Abercrombie encounters two inhabitant, A and B A says “at least one of us are knaves” What can...

Abercrombie encounters two inhabitant, A and B

A says “at least one of us are knaves”

What can deduced about A and B?

Vocab spotlight

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m18XXSXvZXE&index=6&list=PLPQxYDdY-R-

W20drbwwBZhkFLyrIU5Lxm

I have an idea of a supremely perfect Being

– a being having all perfections

Necessary existence is a perfection

Therefore a supremely perfect Being (God) exists

What different interpretations can there be for the premises

Does the conclusion follow from the premise?

Does the material world follow if Descartes is right?

Homework (essay) for Friday –

Give an example of Justified true belief which is not knowledge.Choose two of the responses to Gettier’s controversial examples and explain how they deal with the problem.

How can you arrange the following cards in a line so that the 1’s have one card between them, the 2’s two cards between them and the 3’s three cards?

1 1 2 2 3 3

1033 - 1109

By definition, God is a being greater than which cannot be conceived


It is greater to exist than to exits only in the mind



THEREFORE



THEREFORE

God must exist

peripheral

Could a fly cause an aeroplane to crash?

Score out of 5 on whether it manages to clarify key terms CAUSE being the obvious one – has the essay managed to explain what cause means in this case/in general?

5 = clear (general) definition supported by examples4 = slightly fuzzy definition/definition unsupported by examples3 = good “extreme case” examples but no definition2 = Ok examples – but not clear why they have been chosen1 = no examples – but a viewpoint expressed clearly

Score out of 5 on consideration on variety of viewpoints – has the author managed to consider more than one answer to the question?

Deductively validempiricism

unassailablecounterfactuals

MondayGaunilo’s response = the same argument can be applied to anything

“the greatest island”

Descartes’ version Pg 181 - 187

TuesdayKant and Malcolm Pg 188 – 193“prepare debating speeches on Anselm, Descartes, Kant & Malcolm”

We can conceive of “the greatest island” - the island which has no greater

It is greater for this to exist in reality than to exist only in the mind

THEREFORE

The perfect island must exist

P1 : God it the greatest conceivable being.P2 : It is greater to exist in reality than in the

mind alone.C : God exists

P1 : We can imagine an island that is the greatest conceivable island.

P2 : It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind alone.C : the perfect island exists

Reduction ad absurdum : an absurd premise – absurd logic

By definition , God is the greatest conceivable being

P1 : God is supremely perfectP2 : a supremely perfect being contains all

perfectionsP3 : existence is a perfection

Existence is not a predicate, like being strong, being eternal etc

P1 : God is supremely perfectP2 : a supremely perfect being contains all

perfectionsP3 : necessary existence is a perfection

Vocab spotlight

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William Paley1743 – 1805Natural Theology

The Argument from design

What is an analogy?

Smoking shouldn’t be banned. Look at what happened when alcohol was banned in the US (during Prohibition): it simply drove it underground, and led to more alcohol abuse not less

What is being compared?

Banning the act of smoking (now in the UK ) and banning the sale of alcohol (in the 1930’s in the US)

Be as precise as possible about what is compared…

Relevant similarities:

Smoking and alcohol are both addictive, and have health risks. [and are both legal in many countries] [and produce huge profits for the manufacturers]

Relevant differences:

Scientific evidence seems to imply that smoking is bad for you even in small amounts, whereas there is no such evidence for alcohol. Excessive consumption of alcohol leads to changes in behaviour, whereas this is not the case with smoking. The act of smoking is being compared with the sale of alcohol. Now in the UK compared with the 1930’s in the US. Others….

A metaphor is an accident waiting to happenA simile is like a smack in the faceAn analogy is like a map of an unknown region – if it is any good, there is strong

link between what is in the actual region, and what is on the map; and the map should be easy to read

Paley’s teleological argument for the existence of God

If you found a watch on the heath, you would conclude that it was the product of a highly skilled designer.Look around at the universe – it shows integrated purpose, precision, imagination more than the watch ever could. So we should conclude that it is the result of a designer God.

