...Atheism In reading McCloskey’s article it’s obvious he is searching for definitive proof that God exists. He is unable to find proof and therefore comes to the conclusion that God must not exist. He believes that the existence of evil discredits arguments made in support of believing in God. There is not one single thing in this world that we can know definitively without looking at the evidence. You have to look at the whole picture. Just like in a criminal investigation, the crime scene investigators gather evidence they are not looking for just the bullets or just the body. They look and gather all the data before coming to any conclusions. We will discuss each of the arguments and some additional reasons McCloskey gives as reasons not to believe that God exists. Cosmological Argument When we examine the cosmological argument we find that for something to exist there has to be a cause for its existence. The universe exists and was necessary for human beings to exist. We are contingent beings; our existence relies on the existence of the universe. We exist, and therefore so does the universe exist and there must be an ultimate cause of that existence. McCloskey makes a good point when he says the cosmological argument does not prove there is an all powerful, perfect uncaused cause but it provides strong evidence that there is some necessary cause to the world we live in and instead of being dismissed it should move us to investigate that “necessary cause” in more...
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...transmitted by others' computers and reading the data content in search of sensitive information like passwords, session tokens, or any kind of confidential information. The attack could be done using tools called network sniffers. These tools collect packets on the network and, depending on the quality of the tool, analyze the collected data like protocol decoders or stream reassembling. Depending on the network context, for the sniffing to be the effective, some conditions must be met: • LAN environment with HUBs This is the ideal case because the hub is a network repeater that duplicates every network frame received to all ports, so the attack is very simple to implement because no other condition must be met. • LAN environment with switches To be effective for eavesdropping, a preliminary condition must be met. Because a switch by default only transmits a frame to the port, a mechanism that will duplicate or will redirect the network packets to an evil system is necessary. For example, to duplicate traffic from one port to another port, a special configuration on the switch is necessary. To redirect the traffic from one port to another, there must be a preliminary exploitation like the arp spoof attack. In this attack, the evil system acts like a router between the victim’s communication, making it possible to sniff the exchanged packets. • WAN environment In this case, to make a network sniff it's necessary that the evil system becomes a router between the...
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...Counter-Argument Towards J. L. Mackie’s Evil and Omnipotence In “Evil and Omnipotence” J. L. Mackie argues that God does not exist because of his idea of the 3-0-God which states that God has to be omniscient, omnipotent and omni-benevolent to fulfill the properties of a true God. Perhaps the strongest argument that Mackie gives is that God can only be two out of the three properties in order for evil to exist thus stating that god cannot exist because he does not fulfill all three properties. In this paper, I will argue that this argument fails because Mackie is basing his points on his own thoughts about God. Mackie starts out his argument by stating that the problem of evil proves that either no god exists or at least the god of Christianity, Judaism and Islamic does not exist since the problem of evil provokes the three properties of God. Mackie supports this claim by saying, “These additional principles are that good is opposed to evil, in such a way that a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can, and that there are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do.” (Abel p.91) and concludes this claim with, “…propositions that a good omnipotent thing exists, and that evil exists, are incompatible.” (Abel p.91) Adequate solutions are also what backs up his major point about the problem of evil and states that God cannot be all knowing while being all-powerful and all-good because evil exists and would mean that God is unaware of evil in the world. God can be all-knowing...
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...I. Purpose Nietzsche tends to be, by his own statements, the least understood and most brilliant of philosophers. While reading portions of any philosopher is dangerous, this is particularly the case with Nietzsche because of his association with the Nazi Party in the 1930’s and 40’s. Again, by his explanation, his whole philosophy is captured in Thus Spoke Zarathustra; however, he wrote that no one understood that properly upon its publication so he followed up with some explanation. The explanation came in the work Beyond Good and Evil and the work we are reading, On the Genealogy of Morals. The latter work is the one most structured like the philosophic thought of the enlightenment – more treatise-like. So, hopefully we shall be able to uncover a little Nietzsche without drifting into the abyss. This essay, like the last two, is designed to focus you on a single question regarding Nietzsche’s thoughts in On The Genealogy of Morals. You are to explore to a deeper level any question that is raised for you by the work, using Nietzsche’s work. In other words, no external “research” is expected, but if it will help your exploration, it is allowed. I would add a caution that this is least likely to help on Nietzsche because of the plethora of extremely bad Nietzsche interpretations floating in the cloud. As with both the Machiavelli and Rousseau essay, it is important to note that this is NOT a summary and it is NOT a review. Nietzsche repeated in your own words or a book review...
