THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
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Q1 in Section A might award 8 marks for 200 words on an aspect of a topic (eganalogies, a posteriori arguments or numinous experiences)
Q2 might award 12 marks for 400 words assessing a particular argument (eg the Design argument, solutions to the Problem of Evil) Q3(a) in Section B might award 10 marks for 350 words clarifying the ideas in an extract from the anthology; Q3(b) might award 20 marks for 700 words analysing the implications of the extract
Question 4 in Section C might award 30 marks for 1000 words evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a broad philosophical idea (like life after death)
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RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE
Analogy & symbols
Verification & falsification debates
Language games
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WORKS OF SCHOLARS
Context to critiques of religious belief
Comparison between a critic of religion (Russell) and a religious believer (Coplestone)
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INFLUENCE OF DEVELOPMENTS IN RELIGIOUS BELIEF
Views about life after death
Points for discussion about life after death
Religion and science debates
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Plato: Ancient Greek philosopher who developed the idea of dualism: a physical and a spiritual (metaphysical) reality
Augustine: 5th century Christian saint and Bishop of Hippo (in modern Algeria) during the fall of the Roman Empire; his views influence Catholic teaching to this day
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Aristotle: Plato's student who argued for monism: a single physical reality
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Irenaeus: 2nd century Christian saint and Bishop of Lyons (in modern France) during the height of the Roman Empire; Irenaeus proposed a theodicy (justification of God)
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Anselm: 11th century Christian saint and Archbishop of Canterbury (England); inspired by a dream, Anselm created the Ontological Argument which proves the existence of God through pure logic
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Thomas Aquinas: 13th century Christian saint and priest who combined Christian thought with Aristotle's philosophy and had a huge influence on Catholic thinking; he is famous for the "Five Ways" that prove God exists; he also outlined how analogical language can describe God
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David Hume: Scottish philosopher who promoted a sceptical viewpoint that involved questioning everything; he is particularly famous for his attacks on the God's existence.
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Immanuel Kant: 18th century German philosopher who famously challenged the Cosmological and Ontological Arguments.
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William Paley: English vicar who wrote Natural Theology, which contains a famous version of the Design Argument: the "Watch on the Heath"
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Charles Darwin: 19th century biologist and author of On The Origin Of Species. His Theory of Evolution challenged traditional religious views of human life.
Ludwig Wittgenstein: towering figure in 20th century philosophy who launched the Anti-Realist Challenge to religious language with his idea of "language games"
F.C Copleston: 20th century Roman Catholic priest and philosopher who debated Bertrand Russell on BBC Radio over the existence of God
Paul Tillich: most important theologian of the 20th century who explored how religious language is symbolic
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Rudolph Otto: German theologian who wrote The Idea of the Holy and who coined the term "numinous" to describe religious experiences.
A.J. Ayer: 20th century British philosopher who supported the idea that religious language must pass (and fails to pass) the verification test
J.L. Mackie: 20th century atheist philosopher who re-stated the Problem of Evil as the "inconsistent triad"
Dewi "DZ" Phillips: 20th century Welsh philosopher who continued Wittgenstein's investigation into religious language
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William James: American writer of The Varieties of Religious Experience who took a pragmatist view that religious experience was healthy, whatever its true cause
Bertrand Russell: 20th century British philosopher and atheist who criticised the Ontological Argument and argued that the universe is a "brute fact"
Basil Mitchell: 20th century Christian philosopher who challenged the idea that religious language is meaningless
John Hick: 20th century Christian writer of Evil & The God Of Love, in which he defends Irenaeus' theodicy
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Merold Westphal: American philosopher who studies the historical development of the philosophy of religion
Richard Dawkins: writer, biologist and campaigning atheist who is sceptical of religious experiences and regards religion as a destructive force in history
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Michael Persinger: psychologist who claims his "God Helmet" can reproduce religious experiences in the brain
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Richard Swinburne: contemporary Christian philosopher who argues against Richard Dawkins and supports the idea that religious experiences are trustworthy
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J. L. Mackie (1977) Evil & Omnipotence
Mackie's classic attack on the existence of God using the problem of evil & suffering, in which he weighs up all the solutions to the problem and finds them flawed |
Flew & Hare (1971) Theology & Falsification
Antony Flew and R.M. Hare attack religious language for being meaningless, based on the famous "Parable of the Gardener" and the idea of bliks |
EXTRACT #3
Mitchell & Flew (1971) Theology & Falsification
Basil Mitchell's reply to Flew, involving the famous "Parable of the Partisan" and Antony Flew's summary/conclusions. |
Russell & Copleston (1948) A debate on the existence of God
Another classic: Bertrand Russell and F.C Copleston debate the Cosmological Argument and the Argument from Religious Experience. This is a transcript of the original BBC radio broadcast. |