an a posteriori argument because it is an argument based on external evidence. The argument makes the basic assumptions that there is order, purpose and regularity in the universe and that all things function to fulfil a specific purpose. The argument further states that the complexity of the universe shows evidence of design and such design implies a designer, and therefore the designer of the universe is God. There are two aspects of the teleological argument and they are design qua regularity and design qua purpose. Design Qua Regularity looks at design in terms of order and regularity in the universe. Those who support this argument think that the order and regularity in the universe is the evidence, which shows that there is a designer at work. One of supporters of this aspect of the argument was St Thomas Aquinas. He stated that everything works to some purpose or other and lifeless objects that have no rational powers must be directed to this purpose by some external power. For example, an arrow, which is directed by the archer. Aquinas then concluded, that therefore some intelligent beings exists by whom all natural things are directed to their purpose and this being Aquinas

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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"We are free to make ethical decisions" Discuss.

"We are free to make ethical decisions" The views of scholars and philosophers regarding free will are generally representative of libertarianism, hard determinism or compatibilism, also referred to as soft determinism. These three theories display different attitudes to the extent of free choice humans possess, and the moral responsibility that thus follows, or lack of there of. Libertarians reject the idea of predestination and believe in full moral responsibility for our chosen actions. For instance, Existentialists embrace the essence of Augustine's work. He had a traditional understanding of God as an omniscient, omnipotent and an omnibenevolent Creator, and interpreted the Genesis stories much more literally that one would tend to today. Augustine believed that God knowingly created humans as conscious beings capable of determining their own moral behaviour. Augustine valued such freedom above the moral evil it may potentially cause, and believed that the unethical consequences were a price worth paying for the ability to willfully be in harmony with God. If one chooses to act unethically, the evil thus produced is caused by the abuse of free will granted by God. Therefore, whatever the outcome, humans have the freedom to act in whichever way the feel appropriate. No human (or spiritual being) has a pre-determined good or bad nature, and hence may potentially make

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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What is Hajj?

About Hajj A Muslim is obliged once in their lifetime ,by their religion along with their own will, to take a pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia. This pilgrimage is called Hajj and is an amazing journey that is done for a definite purpose. It is part of the Five Pillars of Islam that is the basis of the entire religion making it obligatory. Through completing Hajj, a Muslim can begin to feel closer to Allah (Islam's God) and experience inner fulfilment. Hajj must be done for the right reasons, "it is for the glory of Allah not for the glory of the person making the journey." Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place', it's a journey with rites and rituals along the way. The Qu'ran calls Muslims to 'complete the Hajj or Umrah in the service of Allah'. For generations, the journey a Muslim takes has always started in Makkah. This place is sacred because in 10AH, 632 CE, Muslim's believe that Muhammad (pbuh)- Islam's most famous prophet - performed Hajj with 1400 of his followers because Allah instructed him to. He also lived and preached in Makkah during his lifetime. Since Muhammad's pilgrimage, Makkah has been sacred to all Muslim's. They want to follow in the footsteps of Muhammad and the prophets Adam, Ibrahim and Isma'il as they believe that Allah is there to guide them through life just as he guided the prophets. Makkah is classed as Holy Ground and people go

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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What is Abortion?

Abortion Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life. Abortions must be conducted before the end off six months, or the fetus will leave the womb and it would be considered a premature birth. There are two types of abortions. One is spontaneous and the other is induced. If the fetus ways less than 18oz or is less than 20 weeks into the pregnancy, it is usually considered an abortion. Spontaneous abortions are known by another name, miscarriages. These usually occur during the first three months of pregnancy. It is estimated that 25% of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion. The second form of abortion is induced abortion. This is the deliberate termination of the fetus. There are four main types of induced abortions. The first takes place up to 12 weeks. It is called vacuum aspiration. This is where a tube attached to a vacuum is inserted into the uterus and sucks out the embryo and all other material. The second type takes place after the 15th week and is called saline infusion. Here, the doctors replace a little fluid with a salt solution. This causes the uterus to contract. The fetus is then expelled. The third type is a hysterotomy. This is a similar procedure to a cesarean section. The only difference is, in this operation, is that the cut is smaller and lower. The fourth type is available in the first fifty

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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What is Discipleship?

Discipleship A dictionary's definition of a disciple is someone who believes and follows the teachings and laws of another person. A Christian disciple is someone who believes and follows the teachings and laws of Jesus Christ. During the past 2000 years Jesus has obtained more and more followers because priest, monks and all clergy included, but most importantly us, the normal working class people, have continued to preach in his vast absence. If you asked a person do you preach about Jesus they will say no but we do this so much it has become common phrase and we don't realise the vast amount of times we mention his name or anything relevant to him. Mark gospel tells of Jesus' first disciples begin two fishermen who happened to be brothers. But all gospels alike tell of these men leaving every worldly possession they had and without a doubt following Jesus. This shows that Jesus had a certain degree of authority over the people of whom he met. But many other people believed it was not authority it was a certain charisma, which he possessed, that drove these disciples to their destiny. Although these people immediately follow Jesus also had his failures for example the story of the Rich Man (10:17-31). Marks gospel tells of a man running up to Jesus and asking what he must do to achieve eternal life Jesus reply's by telling him of the 10 commandments which the man says he

  • Word count: 1588
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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