Introduction Lecture Dr g

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Florida Gateway College *

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2551

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Philosophy

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Dec 6, 2023

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PHILOSOPHY AND WORLD RELIGIONS Lecture Notes By Dr. James Gipson Welcome to Philosophy and World Religions. We want to begin with some definitions that we will be using throughout the course. Does anyone know who that person in the photo? (Email me the answer for bonus points.) Agnostic • Agnostic is someone who says "I don’t really know whether there’s a God or not." Some agnostics express agnosticism differently: "No one can know whether there's a God or not." The latter definition is much more radical than the first. Atheist

• Atheist - Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities . In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities . Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Atheism is contrasted with theism , which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists. NATURALISM This worldview begins with the presupposition that God does not exist (atheism) , and therefore knowledge and existence must be answered in natural terms as opposed to supernatural terms and descriptions. Examples of worldviews derived from naturalistic ideas include secular humanism, materialism, and nihilism. NONRELIGIOUS • Since conceptions of atheism vary, determining how many atheists exist in the world today is difficult. According to one estimate, atheists make up about 2.3% of the world's population, while a further 11.9% are nonreligious . According to another, rates of self-reported atheism are among the highest in Western nations, again to varying degrees: United States (4%), Italy (7%), Spain (11%), Great Britain (17%), Germany (20%), and France (32%). According to a 2009 report by the American Religious Identification Survey , people claiming to adhere to "no religion" made up 15% of the population in the US. PANTHEISM For thousands of years various forms of pantheism have existed. Whether it is Hinduism, Buddhism, or more recently the new age movement, all varieties of pantheism involve reverence for the Universe rather than for any creator being or personal God. Pantheists deny the existence of a personal God. THEISM Theism is the belief that "God exists." In particular, it is the belief that only one God exists. This God is usually personal and relates to humankind in an intimate way. Examples of theistic worldviews include Judaism, Islam, and Christianity . PHILOSOPHY • The word "philosophy" is derived from two Greek words meaning "love" ( philo ) and "wisdom" ( sophia ). A Greek thinker and mathematician named Pythagoras probably coined the term.

• Literally the word philosophy means "love of wisdom" and a philosopher is a "lover of wisdom.“ What is wisdom? WHAT IS WISDOM? • But a general definition of wisdom is possible. Wisdom is a type of knowledge or understanding. Wisdom is the ability to apply facts or knowledge in one’s life. ? Maybe it is the quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgment. • As Phil Washburn points out in his book Philosophical Dilemmas : Wisdom is a correct worldview. A worldview is a set of answers to questions about the most general and fundamental features of the world and our experience of it. • A world view is how you see your world. HOW YOU SEE YOUR WORLD • Philosophy is the effort to achieve answers to the following fundamental, momentous, and universal questions. BIG QUESTIONS Washburn poses these questions for us to contemplate 1. What kind of being am I? Will I survive death after my body gives out? What does it mean to be human? Am I naturally selfish or unselfish? 2. What is the best way to live? a.) What should my goals be? b.) Is a moral life an important goal? How important? c.) What is morality anyway? d.) What should my attitude be towards the moral controversies in society today? 3. How can I find answers to these questions?  How can I know these answers are true? 4. Does God exist?  Does He provide answers? How can I know? If God exists, how should I think of Him? Is He a Person or not? Do I need to be saved? Why can’t I save myself?  If I’m a Christian, what should my attitude be towards other faiths, e.g., Islam? Buddhism?  Is it possible for all faiths be valid in some sense? IS RELIGION A PHILOSOPHY?

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• Is a religious worldview, e.g. a theistic worldview, also a philosophy? The answer is "yes," since many of the questions above can be answered using principles derived from grace (God’s help) or from Scripture. A Fountain of Wisdom • In fact, religions generally claim to be a fountain of wisdom and the source for a truly meaningful existence. So, religions are philosophical in the sense that to "have a religion" is to "have a philosophy," that is, to have answers to the "big" questions. Criticism of Religion • One criticism that religions face is obvious: why would anyone not raised as a child to believe in a particular religion, embrace its worldview? Though some people do occasionally convert "out of the blue," people usually stick to the religious tradition they were brought up in. Debate • Within the circle of faith or particular religious worldview, Christianity, for instance, true believers find the beliefs reasonable, and comforting . To an equally reasonable, intelligent person outside the cozy circle of a religion, the religious worldview is not so cozy and not so reasonable. Human Sacrifice • For example, in Christian theology, a "human Son of God" sacrifice, namely, Jesus, was necessary for the atonement of sin. (“ Without the shedding of blood is no forgiveness of sin.” Hebrews 9:22) The atonement view seems totally reasonable to a Christian. • To Muslims and Jews, for instance, it seems barbaric and untrue. REASONABLE? OR NOT! There are many ways to evaluate someone's worldview. • Is this worldview reasonable? • What are the standards or criteria for deciding what is reasonable to believe? • Socratic philosophy proposes at least three standards/criteria: coherence, clarity and confirmation . • Let me briefly illustrate each, by considering a particular worldview issue: the moral problem of abortion. Coherence • Your response must be internally consistent (cohere) with other beliefs that you hold. Whether your view is pro-choice or pro-life, there are some things you can't say or believe.

• For instance, you can't say/believe about abortion: "Late term abortions are morally permissible" and "infanticide (killing a newborn) is wrong" unless you can show that those two beliefs are logically consistent. Good luck on that! Clarity • Secondly, your response to "why do you hold that view?" must be clear. You can't say, unless you violate clarity: "well, in some cases abortion is wrong and in others it's not, it's all very complex you know." • This response would seem to suggest that your view on abortion is very unclear, and it raises the issue of whether you have a definite worldview or not. Confirmation • Your response must be confirmed, not falsified by FACTS. You can't say: "a fetus is just like a guppie. There's not much going on. It doesn't have a brain, it has no thoughts, and so on." The latter position is falsified by scientific facts. The commonsense point here is that when we have a worldview, it should make sense, that is, conform to the facts . Are coherence, clarity and confirmation the only way to evaluate worldviews, religious or otherwise? No, but, the article suggests that these criteria are necessary, though perhaps not sufficient. There may be other criteria, and if one abandons these three criteria, one must face the implications. Questions • Philosophy or worldview asks questions. It seeks to find the answers. Answers must be based on fact or proof. (Reliable sources and or Scripture) Philosophy is an Argument • 1. There is a question to be asked. • 2. An answer to the question • 3. Proof or support of the answer. • Why you believe the way you believe. 1. There is a question to be asked. • 2. An answer to the question • 3. Proof or support of the answer. The why you believe the way you believe. • Every person should know what they believe and why they believe it.

Introduction Lecture Dr g

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