Philosophy of God

This essay features the discussion of the problem of evil in relation to the existence of god. Specifically outlining two sections where the problem of evil is discussed from atheist and theistic viewpoint.

The anthropological studies of religion show that individuals use religion to serve different purposes, but they rarely note that these functions are different in some cultures. These religions involve both cosmological and transcendental which vary in their beliefs and practices. The transcendental religions view the existence of the universe as strong evidence for God’s presence. This religion assumes a Supreme God created the universe and that he still maintains its existence. Cosmology, on the contrary, is highly individualistic in both character and philosophical outlook and they resist any common doctrinal stance. While transcendentalists believe in ultimate power in supernatural powers, cosmological religions believe in ultimate power from the natural world. The essay will compare between two cosmological religions which include, archaic religion and the primitive religion as well as one transcendentalist religion of Christianity together with how disenchantment de-legitimize cosmological religions.

Religion is constructed on faith and belief of an individual even though it is the individual choice to follow it or not. It has stirred a lot of debates for years; those who are trying to prove that God exists throughout history and follow to modern day. While, those who are atheist are trying to prove their point of God does not exist. There are still more and more theories and debate over the subject of religious view. It is a matter of theism versus atheism; new and old philosophers have joined the debate and all with different sides to another philosopher’s theory or view on the matter. In this paper, I will attempt to illustrate the reasons given by Louis Pojman of why religion is good or bad, as well as evaluating Bertrand Russell argument about religion. This can define the meaning of life and the creation of life as we know it. It can change views or switch sides for there is always another explanation to exactly what religion is all about and having a superior ruler that created all.

Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline(Webster.) The value theory or value system is the system that is used in order to determine how one determines the importance of things, ideas and people. Philosophy can be a hard term or subject to fully grasp, while in actuality the word directly translated from Greek is love for wisdom. If it can be understood that philosophy is simply the love for knowledge and understanding, one could see that philosophy is essentially the study of learning how to learn, or best understand any given thing. The term philosophy

Philosophy (from Greek φιλοσοφία, philosophia, literally "love of wisdom"[1][2][3][4]) is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.[5][6] The term was probably coined by Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BC). Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument and systematic presentation.[7][8] Classic philosophical questions include: Is it possible to know anything and to prove it?[9][10][11] What is most real? However, philosophers might also pose more practical and concrete questions such as: Is there a best way to live? Is it better to be just or unjust (if one can get away with it)?[12] Do humans have free

Finally, the third section will dwell on the controversial topic of faith, and human’s need for belief. Religion has done an excellent job in manipulating human’s need for trust. Therefore, the combination of these three sections should compel the reader to better understand why such a false belief, such as religion has had such success throughout history.

In the article, The Meaning and End of Religion, by Wilfred Cantwell Smith writes about his idea of the concept of religion explaining it to be a universally valid category as it is theorized but is truly a European creation. Throughout the article Smith conveys his ideas of religion. In his piece, there are several interesting ideas and most important thoughts that he tries to communicate to the reader. In response, the reader can respond to some of the important questions posited by Smith.

In this essay we will discuss the importance of religion in society. We will attempt to explain why societies have religions and what functions their belief system has for them. We will also ask if these functions are now out-dated and if religions have any meaningful function in today's world or are they just stained glass windows into a bygone era? 'Religion' can be defined by two main groupings. 'The inclusive definition' covers all topics and subjects of a persons life including, not only, their belief in a deity but also their belief and belongingness to music, sport and any other interests the person may hold. 'The exclusive definition' refers to just their belief system regarding a 'supra-human' (Browne 2005, p. 311). It is mainly

In this essay I will be looking at the theories of Edward Burnett Tylor and Émile Durkheim, and comparing them to see which theory I think gives a better explanation about what religion is, or whether religion is actually definable. On the one hand we have Tylor’s theory that tells us that religion is belief in spiritual beings and that religion is just a step on the way to reaching full evolutionary potential. Durkheim’s theory, however, says that religion is very much a social aspect of life, and something can only be religious or “sacred” if it is something public (Durkheim 1965:52). Ultimately these theories do not give us an outright explanation about what ‘religion’ is, but there are aspects of the theory that can be used to gain an understanding or idea.

Let’s review the problems of philosophy, and then make conclusion, what is the value of philosophy.

For most of Western society, philosophy is a product of Ancient Greece that deals with questions on the workings of reality and what is considered virtuous or logical. However, this view of philosophy is exclusive and does not tell the entire story of philosophy’s history. In reality, philosophy is the product of humans

In “The Value of Philosophy”, Bertrand Russell— “an important social critic and one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century”—refutes the idea of philosophy being pointless and a waste of time (The Value of Philosophy). Although philosophers have not agreed on one exact definition for this branch of knowledge, philosophy is generally understood as an “academic discipline” which aims to cover a variety of topics through arguing, inquiring, assuming, and “testing arguments for weakness” in order to gain knowledge and grasp a better sense of life (Lectures 1-2, Package). Russell makes strong arguments for philosophy being beneficial, especially when one is open to seeking a deeper understanding of life and why the universe operates the way that it does. Despite philosophy’s inability to definitively answer the questions that it seeks to understand, in Russell’s opinion, it holds a great amount of value—one of those values being uncertainty.

The fields of philosophy and theology are often grounds of debate. While some hold these two to be relevant and dependent on each other, others find them to be completely independent of each other. In John D. Caputo’s work, Philosophy and Theology, he expresses his view of these fields as companions. Caputo states, “Think of philosophers and theologians as fellow sailors on [the] ocean,” depicting his view of the interdependence of these two fields (Caputo 69). Through his illustration we can find the influence philosophy and theology can have on each other in facilitating our toleration of such a mysterious future and world.

Without philosophy the world would be incomplete. It is common knowledge that there is gray in every argument, even the most miniscule, it is never black or white. Philosophy is what the gray area consists of, different beliefs and ideas that cannot fit in either of the two groups. That is what makes philosophy significant; there are no limits to it. There are no boundaries to what the

Philosophy is the careful study if the states of, validity, existence, and conduct. It comes from the Greek word, philosophia, which translates into “the love of wisdom”. Philosophy encompasses a vast range of topics and ever person, place, thing, and idea has its roots embedded in it. For the purpose of this paper, I will be only covering the branches of epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. These branches serve as the building blocks for studying and teaching philosophy. While examining these building blocks, I will argue why philosophy should be studied.