I thought the woman who discounted theistic models of the universe in order to promote an overtly "scientific" but pregnantly pantheistic vision of "Life" as cosmic organizing principle provided a good example of this confusion at work. While her biotic cosmology is undoubtedly rich and deeply rewarding as a way to explain and appreciate childbirth, natural selection, and other awe-inspiring biological systems, this very sublime character drives it to converge -- despite her vocabulary-driven assertions to the contrary -- with at least a quasi-religious point-of-view. Change "God's" name to "Nature" and you are still worshipping a transcendental force, only according to a somewhat different rite. Likewise, replace the "Big Bang" with "the Prime Mover," and where are you?

Given the topic of the show, it's not surprising that the callers seemed so entirely concerned with the question of God, but I found it striking that there were so few allusions --…...

He goes further to support this by comparing an existent God and a non-existent God, and since humans cannot imagine any being greater than God then God is existent which is logically true and understandable. When this argument is compared to that of Aquinas which is based on necessary existence is stronger since it does not recognize that God is a greater being and compares God's qualities to that of human beings. A philosopher named Hume also argued that all things may be contingent with no need for necessary existence, and a further argument has also been brought about by the Aquinas' philosophy giving more indications that it is not a conclusive argument.
According to Aquinas' argument the existence of God is dependent on the existence of the universe thus if the universe ceases to exist then God also ceases to exist but according to Anselm the existence of God…...

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References

McDermott, T. (1993). Aquinas Selected Writings. New York: Oxford University Press.

Williams, T.(2007). Anselm: Basic Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company.

Zalta, E.N. (ed.) (2009). Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved on March 25, 2010

from  http://plato.stanford.edu/

e., God). Marx and Engel saw it as something that is fantastical -- a fantastical reflection of the minds of men (Marx & Engel p 161).
Buddhadasa writes that the Buddha believed in the reality of a spiritual existence, yet he refused to interpret it as something -- a revelation -- beyond itself (p 146).

Feuerbach thought that religion saw the main difference between man and brute was the fact that brutes did not have any sort of religion (p 9). However, Feuerbach himself sees that the main difference between man and brute is consciousness -- "but consciousness in the strict sense in the perception and even judgment of outward things according to definite sensible signs, cannot be denied to brutes" (p 9). This is to say that man is able to talk with himself and the brute is not able to do this. Man is something, in a sense, which is…...

Nevertheless, personal experience is a powerful method of argument, especially when the credibility of the individual is not called into question. The moral argument in favor of the existence of God is weak because the existence of human morality does not in itself mean that God is the origin of morals. Rather, God has often been used as a motive to prompt people to act a certain way, according to religious scripture or doctrine. Miracles pose a significant problem for the philosopher of religion, because if an act is deemed miraculous, it supercedes the laws of nature. However, the laws of nature are always subject to God; therefore, a miracle cannot theoretically exist.
Pascal's "wager" is yet another theistic philosophy of religion, one that is based primarily on self-interest. Pascal suggested that believing in God is a "better bet" than not believing in God. The individual who believes has nothing…...

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Works Cited

Holt, Tim. "Arguments for Atheism." Philosophy of Religion.info.  http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/atheisticproofs.html .

Holt, Tim. "Arguments for the Existence of God." Philosophy of Religion.info.  http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/theisticproofs.html .

human beings have attempted to make sense of their world. Being creative creatures, this attempt often takes the form of stories and myths on the basis of religion and mythology. For the more rational mind, philosophy has played an important role to think about and explain the world to oneself, one's students, and one's children. For me personally, philosophy has played the most important part to make sense of the world, the people, and the things that share my life. This is not to say, however, that mythology and religion do not also play a role in such attempts.
I believe that today, philosophy is the most important of the humanities that can be used to impose a sense of structure and sense on the world, history, and current events. Philosophy has arisen not based upon an existing system of story telling or myth, but rather as a result of…...

