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Questions and Answers
What is the difference between theology and the philosophical study of religion?
What is the difference between theology and the philosophical study of religion?
Theology starts by assuming God exists and then figures out what follows, while the philosophical study of religion takes nothing as a given and everything needs an argument.
Why is atheism not an option in theology?
Why is atheism not an option in theology?
Theology assumes that God exists, so not believing in God is not an option.
What approach do philosophers take in the study of religion?
What approach do philosophers take in the study of religion?
Philosophers take nothing as a given, everything is on the table, and everything needs an argument.
What is the philosophy of religion?
What is the philosophy of religion?
Why is faith alone not enough for philosophers?
Why is faith alone not enough for philosophers?
What does the study of the Bible involve?
What does the study of the Bible involve?
What is religious anthropology and religious sociology?
What is religious anthropology and religious sociology?
Why is it important to pay attention to arguments about religion?
Why is it important to pay attention to arguments about religion?
What is the difference between philosophy of religion and religious sociology?
What is the difference between philosophy of religion and religious sociology?
What is the name of the 11th century French monk who offered a deductive argument for the existence of God based on what he understood to be the nature of God’s being?
What is the name of the 11th century French monk who offered a deductive argument for the existence of God based on what he understood to be the nature of God’s being?
What are arguments like Anselm's called?
What are arguments like Anselm's called?
According to Anselm, what is God?
According to Anselm, what is God?
What are the two ways in which something can exist according to Anselm?
What are the two ways in which something can exist according to Anselm?
What did Anselm believe about any good thing?
What did Anselm believe about any good thing?
What did Anselm think he could prove with his argument?
What did Anselm think he could prove with his argument?
What is Anselm's argument for the existence of God?
What is Anselm's argument for the existence of God?
Who was Anselm's contemporary who criticized his argument?
Who was Anselm's contemporary who criticized his argument?
What was Gaunilo's counter-argument to Anselm's?
What was Gaunilo's counter-argument to Anselm's?
What is the fallacy known as begging the question?
What is the fallacy known as begging the question?
According to Anselm, what kind of beings does his argument work for?
According to Anselm, what kind of beings does his argument work for?
What is the flaw in Gaunilo's counter-argument?
What is the flaw in Gaunilo's counter-argument?
What is a fallacy?
What is a fallacy?
What is begging the question?
What is begging the question?
What is a necessary being?
What is a necessary being?
What was Immanuel Kant's objection to Anselm's argument?
What was Immanuel Kant's objection to Anselm's argument?
What is John Wisdom's Parable of the Invisible Gardener?
What is John Wisdom's Parable of the Invisible Gardener?
What is the difference between a predicate and a defining characteristic?
What is the difference between a predicate and a defining characteristic?
What is the parable that John Wisdom came up with in 1944?
What is the parable that John Wisdom came up with in 1944?
What is the new area of philosophy introduced in this text?
What is the new area of philosophy introduced in this text?
What is Anselm's argument for God's existence?
What is Anselm's argument for God's existence?
Who agreed with Anselm's conclusion about the existence of God?
Who agreed with Anselm's conclusion about the existence of God?
What should you do if you think an argument fails, even if you accept the conclusion?
What should you do if you think an argument fails, even if you accept the conclusion?
What does Squarespace do?
What does Squarespace do?
What is the philosophy of religion NOT about?
What is the philosophy of religion NOT about?
Why is faith not valuable from a philosophical perspective?
Why is faith not valuable from a philosophical perspective?
What is the importance of paying attention to arguments about religion?
What is the importance of paying attention to arguments about religion?
What is the difference between the philosophy of religion and religious anthropology?
What is the difference between the philosophy of religion and religious anthropology?
Why can't how a person was raised prove the truth of a religious belief?
Why can't how a person was raised prove the truth of a religious belief?
What is Immanuel Kant's objection to Anselm's argument for the existence of God?
What is Immanuel Kant's objection to Anselm's argument for the existence of God?
What is a predicate, according to Kant's objection to Anselm's argument?
What is a predicate, according to Kant's objection to Anselm's argument?
What is John Wisdom's Parable of The Invisible Gardener?
What is John Wisdom's Parable of The Invisible Gardener?
What is a fallacy, according to the text?
What is a fallacy, according to the text?
What is begging the question?
What is begging the question?
What is the main point to note about Gaunilo and Kant's views on Anselm's argument for God's existence?
What is the main point to note about Gaunilo and Kant's views on Anselm's argument for God's existence?
