...Religion has this ideology of a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. But, the biggest issue with this is whether or not he really exist due to the problem that there is evil in the world. A philosopher who argued this was Simon Blackburn. I argue Blackburn is right to claim that the existence of evil strongly suggests that a God who is all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful doesn't exist. Blackburn claimed that the existence of evil strongly suggests that there does not exist a God who is all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful. He wrote the book entitled “God” and in chapter five under on the section entitled “Problem of Evil”, he spoke about how in religion that God created everything meaning the good and the bad. He supported...
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...small overview of the arguments that were presented by the theists, which he calls “proofs," saying that it isn't enough to justify that God does exist. Even though there is one proof that doesn’t show God existing, if you put them all together they do provide strong evidence that God does exist although they don’t have many logical answers. But if God does exist it is based on such proofs or objections are arguable. McCloskey first suggests that proofs don’t ultimately state that God exists, so they should be forgotten. Only problem is that he doesn’t make efforts on defining evil and to help it he doesn’t explain it either. He even tries to disgrace everybody’s belief in God, by attacking the origin of the belief but didn’t address why your faith isn’t valid even if they look at all of the evidence before accepting to be Christian. To better understand his argument, you must understand relativism stating that all points of view are all valid and true to the individual, but this does not prove there is or is not God. For Christians, the truth is found the words Jesus spoke in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life…” He describes God as tired, harsh, belligerent, heartless, unskilled, hard and disciplinary. McCloskey puts into view a cause and effect dispute vague costs. He states that the best evidence that God doesn’t exist is all of the evil acts of the men and women and that he evades ethics and stresses on evil because principles are tougher proof that a smart creator...
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...seen to exist after death in the form of a corpse, as the body is mortal and the soul is divine, the soul must outlast the body. Simmias draws an extended comparison between a human being and a musical instrument, the lyre. In Simmias analogy he says, the body is visible, composite and mortal. A harp is visible composite and mortal. When the harp is destroyed, the tune which is ethereal, invisible and divine is also destroyed. The soul is like a tune it is ethereal, invisible and divine. If the body is destroyed the soul cannot survive. The argument I believe Simmias is making to Socrates is that nothing can exist prior to the things which it was created from. Simmias argument talks about the body being a lyre and the soul being the body and the harmony being the soul. With this in mind he explains that if the lyre rots then the harmony must also change. In the same way if the body is ravaged by disease then the soul must also be destroyed. The question I believe Simmias is attempting to ask is how can the soul exist before the body? Simmias argument is that the soul is a harmony dependent on the body. If the body is destroyed, the soul is also destroyed. However if the soul can exist without the body then it may have exist before the body. However, Simmias argument does make sense to me because a damaged lyre will not play the same way as a new one. But on the other hand, the harmony is a non-tangible thing. It doesn’t have to be played continuously for it to exist. For instance...
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...usually come across as a straw-man argument connoting to such a pursuit is a fruitless endeavor. Despite societal preconceived notions of philosopher they fail to see major contributions that they have given society from governments, ethics, and technology. Most people are not aware that without the advancement that were made in the philosophy of language, we wouldn't have the knowledge to build computers. Perhaps computers could be attributed as the major contributors to the advancements that we have seen in our society. Computers have infinitely impacted the way that we approach the world, its impacted the food we eat, security (for better and worse), scholarly pursuits, social networking, etc. its hard to imagine a world that doesn't have computers; without computers we wouldn't have all the inventions and services that have come about because of them. It was the work of four philosophers / logicians: Gottfried Leibniz, Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, and Alan Turning. Leibniz invented the binary number system which allows all number to be expressed in terms of 0's and 1's. By expressing the numbers as 0's and 1's all you need is a register which has only has to process two options: on and off. But programming in bits is very slow and tedious: failing to get input the right bit in a code that consist of thousands of switches will cause the entire program to fail. Once more programming in machine language is very repetitious. When writing a program in macing...
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...Does racism still exist? Yes in fact racism does still exist. Over the centuries racism hasn’t changed people just are not outwardly about it as they were years ago. It may seem to appear that there aren’t any racial acts going on in society but in reality there is. Some people still won’t and never will accept you for your race for some reasons. As long as different races exist there will always be racism that follows. People may argue that slavery doesn’t exist because black people have better advancements than other races. Some might say all races are treated equally now. Having a black president does not mean racism is fully gone. We may have a partially black president in charge which people will jump to conclusion that racism is over but it’s not. Barack Obama may get a lot of threats we do not know about because he doesn’t have to share everything that goes on and the ones that he does eventually share we can see the raciness in them. When you go to stores you see a few cases of racism if you’re black. They tend to have an eye on the colored people rather than the white people. One day my friend and I went into the store and the lady followed us around. We didn’t take anything. That day some white boy stole some candy but no he never got caught because he wasn’t being watched. They automatically think since your black you are going to do something wrong. Some people still live in the past. People still feel like they are superior then blacks. They think blacks are...
