Asses Sartre's COntribution Toward the philosophy of freedom
Asses Jean-Paul Sartre's Contribution towards the Philosophy of Freedom Freedom as a concept is a large branch of philosophy which looks at issues such as restrictions from government in a political sense as well as a more metaphysical definition involving restrictions on our own actions due to the way in which we choose to act; it is the latter of these two issues which concerns existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre. In order to asses Jean-Paul Sartre's contribution toward the philosophy of freedom it is first necessary to look at other philosophers and their influence on this topic. One of the first to comment on the philosophy of freedom, in fact one of the first philosophers in the world, was Aristotle. Aristotle, the most successful product of Plato's academy, devised a four part argument of causality arguing why things come into existence; * Material Cause - The material out of which something is composed for example the material cause for a table is wood * Formal Cause - The idea existing in the first place before an object exists; the formal cause is similar to the idea of forms expressed by Plato. An example is that the formal cause of a table is the idea in the carpenters mind. * Efficient Cause - The agent who brings something into existence, in the case of a table the efficient cause would be the actions of the carpenter. * Final Cause, or 'telos' - The
The Teleological Argument - Examine the Design Argument for the existence of God.
The Teleological Argument A: Examine the Design Argument for the existence of God. (10) The teleological argument argues that the sense of purposeful design we see in nature suggests that the world has a designer (God). The world cannot be here by chance. Many philosophers have come to the conclusion that God exists by studying the natural world. The teleological argument is related to Aquinas's Fifth Way. He used the idea of purpose which links in with causation. Causation gives things their perfections. Aquinas stated 'Something therefore causes in all other things their being, their goodness, and whatever other perfections they have. And this is what we call God.' 'Goal-directed behaviour is observed in all bodies obeying natural laws, even when they lack awareness... But nothing lacking awareness and understanding, the arrow for example requires an archer. Everything in nature, therefore is directed to its goal by someone with understanding, and this we call God.' The world has a purpose therefore somebody has set the world its purpose. At the time of William Paley (1802) there were many scientific discoveries which point to a designer/God. William Paley used the example of the watch. He argued that if someone walking across a heath were to come across a watch and then examine it. You would come to the conclusion that the watch must have a watchmaker because the
Creationism Isn't Science but Belongs in Schools
Robyn St. Hilaire English 102-002 Essay #1 Creationism Isn't Science but Belongs in Schools The origin of life has been a point of discussion for as long as history has been documented. Ancient Egyptians believed that the sun god Ra took another form, created land from a watery abyss and created everything, including gods and humans. The Iroquois, a tribe of Native Americans, told a story of god to human lineage that resulted in twins, one being evil and one being good. The good twin creates a picture perfect world. The evil twin reverses the good twin's actions by making things more complex and difficult for humans. Christians and Jews believe that God, their only god, created the earth and the heavens in six days, and on the seventh day he rested. Secular humanists believe that the earth was created from a large cosmic explosion and that the living organisms on the earth have evolved from bacteria. It has become a recent debate in schools which one of these and countless other theories should and should not be taught. The debate has centered itself between creationists, those that believe in a "mythological" theory, and Secular humanists, those who believe in a theory known as evolution. It has become questioned whether creationism should be taught in schools along side the evolution theory. In an essay discussing this Niles Eldredge argues why creationism
Priya Modi L6H
Priya Modi L6H December 11, 2005 a) For what reasons might suffering cause problems for the religious believer b) Outline two possible solutions to these problems and comment on their success Suffering can be defined as the individual human experience of evil. The cause of suffering is ascribed to what is defined as evil. There are several types of evil; evil can firstly be distinguished between moral evil and natural evil. Moral evil is evil which arise from the responsible actions of groups of individuals who cause suffering or harm. They include such things as stealing, murder and lying. Natural evil is evil which arise from events which cause suffering but over which human beings have little control over such as earthquakes and disease. Further groupings of evil can be made, such as physical evil which refers to pain itself and mental anguish and metaphysical evil which refers to imperfection and contingency as a feature of the cosmos. In this essay I will be writing about problems that may be raised up for a believer in evil and suffering. The key point to this problem I will be looking at is the classical concept of God and how it is inconsistent with evil and suffering. Further on I will be explaining and commenting on two solutions to this problem, one from Augustine and the second from Irenaeus. I will look study their strengths and weaknesses. In conclusion
The Nature of God
Topic 1 - The Nature of God (a) Describe the reasons Christians might give in support of their belief in God. [8] There are many different reasons as to why Christians might give in support of their belief in God. Most Christians would believe in god as they have been informed by their vicar or priest in church. Christians believe that the world is designed so there be a designer who completes the job. Not all Christians would give the same reason for their belief in God. Some Christians would say that the fact that we feel guilt for the things we do wrong is evidence for God. Others might believe that the universe needs an ultimate cause and only God can explain this. Other Christians might have a personal experience of God, for example they may have prayed for healing and felt that God cured them. These are all explanations to god's existence. They might say that god is creator, because there must be a first cause or they say that the world is an intelligent planet so somebody must have made it; they might also say that you feel bad when you commit a felony or do something that you're not meant to be doing god is making you have that feeling. (b) Explain how believing that the Bible is the word of God might affect the lives of Christians. [7] Christians of today would often read the bible on a regular basis for spiritual and ethnic guidance in difficult times in
The Conflict between Religion and Science
The Conflict between Religion and Science Widely speaking we regard science as the matter of reason; religion is a matter of faith. In science things can be proved. In religion we have to take things on authority. Keith Ward * Three Stages of religious thought and understanding. . Tribal religion, imaginary cosmologies, rituals. 2. The founding of the great scriptural (written) traditions - Holy texts which began to claim final and universal truth. 3. Developments since the 17th and 18th century, a new way of understanding God and the world. (Birth of modern science). Since the 17th and the 18th century the Christian faith in the world west has been transformed by three great movements of thought. 1. The rise of the natural sciences as epitomised by Galileo and his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. Everyone knows that Galileo won the argument and the church was no longer contempt to disagree with all experimental science. Hence forth all factual claims about the nature of the universe would have to be tested, by proper experimental techniques and to appeal to some authority like the church. 2. In the second phase he associates with Isaac Newton who invented the machine model of the physical world which appears to exclude any non-mechanical principles from its working. God seems to be exempt as the creator of the machine. 3. Darwin explained how all complex
To What Extent Are Human Beings Genuinely Free?
