Philosophy Midterm

Modus Tollens

- If P, then Q - Not Q - Not P

Modus Ponens

- If P, then Q - P - Therefore Q

Samuel Clarke

- Sufficient reason argument - PSR - A thing's essence is some property or set of properties that make a thing what it is.

Darwin

- Theory of evolution - fine tuning argument

William ROWE

- atheist - Cosmological argument - asks why we believe in the PSR

William PALEY

- watchmaker argument - design argument

Carefully explain Mackie's version of the problem of evil - be sure to list out the Premises.

1 = God is all-good 1.2 = a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can 2 = God is all-powerful 2.1 = an all-powerful being can do anything that is logically possible to do 3 = therefore, if an all-good, all-powerful god exists, the there is no evil 4 = there is no evil 5 = but evil does exist C = Therefore, we must either reject 1 or 2 C2 = Therefore, the traditional God does not exist

What is a counter-example?

A counterexample must present on opposition, a case in which a person is morally responsible, where they could not have done otherwise

What is the principle of Alternate Possibilities (PAP)?

A person is morally responsible for what she/he has done only if she could have done otherwise.

What does it mean for an argument to be valid and sound? (Be sure to explain each one)

A sound argument is when all premises are true. A valid argument is when it can only be true if all its premises are true, and then the conclusion would also have to be true

What is the basic idea behind Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection? How does this idea provide a devastating argument against Paley's Design Argument?

All complex organisms started as simple organisms and developed into complex organisms over time

What is Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense? In doing so, explain How the free will defense rebuts Mackie's version of the problem of evil.

Alvin Plantinga's free will defense = a world that contains creatures who are significantly free is more valuable, all else being equal, than a world containing no free creatures at all Mackie's = "god is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and yet evil exists

What is the notion of Transworld Depravity? How does it help the Free Will Defense?

An agent is transworld depraved if in any possible world in which he is created, he freely performs at least one morally responsible action This helps with the defense of free will because free will defense is when a world contains creatures who are significantly free and transworld depravity allows for that

What is an argument? What are its essential components?

An argument is a collection of statements that lead to and support a conclusion. An argument contains premises and conclusions which help when stating an argument.

What is an argument from analogy?

An argument that asserts because two items are the same in one respect, they are the same in another respect. Arguing that two things are similar

What does Anselm think God is? In other words, what is God's nature?

Anselm thinks God is the greatest conceivable being in existence "a being than which no greater being can be conceived". He exists in the mind and in real life

How does Boethius state the problem of divine foreknowledge? That is, how does

Boethius states the problem of divine foreknowledge through the three premises. Premise 1 = if god is omniscient, then god knows what humans will do in the future. Premise 2 = If god knows what humans will do in the future then there is already a fact about what humans will do in the future Premise 3 = If there is already a fact about what human beings will do in the future, then human beings are not free

Boethius formulated the argument that God's knowledge of the future invalidates human free will?

Boethius's version of the foreknowledge problem : P1 = god knows every future event that will happen P2 = Necessarily, if god knows that a future event will happen, then the event will happen P3 = Therefore, if god knows that an event will happen, then the event will necessarily happen C1= Therefore every future event happens necessarily C2 = Therefore, no future event can be a free action

What is Compatibilism and what is Incompatibilism?

Compatibalists - believe that free will and determinism are compatible Incompatibilists - believe that free will and determinism are incompatible

Explain the following terms: contingent truth, necessary truth, future contingent truth.

Contingent truth = a proposition that are true, but not necessarily true Example: Joe biden is president Necessary truth = A truth that could not have been false, has no true matter in how things turn out Future contingent truth = truths about the future that are not necessarily true Example: "alex will drink coffee with creamer tomorrow"

What is Creationism?

Creationism = the view that universe along with biological life was designed and created by god. - young earth creationism - old earth creationism - gap creationism

How does D'Holbach explain the phenomenon of deliberation? (In other words, without invoking free will, how does d'Holbach explain how human beings deliberate between different actions?)

D'Holbach explains actions to be a result of the impulse he receives either from the motive, from the object, or the idea that has modified his brain or disposed his will.

What is the phenomenon of fine-tuning?

Fine tuning is the fundamental laws and constants of physics and the initial conditions of the universe seem to be incredibly balanced so that life of any kind can exist

Explain Frankfurt's argument against PAP using the Jones4 case. Be sure to explain the case sufficiently and then say why Frankfurt believes it is a counter-example to PAP.

Frankfurt was a compatibilist who believed PAP is false; he uses the Jones4 case an counterexample because his actions were not up to him, but whether he acted on his actions or not was up to him.