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...India Stuart 12/3/12 Kimball Essay In Kimball’s book, When Religion Becomes Evil, he addresses five simple warning signs of corruption and evil in religion. The five simple warning signs he addresses are: absolute truth claims, blind obedience, establishing the “Ideal Time”, the end justifies any means, and declaring holy war. These warning signs are easy to spot in writings and actions of those who are involved in religious corruption. The book highlights and details each sign as well as giving examples to represent each. In the four pages of notes left behind from the terrorist involved in the 9/11 attacks these signs were also represented. The first of the five signs, absolute truth claims was represented in the notes multiple times. The terrorist takes different verses from the Qur’an and tries to justify the actions they are going to commit. The words of the Qur’an are interpreted in many different ways by Muslims and in this case the terrorist was only interpreting the different verses in a way that would be beneficial to him. “Sacred texts provide a rich source of wisdom and guidance in the vicissitudes of life. Like all things powerful, sacred texts can be misused through a kind of sanctification of the whole and through selective reading and interpretation. Sacred texts are the most easily abused component of religion (Kimball 2008).” The terrorist takes the words of the Qur’an and twists them in his own mind to make it seem as if the actions are acceptable. Some...
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...theodicy in response to the unfortunate, painful, evil events and circumstances found in our world. A theodicy is necessary only if we believe in a God who is inherently good, thus requiring an explanation of the apparent discontinuity between a good God and evil in the world. In order to express my own theodicy, I will discuss the forms of evil in the world and their various manifestations as well as whether or not creation as a whole is a “good” expression of the creator God. I will also discuss how eschatology affects our view of evil and God’s part in allowing or interfering with evil. Finally, I will discuss which theodicy I find most complete and why, as well as some of the strengths and weaknesses of my own theodicy. Evil in the World Expressing a theodicy requires a basic understanding of evil which can be referred to in light of that expression. The problem of evil has been dealt with in three separate classifications during our class time and reading; moral, natural and gratuitous evil. Moral evil is an evil event or circumstance caused by a human. Examples of moral evil would be murder, lying, stealing and greed. Moral evil results as the consequence of the decisions made by human beings exerting their free will. War, oppression and slavery are prime examples of moral evil perpetrated by human beings. Natural evil includes the pain and suffering resulting from the forces of nature or the actions of humans. Natural evil can be found associated with weather events such...
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...institution of slavery was commonly known to be wrong. The leaders of the day and the people who were slave owners all recognized this fault. Leaders such as Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Monroe, and Washington all understood that slavery was an evil, but in their eyes, it was a necessary evil in order to continue their economic statue. The profit-making institution was too strong of a social and political machine to abolish it. Owning a slave during the era of the Revolution and after, established a slave owner to be of the wealthy upper class in society. Because of slavery these land owners had plantations that flourished with crops. Crops that could be sold for a profit under free labor. Slaves were looked at as an investment and as property. Some developed significant relationships with their masters, such as Ben Lee did with Washington. However not all slaves were treated so nicely. Many were wiped, beaten, and worked to death. They were separated from their families and sold to other owners as if they were an inanimate object being...