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...of a singular being. The evidence of an almighty creator is provided by the simple element of complex design. However, though this almighty creator allows the existence of evil in the world, He was not the one to create it, and, as such, has a purpose behind its existence. The existence of God can be logically concluded, contrary to McCloskey’s beliefs, using the philosophical inquiry. McCloskey refers to the cosmological, teleological, and design arguments throughout his article, and discuss how theists use them to prove the existence of God. McCloskey may, perhaps, believe that these arguments are unsuccessful because his different beliefs allow his approach to be different. Contrary to proof, these aspects of cosmological, teleological, and design are more accurately represented when used as evidence or as simply arguments. Dr. Mark Foreman describes proof, in his presentation of “Approaching the Questions of God’s Existence”, as something that involves a characteristic of complete certainty. As McCloskey refers to the many arguments as “proof” he implies that the arguments are thought to be facts of absolute truth. If this were true, than these arguments would have to be accepted and believed by all individuals. Foreman believes that these arguments do not provide a one hundred percent certainty on the existence of God; however, he believes they suggest a large value to His existence. Though there is no actual proof that theists can provide to solidify their case of the...
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...Library Due Date: Day 7 [Individual forum] Choose two topics from the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center that interest you and locate a set of materials from the database for each topic. If you choose school violence as one of your topics, for example, you might find a magazine article that argues that violence in the media causes school violence and a Web site that persuasively argues that violence in the media is not responsible for school violence. Conduct a similar search for your second topic. When finished, you should have two sources per topic. Note: You may use sources from any combination of the Viewpoints, Magazines, Academic Journals, News (use sources marked Editorial and Column), and Web sites database sections. Use the form in Appendix D to critically analyze your four sources. Fill out one form for each source. o Provide the title of the source. o Provide the source citation. Locate the citation by clicking on the Source Citation link at the top of the page when viewing the source. o Identify the principal issue presented by the source. o Identify any examples of bias presented by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this. o Identify any areas that are vague or ambiguous. If none exist, explain how you determined this. o Do you find the source credible? Explain your reasoning. o Identify and name any rhetorical devices used by the author. If...
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...Does God Exist The question of God’s existence has lingered in the mind of man since the dawn of religion. The simple fact that billions of people consider themselves to have some allegiance to a deity means that this question deserves to be seriously considered. In this paper I will argue for the sake that God does exist and the reasons why. I will include many of the arguments found in our philosophy book and those covered in class as well as other subjects such as human suffering and the reasons God chose to make the world as it is today, also including examples from life and the movies we watched in class. St. Thomas Aquinas had many arguments for the existence of God and one of those was the fifth way. In the argument of the fifth way Aquinas says “The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that they achieve their end, not fortuitously, but designedly. Now whatever lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is directed by the archer. Therefore, some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God”. Here St. Thomas Aquinas is basically saying that the existence of order and apparent purpose in the universe...
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...the problem of evil and a critical evaluation of how it is said to undermine the traditional characteristics of God. This paper will attempt to review the philosophical quandary of the existence of evil and if evil exists can God exist and if so can this God still be declared perfect? The epistemological issue that arises is One’s knowledge of God and the validity of God’s existence. What is good and what is evil? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines evil as: 1. a : morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked <an evil impulse> b : arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct <a person of evil reputation> 2 a: archaic : inferior b : causing discomfort or repulsion : offensive <an evil odor> c : disagreeable <woke late and in an evil temper> 3 a : causing harm : pernicious <the evil institution of slavery> b : marked by misfortune : unlucky For the purpose of this paper, we will use the first definition. Evil is a trait that we as human beings possess. Whether we choose to use it is up to the individual. But what is evil? Do we as humans consciously choose to be good or evil? What plays a role in bringing out that evil? We next need to look at what is God and does he exist? God as defined by Merriam-Webster is: 1. capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as a : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe b Christian...
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...Research Paper on God It seems clear that philosophy somehow is relevant to the important questions human beings deal eighth in their everyday lives. The existence of God is one of the basic questions in philosophy. The concept of god is ambiguous and differs from person to person and from society to society. Theists believe that God exists, atheists that he doesn’t, and agnostics that we don’t have a good reason to believe in one-way or the other (Slick). There are many arguments for the existence of God, but they all have objections to the premises offered. Some believers argue that if we cannot prove God really exists then we are entitled to believe that he does. On the other hand a theist could point out that if we cannot prove God does exist, we are entitled to believe he does not. There is no way we can prove the existence of God, but there are few arguments that give reasons why we should believe in God, but unfortunately they all have objections to them. Two arguments trying to prove the existence of god, and are not completely successful, are the teleological arguments, the cosmological arguments, and Pascal’s wager. The teleological argument argues that there is an order in the universe, but order cannot exist without design for which this means that there must be a designer, God (Engel). According to Philosopher Paley he believes that just like a watch needs a watchmaker to build it, then everything else needs a designer. For example the eye cannot be put together...