Explain Anselm's Ontological argument. Do your best to explain each premise.

If the greatest conceivable being exists only in the understanding, then it does not exist, it must exist in reality. P1 = The GCB exists in the mind but not in reality P2 = It is better/greater to exist in reality and the mind than just in the mind P3 = Therefore, if the GCB exists only in the mind, then the GCB is not the GCB P4 = Therefore, the GCB is not the GCB P5 = Therefore, the GCB must exist in the mind and in reality

According to Clarke, it is impossible for there to be only dependent beings. Explain his reasoning for this claim.

It is impossible for there to only be dependent beings because there is no explanation for the existence of the first member. How could there only be dependent beings if there was no first being that existed for the next being to depend on.

Logical Problems of evil vs Evidential Problems of evil

Logical Problems of evil = the existence of god is logically incompatible with the existence of evil Evidential Problems of evil = Logically consistent with god's existence if evil is good evidence that god is not real

According to Boethius, if God's foreknowledge invalidates human free will, what two important aspects of human life are lost? Explain.

Moral responsibility - practice of praising or blaming people Prayer - no longer can change the outcome of something

What is the difference between natural evil and moral evil?

Natural evil = evils that are not due to the free choices of humans Moral evil = evils that are due to the free choices of humans

Explain Samuel Clarke's Sufficient Reason Argument for God's existence.

P1 = everything that exists has an explanation/reason P2 = There are two ways of existing P3 = it is impossible for there to be all and only dependent beings

Explain the Fine Tuning Argument for God's existence.

P1 = the fine tuning of the universe either happened by chance, necessity, or intelligent design P2 = the fine tuning of the universe did not happen by chance or necessity Conclusion = Therefore, the fine tuning of universe happened by intelligent design

What is the Principle of Sufficient Reason? Be sure to distinguish between the weak and strong versions of each.

Principle of sufficient reason is that everything that exists must have a sufficient and cause of existence Weak PSR = has no explanation Strong PSR = has an explanation

What is Boethius's solution to the problem of divine foreknowledge and human freedom? Be sure to thoroughly explain each component of his view.

Roe thinks the PSR is not self evident Argues that in general things that exist have explanations but it does not always have to be true Brute fact Dependent being that has no explanation

Ultimately, why does Rowe reject Clarke's Sufficient Reason Argument? Explain his reasoning.

Rowe rejects Clarke's sufficient reason of argument because he believes there must be an explanation of any being in existence.

What is Hume's argument against Clarke's Sufficient Reason Argument? How does William Rowe respond to Hume's criticism?

Rowe says that in order to give a proper explanation you have to assume a strong PSR meaning an explanation is needed for anything that exists. A to B to C to D

What is d'Holbach's argument for the view that the soul/mind is identical to the body (brain)?

Says that when our brains are changed then our minds are also changed Wants to argue that the best explanation of this correlation is that the mind and the brain are one of the same thing There is no difference between the mind and the brain

What is the Anthropic Principle and how does the Anthropic Principle explain why the universe was finely tuned? Is there a problem with using the Anthropic principle as an explanation of fine-tuning?

The anthropic principle is a finely tuned universe that is improbable but not surprising since the universe needed to be fine tuned in order to produce creatures capable of observing it. There is a problem with using this principle because there is a way for there to be an intention of bad happening (fire squad)

What is Determinism? Why does Determinism eliminate free will?

The belief that everything is predetermined Free will cannot exist if something that will happen is a decision already made for us

What is Mind-Body Dualism?

The mind and the body are two different things Idea that the human being is composed of two components: 1. The mind 2. The brain - Both are completely distinct, not connected

Explain Paley's Watchmaker example and how the example is used in the Design Argument.

This example is to show that if a watch was made by an intelligent being, then are biological organisms that are equally complex also created by an intelligent being

Independent Being

a being that comes form its own nature

Dependent Being

a being that depends on another being to exist

When does one statement logically imply another statement?

a logical sequence can imply another statement when one thing leads to another like an A to B sequence

According to d'Holbach, how does the human will work? In other words, how do human beings perform actions? Give an example in explaining your answer.

d'Holbach views human will through determinism, meaning there are no alternate possibilities in existence. Further, this means that every moment and occurrence in someone's life is predetermined/decided for them without them having a say in their own outcomes. This would mean people in this world would have no choices and no opportunities to obtain their own morals. This would not allow for free will. An example of this would be if someone did an action that was bad it was not their choice and there would not be anyone to blame.

Anselm

ontological argument- proceeds from premises - whats gods nature?