What did John Wisdom's Parable of the Invisible Gardener aim to illustrate?
What did John Wisdom's Parable of the Invisible Gardener aim to illustrate?
What did Thomas Aquinas do in response to objections to Anselm's argument for God's existence?
What did Thomas Aquinas do in response to objections to Anselm's argument for God's existence?
What did Person B mean when they asked, 'What’s the difference between an invisible, intangible, unsmellable, entirely undetectable gardener and no gardener at all?'
What did Person B mean when they asked, 'What’s the difference between an invisible, intangible, unsmellable, entirely undetectable gardener and no gardener at all?'
What is the main service provided by Squarespace?
What is the main service provided by Squarespace?
What is Anselm's argument for the existence of God based on?
What is Anselm's argument for the existence of God based on?
What did Anselm believe about God's nature?
What did Anselm believe about God's nature?
What does Anselm mean when he says 'that than which no greater can be conceived'?
What does Anselm mean when he says 'that than which no greater can be conceived'?
What is the difference between something that exists only in our minds and something that exists in both our minds and reality, according to Anselm?
What is the difference between something that exists only in our minds and something that exists in both our minds and reality, according to Anselm?
What does Anselm believe about any good thing?
What does Anselm believe about any good thing?
What is the main difference between theology and the philosophical study of religion?
What is the main difference between theology and the philosophical study of religion?
What is the key difference between the philosophy of religion and theology in terms of their approach to belief in God?
What is the key difference between the philosophy of religion and theology in terms of their approach to belief in God?
What is the significance of the fact that everything is on the table in the philosophical study of religion?
What is the significance of the fact that everything is on the table in the philosophical study of religion?
Why is theology not considered a suitable field for atheism?
Why is theology not considered a suitable field for atheism?
What is the main difference between the approach of philosophy and theology to religious belief?
What is the main difference between the approach of philosophy and theology to religious belief?
What is Anselm's argument for the existence of God?
What is Anselm's argument for the existence of God?
What is Gaunilo's counter-argument to Anselm's?
What is Gaunilo's counter-argument to Anselm's?
What is the flaw in Gaunilo's counter-argument?
What is the flaw in Gaunilo's counter-argument?
What is the fallacy known as begging the question?
What is the fallacy known as begging the question?
What is the difference between Anselm's and Gaunilo's arguments?
What is the difference between Anselm's and Gaunilo's arguments?
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Study Notes
Theology and Philosophy of Religion
- Theology is the study of religious beliefs and practices, often from within a particular religious tradition
- The philosophical study of religion examines religious beliefs and practices from an outsider's perspective, without assuming their truth
- Atheism is not an option in theology because theology typically assumes the existence of God or a higher power
- Philosophers take an impartial approach to the study of religion, examining arguments for and against religious beliefs
Anselm's Argument for God's Existence
- Anselm, an 11th-century French monk, offered a deductive argument for the existence of God based on the nature of God's being
- Anselm's argument is an example of an ontological argument
- According to Anselm, God is "that than which no greater can be conceived"
- Anselm argued that something can exist in two ways: in our minds (as a concept) or in reality (as an actual being)
- Anselm believed that God must exist in reality, as a being greater than which cannot be conceived cannot exist only in our minds
Criticisms of Anselm's Argument
- Gaunilo, a contemporary of Anselm, criticized his argument, claiming it was flawed
- Gaunilo's counter-argument claimed that Anselm's argument would also prove the existence of a perfect island
- The flaw in Gaunilo's counter-argument is that it assumes the island must exist in reality, but this is not necessarily true
- "Begging the question" is a fallacy where an argument assumes the truth of the conclusion it is trying to prove
- Anselm's argument only works for necessary beings, not contingent beings like islands
Immanuel Kant and John Wisdom
- Immanuel Kant objected to Anselm's argument, claiming that existence is not a predicate (a characteristic of a thing)
- John Wisdom's Parable of the Invisible Gardener illustrates the problem of distinguishing between a real gardener and no gardener at all
- Wisdom's parable was meant to highlight the difficulty of proving the existence of God
Philosophy of Religion
- Philosophy of religion is not about promoting or defending a particular religion
- Faith alone is not enough for philosophers, who require evidence and logical arguments
- Paying attention to arguments about religion helps us understand the nature of religious beliefs and their implications
- The philosophy of religion is distinct from religious anthropology, which examines the social and cultural aspects of religion
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