Exam 7: God

The psychology of mystical experience provides good evidence that God exists, according to Nagel.

What rival inferences does Philo say we are entitled to on the basis of the observations that are supposed to support Cleanthes's design argument? Explain why Philo thinks that Cleanthes cannot decisively rule these out.

What is the role of faith in personal relations, according to James? Do you agree? Explain.

Swinburne claims that God does not have the right to allow for unlimited evil in this world.

Philo holds that we can infer a cause from an effect only when we repeatedly experience their constant conjunction and only by a habit of thought.

Pascal thought that believing out of self-interest was just as good as sincere faith.

Is the natural world really like a watch? Explain and say how your answer relates to Paley's argument.

Cahn believes that murder is immoral because it destroys what God has created.

Reason, according to Pascal, cannot tell us whether God exists.

Explain why Cahn concludes that "those who do not believe in God can be highly moral (as well as immoral) people, and those who do believe in the existence of God can be highly immoral (as well as moral) people." Do you agree?

Why does Cahn say that God's existence "does not imply any particular moral precepts"?

Paley claims that if we find that the watch cannot achieve its purpose, our inference that it must have been made by an intelligent designer would no longer be warranted.

Summarize Philo's argument from the problem of evil. What is his conclusion?

What is the difference between the two ways of looking at our duties with respect to belief?

If God commands actions because they are good, then God conforms to an independent moral standard. Cahn concludes that

Some people object that Pascal's wager expresses a low view of religious faith.

According to Scriven, believing something without any foundation in fact or evidence

Which of Aquinas's five ways do you find least convincing, and why?

According to Blackburn, the flaw in Pascal's wager is that

Discuss the similarities and differences between James's argument and Pascal's wager (in a previous reading). Is one more convincing than the other? Explain.