According to these arguments, God does not have a beginning in time, nor is he contingent. Therefore he is in a position to have created the universe.
The moral argument (Hick 28), in contrast to those above, focuses on the existence of human beings within contemporary society, and how morals are manifest in this society. According to this argument, the moral facts could only be as they are and in fact exist on the basis of God's presence. There are several moral arguments, two of which include the formal moral argument and Kant's moral argument.
The formal moral argument holds that morality is implicit in divinity. According to this argument, morality exists only because God exists. In other words, God created morality in the human heart. The basis for this lies in the fact that morality is prescriptive, giving guidance on how to live. Proponents of this argument then uses this as a basis for the argument that a being prescribes morality, which entails God at the basis of all moral principles. Secondly, the argument is that the authoritative nature of morality suggests that it originates from the highest authority known to human beings, which is God.
The Kantian moral argument is based upon the view that moral behavior is basically rational. At the basis of this rationality is the fact that it is in the human interest to behave morally as opposed to the consequences suffered from immoral behavior. The argument makes a connection with divine motivation by pointing out that moral behavior in the world does not always prove fruitful, while immoral behavior is not always punished. The intrinsic tendency to behave morally is then used as a basis for proof that there is something beyond physical life that inspires moral behavior; a reward that is greater than what may be expected in the normal course of physical life. In other words, God inspires moral behavior by offering the reward of a pleasant afterlife.
Arguments Against the Existence of God
According to Platinga (in Quinn & Meeker 189), one of the most prominent arguments against the existence of God is religious diversity,...
Yet rather than understand this revelation as something which is freeing, Sartre experienced it as something fearful. He speaks of this freedom as being a form of damnation: Man is condemned to be free... condemned because he has not created himself - and is nevertheless free. Because having once been hurled into the world, he is responsible for everything he does..." (Gaarder, 379-380) If one is free, then one has not
Philosophy Socrates has been accused of not recognizing the gods of the state, and also of inventing gods of his own. In fact, this is a two-part accusation. Socrates is first being accused for not believing in the state-sanctioned religion. Of course, it is impossible to know what Socrates does or does not believe. Based on his words, though, it would seem Socrates does actually believe in the gods although may
The Stoic God was material, and therefore knowable to man, who is also a material being. They believed that all things which were knowable to us were of a material nature. St. Augustine took this idea of becoming close to the divine through knowledge of it, but expressed that this knowledge had always been within us. Through our memory, which is one of the only things we can trust as
Since a hypothetical imperative represents one of many possibilities that are only means to an end, they cannot be objectively necessary, and therefore do not have the same command over human behavior as a categorical imperative. As Kant notes, commands are laws that we must obey, even when they contradict our inclinations (27). (b) If we treat others as a means to an end, then we use them in service of
Philosophy -- Plato's "The Apology" "The Apology" is Plato's recollection of Socrates' trial, conviction, sentencing and last words to the jury. The Apology is divided into three parts. The first part, Socrates' principal speech to the jury, is his argument against old and new accusations. The second part, Socrates' "counter-assessment," is Socrates' rebuttal of the prosecutor's recommendation of the death penalty. The third part, Socrates' final words to the jury, consists
Philosophy: Knowledge Is Virtue Socrates is widely acknowledged as the world's first philosopher, since he was the first to direct the attention of men from merely focusing on the study of nature to the study of human nature. Indeed, Socrates was the pioneer in moral philosophy for though the Sophists spoke of justice, law and temperance, they were still unable to define such values (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Heartlight Web
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