To What Extent Are Human Beings Genuinely Free? To be able to answer this question successfully we must first understand what is meant by the term 'genuinely free.' By this do we mean to have limitless freedom where each choice is our own or rather freedom within certain boundaries? There are of course many different views which consider the extent of our freedom and what being free really means, ranging from ultimate, unlimited freedom to us having absolutely no freedom. If we are to believe that human beings are completely free we are likely to accept the Libertarian view: By liberty, then we can only mean a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will; that is, if we choose to remain at rest, we may; if we choose to move, we also may (David Hume) Libertarianism suggests that we are entirely free to make a morally responsible decision. Libertarianism does consider the fact that some aspects of life are causally determined; however these determined aspects are only affected by the inner self of the moral agent which in itself is uncaused. As Spaemann explained we use a reflective component which takes into consideration these objective and subjective facts and then makes a free choice. It is this, our moral self, which is free to choose, yet factors such as the moral agent's character or values which or not. Waddan's religiously supported
During the Middle Ages, one of the primary focuses of everyday life was to please God.
During the Middle Ages, one of the primary focuses of everyday life was to please God. This was accomplished in several ways. One could attend mass, give alms to the church, feed the poor, clothe the naked, embark on a pilgrimage, or any other religious act. Although these were some of the predominant means by which to please and glorify God, they were not the only means by which to do so. Simply by worshipping and being part of a body of faith was a way one also honor God. The idea of serving and pleasing God in all things was a dominant concept that dictated much of what was done. Even the architecture, visual arts and music all served a similar purpose. This purpose was to give greater glory to God for He alone is worthy of the praise of man. Once misconception of the Middle Ages is that there was a lack of learning and developments. This belief is completely untrue. Some of the greatest man-made marvels are the Gothic cathedrals built nearly a millennium ago. The time during which the majority of these great cathedrals were built is classified as the High Middle Ages. This period stretched from about the late eleventh century to about the middle of the fourteenth century. One of the most significant political events of this time was the signing of the Magna Carta by King John of England. In the early fourteenth century, Parliament was beginning to take shape with the
Asses the view that it is rational to believe that there is a God
Asses the view that it is rational to believe that there is a God Rational: To be rational is to think logically and within reason. To base your thoughts on evidence, and then use that evidence to come to a "rational" conclusion. Motivation: To be motivated to do or think something, normally the motivation will be because it will benefit you in the long run. Many philosophers use theses types of words when talking about whether or not it is rational to believe in god. Pascal for instance thinks that you should believe in God as you will gain more from it when you pass away if he does exist, i.e. going to heaven, whereas if you don't believe in God and it turns out he does in fact exists you will lose more. This is often referred to as Pascal's wager and Pascal is a prudentialist, which means believing in something because it's in your own interests. Another argument for the belief in God is Fideism, this is where you believe in God because it is absurd not to. You take a leap of faith, e.g. if you wanted to jump from one cliff to another you would just jump because you would believe that God would help you and not left you fall, as appose to talking a bridge and only jumping half way. Plantinga is another philosopher who believes it is rational to believe in God, as he thinks that God is a belief that ends all other beliefs, it cannot be justified by other beliefs and it
The Ontological Argument - Describe and explain the ontological argument for the existence of God.
Philosophy. The Ontological Argument. ) Describe and explain the ontological argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument is an a priori argument. The arguments attempt to prove Gods existence from the meaning of the word God. The ontological argument was introduced by Anselm of Canterbury in his book Proslogion. Anselms classical argument was based on two principals and the two most involved in this is St Anselm of Canterbury as previously mentioned and Rene Descartes. The ontological argument argues that if you understand what it means to talk about God, you will see His existence is necessarily true. Anselm defined God as 'that than which nothing greater can be conceived', hence God must exist. Anselm also believed that even atheist had a definition for God even just to disregard his existence; hence God exists in the mind. Anselm said this is so because that which exists in reality is greater than that which exists purely in the mind. In the words of Anselm, "Therefore, Lord, not only are You that than which nothing greater can be conceived but you are also something greater than can be conceived. Indeed, since it is possible to be conceived to be something of this kind, if you are not this very thing, something can be conceived greater than You, which cannot be done." Anselm suggested a proof for God's existence, however, for God to be God