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...Phil- 201 Response Paper The argument of whether or not it is possible to prove or disprove God’s existence has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years. Many scholars, atheists, and non-believers throughout the years have argued against the existence of God, but in H.J. McCloskey’s, On Being an Atheist, he shows a much deeper look at his argument by discussing what he thinks might be the overarching argument of Gods existence. After reading McCloskey’s article I have found many weaknesses in his argument and aim to point them out to show the truthfulness of Gods existence. In order for theists to properly bring truth to this matter we must understand the background to the beliefs of the atheists. The very first problem with McCloskey’s article is that he states that the theist’s argument in favor of God’s existence does not hold any proof. He believes that our proofs do not hold any girth and there for should be done away with. McCloskey states on page 64, “To get the proof going, genuine indisputable examples of design or purpose are needed. There are no such examples, so the proof does not get going at all.” This argument is an interesting one but is disproven by some other arguments atheists might have. Many traditional approaches to different solutions use proof or the idea of it to support it. If you examine the traditional approaches you will find that proof is seen as a series of logical steps which lead to a conclusion without having any unquestionable...
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...genealogical approach to study morality, tracing lines of development. We need to incorporate history, philosophy, psychology, and classical philology into the study of morals. Nietzsche had become fascinated by the origin of behavior (ethics) from a young age; “In fact, the problem of the origin of evil pursued me even as a boy of thirteen,” (16). He took his passion and developed his belief in how morality can be understood. In his preface of The Genealogy of Morals, he outlines that in the analysis of morality we...
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...Business For The Glory of GOD Can business activity in itself be morally good and pleasing to God? This is the main question we are looking at in reading the book this term. In my readings I have found some very interesting thoughts and questions about business, God and business in a Godly perspective. In each chapter of the book, Grudem explains to us that business is essentially a gift from God, therefore is good. In Business for the Glory of God, Grudem explores the following aspects of business activity: 1. Ownership 2. Productivity 3. Employment 4. Commercial Transactions (buying and selling) 5. Profit 6. Money 7. Inequality of Possessions 8. Competition 9. Borrowing and Lending 10. Attitudes of Heart 11. Effect on World Poverty One chapter in Business for the Glory of God talks about borrowing and lending. As some Christians refuse to accrue any debt, this chapter helps to give insight regarding the acceptance of certain debt. If one is purchasing a home, then signing a mortgage loan for 30 years is normal. The main objective in borrowing money or accruing debt is the intent to repay in the proper time line. Borrowing can be unwise. In cases where one borrows too much and cannot repay, this does go against the Bibles teachings. Proverbs 22:7 says, “the wicked borrows but does not pay back.” When used in a responsible manner lending and borrowing can bring much good to the economy. Grudem explains how the “process...
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...city can maintain its lively beauty. This is when the narrator unsentimentally reveals the existence of the child and describes in great detail the awful conditions in which it is forced to live in. These two atmospheric aspects seem to counterbalance each other, the light reflects the good and dark reflects the evil found in the city of Omelas. According to philosopher John Leslie Mackie, "evil is necessary as a counterpart to good" (203). There cannot be light without darkness, pleasure without pain, or good without bad. One cannot be without the other and both must be present for either to have meaning. No matter how brilliant the society or how advanced their technology is, the equation must contain evil. The child locked in the basement room is the city of Omelas necessary evil. This could be cause “in spite of God's all-powerful and all-good nature, evil exists" (Mackie 208). When the author states that “it is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence, that makes possible the nobility of their architecture, the poignancy of their music, the profundity of their science” (Le Guin 407), this shows just how unavoidable it is to have evil in society. Additionally, exploitation is the central theme in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” The citizens of Omelas that choose to bask in the continuous good fortune of their city are able to tolerate the exploitation of a single innocent child. They are able to live with the fact that this child is being...