Relevant?

Significant?

Duck billed platypus is like a dog

Dogs give birth to live young

Therefore duck billed platypus give birth to live young

Does a nation benefit from a diverse range of cultures?

A nation and its cultures is like a curry and its flavours

Curries benefit from a diverse range of flavours

Yes – a nation does benefit from a diverse range of cultures

should ‘common people’ be allowed to control the Government?

Common people & governments are like wild animals and owners

Wild animals should not be allowed to control owners

‘Common people’ should not be allowed to control Governments

should ‘students ’ be allowed to control the A-level class

Students & A-levels are like childrenand parents

Children should not be allowed to control parents

‘students ’ should not be allowed to control A-level class

Does a foetus have a right to be kept alive by its mother?

Foetus and mother is like you and a stranger acting as your life-support machine

You have a right to be kept alive by a stranger, if they are acting as your life support machine

‘yes a foetus does have a right

Take one of these cartoons, and articulate (in full sentences) it as a comment on Paley’s Design argument.Make it clear whether it is in favour or against the argument

This cartoon shows two cavemen sitting on stones. One is making the case FOR the design argument ; claiming that the stones are designed, like a watch is designed, and so there must be a God. It is meant to be a criticism because….

Does the earth have a designer?

The earth’s construction and our belief that it has a designer is like a watch’s construction and our beliefs about it

If you found a watch lying on a heath, you would conclude it had a designer

Yes – the earth does have a designer

Design ArgumentCriticisms

9th Dec

Make a note of this diagram in your book.

RELEVANCE : …then make a list of relevant similarities & differences

ADEQUACY : comment on whether the watch example is compelling

RelevanceSimilarities

RelevanceDifferences

Adequacy

Four bullet points on the relevance and adequacy of Paley’s design argument

Anything that has part organised to serve a purpose is designed

Nature contains things which have parts that are organised to serve a purpose

THEREFORE nature contains things which are designed

Design can only be explained in terms of a designer

A designer must have a mind, and be distinct from what it designed

THEREFORE nature must have be designed by a mind, distinct from nature

That mind is GOD

David Hume1711 – 1776EmpiricistScepticRelativist

The relevance is not strong : watches are a part of the whole, wherease the Universe is the whole thing.

Minds are what moves the bodies of animals – why assume that such a thing is the cause/designer of the Universe?

We can only deduce a designer where we have experience of something vaguely like it in everyday life.

We can only deduce a cause when we something repeated

If matter/Space were finite, but Time was infinite then eventually every type of order would emerge. Including this one, which appears designed.

Charles Darwin1809 - 1882“The origin of species”

Natural selection is an engine for generating order and apparent ‘design’ out of chaos

Richard Dawkins1941 –

“The selfish gene”

Random genetic mutation + natural selection generates order. Genotypes and Phenotypes and Memes

Richard Swinburne1934 - …“Is there a God?”

There are some temporal regularities, explained in terms of people

There are other temporal regularities which are not – laws of nature

There are no scientific explanations for the laws of nature

The laws of nature are most likely designed

The multiverse

Groups of 4Divide the deck up equallyPerson with the birthday nearest Christmas starts. Cards are played from the top, face up.They choose a category – each player announces their score in that cateogry. The winning scorer in that category takes all the cards and reads the quotation for their winner. And chooses the next category….

Which philosopher would you most like to have in your hand?

Which philosopher scores best in Logic and Language?

Metaphysics?

Ethics?

Politics?

Who is the oldest?

Which quotations did you like?

Classic argument forms III

• Reductio ad absurdumAssume the opposite of what you’re trying to prove and show that it inevitably leads to palpable nonsense (absurdity).