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...religous at all, as well as by committed religous thinkers philosophy of religion not so much religious thinking as it is thinking about religion. Religious Philosophy is Religious thinking Explain the arguments for and problems with fideism. Fideism: human beings are never religously neutral; they are always either in faithful service to or in rebellion against God. Claims that faith is the precondition for any correct thinking about religion Problem: fideist cannot attempt to win over his critics by rational argument as the presupposition of such dialouge means the possibility of common ground (fideists deny common ground) eliminates the possibility of showing the nonbeliever the superiority of a religous worldview where should one place one's faith? What 2 factors do Evans and Manis raise in answering the fideist claim that critical reflection about religious beliefs is arrogant and presumptuous? God, if real, wnats humans to reflect about religous truth the manner in which the thinking is carried on. PAGE 27 According to Evans and Manis, is it possible to be completely neutral, and is it valid? the...
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...order, and relation that has evolved from elemental practices of counting, measuring, and describing the shapes of objects’. This is the world of Mathematics. Where did it come from? Is it a human creation or is it a feature of the universe? Mathematics is undoubtedly one of the most important subjects known to man. It is artistic, exhaustive and sometimes even beautiful. But where did it come from? As we know, every science needs mathematics. Physics needs mathematics, chemistry needs mathematics, rocket science involves mathematics and so does the universal system of money. However, mathematics is the study of mathematics, which means that unlike the other sciences, it lacks an empirical component. One cannot see math happening. People might argue saying that if you had one person and if you cloned that person, you would have two of them and this is provable. But are these one, two, addition, etc a part of the universe or a product of the genius human brain? Yash Amit Nanavati Professor Sarah Finn Unit 2 project 1:35PM batch This question has two possible answers, each with broad perspectives: mathematics is real or mathematics is not real. Mathematic realism suggests that mathematical entities exists...
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...they claim. He also says that one should remain skeptical about the existence of UFO’s without any physical evidence to support the claim. Word of mouth is simply not enough proof. We should not believe everything, and we need to be skeptical so that we use critical thinking skills to come up with our conclusions. I think Paynter makes valid claims about the need for better evidence to prove there are UFO’s and alien lifeform. If the UFOlogist wants to demonstrate the existence of alien’s and UFO’s they need to be testing all evidence they find and following up on credible sightings. Paynter was right when he said, “The UFOlogical community have to support their conclusions with probative evidence and rigorous reasoning and to confront the skeptics with the evidence they so dearly seek a demonstrably alien artifact.” (Boss, 2014) Some believers maintain the demand for physical proof of alien visitations are unreasonable because aliens are too intelligent to leave physical evidence of their presence on Earth. (Boss, 2014) Paynter responds to their claims by saying “such an argument may make sense to somebody who is prepared to believe in alien visitations as an act of faith, in the same way, which some people believe in angels.” (Boss, 2014) To establish the claims that UFO’s exist we first need probable physical evidence. If we can find some alien artifact on Earth, we can then analyze the evidence and conclude that aliens and UFO’s do exist. If we can run the proper test...
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...ethics is, the matter of choosing certain things and avoiding others. For example one should choose to help someone when they are being physically harmed, and on the other hand one should avoid eating rotten meat because it will make them sick. Epicurus believes that the ultimate goal in life is to achieve pleasure, which according to him is the absence of pain. When one is not experiencing pain, they must be experiencing pleasure. Unlike the Cyrenaics, Epicurus embraces both types of pleasures, katastematic and kinetic, in both the body and the soul. Katastematic pleasure is the pleasure experienced while being in a state, such as being free from pain, and free of annoyance. Kinetic pleasure is the pleasure experienced while performing an act, such as eating, or having sex. People who things such as steal, rape, and generally bad acts, are punished with physical pain and it is viewed by non followers of Epicurus as the worst form of pain. But since the body is only effected by the present Epicurus says that pain of the soul is the greatest form of pain since it is effected by the past the present and the future. A cut will only hurt until it is healed, a hurt feeling or a bad memory will continue to hurt into the future and the pain of the feeling will not fade with time. If pleasure is happiness, and pain is unhappiness, then happiness is the absence of pain. Epicurus says that one should not fear death, and that death is not unhappiness. This was a wild claim at...
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...Do perfect family exist? Do you have a perfect family? Is there such thing as perfect family? Everyone dreamt to have a perfect family. Each and every one of us has different perspective of what is a perfect family for them. Sometimes we tend to compare our own family to other families who has better lives than us. We also feel discontented and jealous whenever we see families that seem to be perfect in everything. I can say, I also dreamt to have a perfect family. A family that has everything they want and they need. A family that has no difficulties and just happily living in a peaceful home. I know this dream is impossible to happen and I am just longing for nothing. I think perfect family only can happened in movies and fairytales but not in real life scenarios. As I was searching the Internet, I saw a site called Advanced Training Institute International and I saw the article entitled The Myth of Perfect Family that is written by George and Claudia Vorgin. I preferred this article because it absolutely explained what I’m trying to say. Here is the quotation, “All families will experience struggles and failures. These struggles are meant to send us to the only One who can help—our Lord Jesus Christ. As we go through the difficulties in life, He wants us to go to Him with these struggles, because He is the answer to our problems”. This quote simply says that, perfect family doesn’t really exist and each family experience struggles in there family life. There...
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