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...the goals and how best to reach them. Breakdown in Communication If a department requires information from another department in order to do its job, and the second department does not respond to the request for information, a conflict can arise. Some interdepartmental disagreements might trigger a nonresponsive attitude that can quickly become an internal conflict. Another way of creating this sort of conflict is by giving a circular response such as an issue being perpetually "under review." When people or departments are late in responding to information requests, or they are withholding information on purpose, it is best to address the situation immediately with a personal meeting with both sides to resolve the situation. Related Reading: Organizational Structure & Conflict of Interest Misunderstanding the Information According to mediation expert Robert D. Benjamin, writing on Mediate.com, internal conflict can sometimes arise as the result of a simple misunderstanding. One person may misunderstand information, and that can trigger a series of conflicts. In order to deal with this kind of situation, it is best to have the person admit her misunderstanding and work with the affected parties to remedy the situation. For example, if the production manager misunderstands the product manufacturing goals, then the sales manager may not have enough product to sell. Taking responsibility for a...
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...happen?" Every person who commits a horrible act such as these always has an excuse. "I lost my job.", "I was being bullied.", "My wife was leaving me with the kids." Jackson's "The Lottery" is no different. No one in the story looked at the act. They looked at the reason they felt they had to do it. The reason becomes an excuse for the act. The story is a simple parable about a “thoughtless” tradition, selfishness, and pure evil that is justified by the good of the town. The first concept to address in "The Lottery" is that of tradition or ritual. Rituals, such as marriage rites or family traditions can be harmless, but when generations of people just keep doing something without ever asking why, tradition can become very evil. Every June 27th without fail the townspeople gather in the center of the city to have a lottery. They have forgotten why the box that holds the names of the citizens looks like it does or why one person is supposed to say this or that. They have "just always done it that way." The people never question if the lottery is fair, necessary, or just. The answer is always the same: we will keep doing it just as our ancestors did it. All the families get with their families and they stand in front of a bunch of stones that have been gathered, as always, ahead of time. The children don't seem to realize the 2 seriousness of the event but some of the older people seem a little bit nervous, but no one dares to criticize any part of the ritual or he will be fussed...
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...Using Vernier Calipers Introduction Vernier Calipers are a valuable measuring tool that enable us to increase our degree of precision when measuring the size of objects. However, learning to read callipers can be somewhat confusing, thus requiring a certain amount of practice. The activities described below assume students have never before used Vernier Calipers—they are intended to introduce them to this tool, to provide them with an opportunity to practice using them, and to then apply this new skill in a process of scientific inquiry. Special Safety Aspects When the jaw of the calipers is opened, a thin metal guide extends from the bottom of the calipers that could cause injury if students are not careful. Students should be told to take note of this. Curriculum Objectives These activities are intended to address Cluster 0 learning outcomes 5a and 5b in both the S1 and S2 curricula, which state that students should “select and use appropriate methods and tools for collecting data or information”, and “estimate and measure accurately using Systéme International (SI) and other standard units”, respectively. It is hoped that through these activities, students will begin to become familiar with Vernier Calipers, both so that they can measure accurately with them, and so that in the future, they will be able to determine if these would be an appropriate measuring tool for any task they might be doing. Introductory Activity: Learning to use Vernier Calipers...
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...Aquinas’s just war theory can be applied to modern armed conflicts today. Using the attack on Pearl Harbor as an example you can still apply these ancient ideas to provide a useful way to look at events. The just war theory states three rules for a just war. First, a proper authority must command the war. Those in authority are supposed to protect the people. It is lawful for them to use weapons or force to keep peace and order inside their city/country and to punish people who break the laws and do evil. In the same way, those in authority are responsible for defending the community against external enemies, and can therefore use force against enemies. Second, there must be a just cause for the war. “… Those who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault.” Third, those fighting must “have a rightful intention, so that they intend the advancement of good, or the avoidance of evil.” The first rule is clearly the most important rule; it sets the tone for everything that follows. A state may launch a war only for the right reason. A just cause most frequently mentioned includes self-defense from external attack. Thus far, Pearl Harbor could be considered a just war because the United States declared a state of war with Japan after they were “suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” as stated by President Franklin Roosevelt in his “Day of Infamy Speech”. However, we must remember how morally complex...
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