Eg an argument in favour of silencing those who blaspheme against your God.1. assume that we should tolerate those who blaspheme

against our God




against our God2. This implies that we should allow people to act in a way

which will condemn them to eternal damnation.





which will condemn them to eternal damnation.3. This implies that we think it is morally permissible to

let others suffer (eternally) when we could intervene.





which will condemn them to eternal damnation.3. This implies that we think it is morally permissible to let

others suffer (eternally) when we could intervene.4. But that is against God’s teachings, against any basic

obligations we owe our fellow humans… it’s absurd!

Classic argument forms III• Reductio ad absurdumAssume the opposite of what you’re trying to prove and show that it inevitably leads to palpable nonsense (absurdity).

Create a reductio ad absurdum argument supporting one of the following positions. Write it out as a chain of propositions, making the logic as tight as possible.

A : lateness to class should be punishedor

B : students should not be taught how to argue in school

orC : we should tolerate those who blaspheme against our God

Arguments for the existence of GodOntological arguments

Perfection implies existenceAnselm v Gaunilo

Design argumentsAnalogy of the watch : such complexity & purpose require a designerPaley - Hume – Darwin – Swinburne

Cosmological argumentsEvery sequence must have a beginning. Aquinas : reductio ad absurdum, by considering motion or

causation/contingency

1. Every event has a cause2. Nothing can be the cause of itself3. Imagine this order of causes goes back infinitely.4. There would be no first cause5. If there were no first cause, then there would be no subsequent

causes6. ABSURD!7. THEREFORE there must be a first cause – the source of all causes.

Aka GOD.

1. Every event has a cause

2. Nothing can be the cause of itself3. Imagine this order of causes goes back infinitely.4. There would be no first cause5. If there were no first cause, then there would be no subsequent causes

6. ABSURD!7. THEREFORE there must be a first cause – the source of all causes. Aka GOD.

Quantum Mechanics Hume on ‘constant conjunction’ : habit

It’s an infinite chain, not just a very long one

A first cause is not necessarily God.

Take one of the criticisms and turn it into a single powerpoint slide : briefly describe it (bullet points). Comment on its strengths and weaknesses. Include a single image to brand it in the memories of your audience.1. “if we take the temporal argument…” Tanya & Renaee2. “At first sight the first and second ways appear…”

Karolyne & Nakae3. “However a critic might come back with the response…”

Ellis & Kanisha4. “A further criticism arises fom Aquinas’ claim…” Loretta 5. “It is possible to criticise the argument from causation…”

Vanessa6. “Bertrand Russell suggests that a further angle of attack…”

Emmanuel7. “As well as his scepticism about the concept…” Moloko

1. First cause Interventionist god2. Contradiction! Everything must have a cause….

But GOD doesn’t.3. Why not make the Universe the exception?4. A series of hooks5. Hume6. Quantum physics7. Fallacy of composition

Creator god could be evil….

INTO MY ARMS – Nick Cave and the Bad SeedsI don't believe in an interventionist GodBut I know, darling, that you doBut if I did I would kneel down and ask HimNot to intervene when it came to youNot to touch a hair on your headTo leave you as you areAnd if He felt He had to direct youThen direct you into my arms

Aquinas’ argument may prove that there is a creator God, but that is far from the God of the

major religions.

What divine attributes must a creator God have? Omnipotent?Omniscient?Infinite?Omnibenevolent?

God’s Existence Criticism- Everything must have a cause then why make God an exception?If everything must have a cause then God must have a cause to. We can’t just make an exception and say that God doesn’t have to have a cause without evidence. - Couldn’t we just make the universe itself the exception?It would be easier to just say the universe has no cause not an almighty God. If we just made the universe an exception then we would be saying that everything that occurs within the universe must indeed have a cause, but the universe as such doesn’t.- Why must God be the ultimate cause?- Why is God the point at which our search for an explanation for the existence of

things must end? The existence of the universe requires no further explanation: it simply is. This would rule out the need to posit God. It would be better to stop our search for explanation with the universe: either accept it has no explanation, or find an explanation for the universe that lies within the universe.

causes ? ? ? causes

God God

universe universe

Kanisha

A critic may say

ellis

Exceptions?

• If every event has a cause then “God” shouldn’t be an exception

• If we do make God an exception what's to stop us making the universe itself an exception?

If?

• If we do use God as an explanation, wouldn’t God require further explanation, if not why do it for the universe and not God?

Contradiction

Aquinas states that everything must have a cause and that nothing can cause its self. This then implies that such creation must have had a beginning and something which caused it to begin. Aquinas then states that something must exist that has cause itself and that would then be the creator (God). Aquinas then contradicts himself within his statement and conclusion.

This contradiction can be precisely seen as the reductio ad absurdum, which is a common form of argument which seeks to demonstrate that a statement is true by showing that a false and absurd result follows from its denial. This then makes you believe that this absurd result may not be completely correct or acceptable.

For example we can not say something always existed if there was never a beginning, so we are forced to believe that it must have come from something, a powerful force that caused itself that then caused a chain of reaction from nothing.

Karollyne silva

karollyne

Quantum Physics•

“Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics which deals with physical phenomena at tiny scale.

• There are some things, on a molecular level that can create themselves. This may have been possible for the universe also. These little molecular particles need no first cause as they simply come into existence.

• This undermines Aquinas’s first statement as if indeed some things can create themselves then not everything needs a prime mover

Hol’ up. Let me explain

emmanuel

Man and the world are created by him.

God = First creator

Everything that exists must have a cause

If god is the exception why cant the world be too ?

The world is created by…

God is created by….

They are created by…

Created by…

moloko

The domino effect

When he chain of causation or of motion is considered, it is easy to be thought of temporally, with each event happening and causing the next event. The chain of causation is one that goes back in time, with god the first cause. He at the beginning starting off everything as though a finger knocking over the first chain of dominos. If we this interpretation of the first cause we see that god once existed and once created the universe. As there needed to be something to start off this chain of human events i.e. an all powerful being such as god.

tanya

• Aquinas is confusing a (very long)finite chain

of causes with an infinite chain of causes• If the chain is infinite,

there’s no first cause

Philosophers should hold onto Infinite Regress Fallacy or discard it

to undermine such cosmological arguments – can’t have both

J.L Mackie & the hooksloretta

‘It is possible to criticise the argument from Causation’

vanessa

1.There exists things that are caused (created) by other things. 2.Nothing can be the cause of itself (nothing can create itself.)

3.There cannot be an endless string of objects causing other objects to exist.

4.Therefore, there must be an uncaused first cause called God.

• Thomas contradicts himself as he states that “Nothing can be the cause of itself” but then goes on to say that God created himself

• “We often assume that one thing causes another, but it is just as possible that one thing does not cause the other.” Hume claims that causation is a habit of association, a belief that is unfounded and meaningless. He notes that when we repeatedly observe one event following another, our assumption that we are witnessing cause and effect seems logical to us. Hume holds that we have an instinctive belief in causality, rooted in our own biological habits, and that we can neither prove nor discount this belief. However, if we accept our limitations, we can still function without abandoning our assumptions about cause and effect. Religion suggests that the world operates on cause and effect and that there must therefore be a First Cause, namely God. In Hume’s worldview, causation is assumed but ultimately unknowable. We do not know there is a First Cause, or a place for God.

• You need a cause for each event• …but does we need a cause for the whole

event..

• Every creature has a mother• Does the whole species have a mother• Russell

nakae

renaee

vanessa

Saint Thomas Aquinas1225 – 1274Summa Theologica

Big fan of Aristotle

Homework for Friday Rethink and rewrite every question which you scored 50% or less on in AU2 – except

the last one.AND

(a) Explain Aquinas’ Second Way in detail. (b) What do you think are the two biggest

criticisms of it? Justify your answer

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=aristotle&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will_in_antiquity&ei=ci58VNboNomvabmUghg&bvm=bv.80642063,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNEGdCnR6cd6pbaqqcFn4D9jWqdFvQ&ust=1417510902948061

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