Philosophies of Life:
Personal and Traditional

hen one considers the many aspects of one's "inner life," it becomes clear that most, if not all of them are based upon some philosophical conception. Psychologists have long known that individuals, who have a strong sense of their life's purpose, as well as a spiritual, religious, or ethical viewpoint, tend to live longer, healthier lives. Further, they are less likely to suffer from depressive episodes (Hassad, 2000). Although each person's individual "philosophy of life" is different, there are some well-known philosophical interpretations that can shed some light upon common attitudes concerning personal identity. Six famous life philosophies are attributed to Socrates, Freud, Albert Camus, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Muhammad.

Although there are several ways in which one can interpret the meaning of life and personal identity, perhaps one of the most useful steps one can take in the process is to recognize the vast range…...

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Works Cited

Locke, John. "Some Thoughts Concerning Education." 1693. Retrieved from Web site on May 3, 2005< http://www.socsci.kun.nl/ped/whp/histeduc/locke/locke052.html

Hassad, Craig J. "Depression: dispirited or spiritually deprived?" Medical Journal of Australia. 2000. Web site. Retrieved on May 3, 2005<  http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/173_10_201100/hassed/hassed.html 

Todd, Oliver. "Albert Camus: A Life." Knopf. New York. 1997.

" (Leviathan, Chapter 12).
This passage speaks directly to man's relationship with God in Hobbes' eyes. The idea that God exists pre-logic erupts into an understanding that faith and fate play such an integral role in Man's life. Whatever we may do to secure our happiness we may do, but fate and faith play a larger role than we would generally care to admit to be the case.

In general, Hobbes philosophy on religion does satisfy a lot of philosophic ends. It points at one true course (Christianity) and also obviates the need to justify religion in the face of logic and philosophy. As in, we do not need to logically defend Christ's birth, the stories of his life and the prophets, and subsequently the parable of his cruxifiction. In fact, we do not even need to defend logically the basic premises of religion or specifically Christianity.

Instead, we can concentrate on philosophy…...

"(32) Through faith, a man or a woman entrusts his or herself to another, and thus a human bond is formed.
Therefore, it can be concluded that philosophical reasoning is as vital as faith for diaconal ministry. The unity of truth, that is, the importance of realizing that both philosophy and religion lead to the same ultimate truths, shows that reason and faith are more related than they are usually considered to be: "The unity of truth is a fundamental premise of human reasoning, as the principle of non-contradiction makes clear. Revelation renders this unity certain, showing that the God of creation is also the God of salvation history."(35) as Fides et Ratio emphasizes Christian philosophy points to this unity of truth by showing that the God of creation is also the God of history and that God is at the same time the transcendental truth and the historical, immediate one.…...

Philosophy and Psychology of the Mind and Body
Throughout human history, philosophers, doctors, and most recently, psychologists, have attempted to understand the relationship between the mind and body and how it results in human beings' awareness and perception of reality. At least since the golden age of Greek philosophy, thinkers have been aware of an ostensible distinction between the mind and body, a distinction that nonetheless allows for some intermingling such that physical issues affect the mental state just as mental issues may result in physical symptoms. Thus, if one desires to truly understand how contemporary estern psychologists and philosophers consider the nature of consciousness via the interaction between mind and body, one must trace the history of these concepts starting with the Greek philosophers, moving through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and on to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when psychology first began to develop as a formal discipline.…...

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Works Cited

Bunge, M. (2010). The mind-body problem. Matter and Mind, 287(2), 143-157.

Hergenhahn, B.R. (Ed.). (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.

Kendell, R.E. (2001). The distinction between mental and physical illness. British Journal of Psychiatry,178, 490-493.

Smith's view seems to play out in the comparison of a state such as Iran, which imposes Muslim religious beliefs on its citizens, and that is extremely rigid and zealous in those beliefs, which impose strict religious control over households and especially women. Compare that with a country like the United States, which is more moderate and reasonable, and open to new religious beliefs.
Some experts believe that diversity is another reason religion plays a role in moderate, reasonable societies. Author Barro continues, "A greater diversity of religions available in a country or region is thought to promote greater competition, hence a better quality religion product, and therefore higher religious participation and beliefs" (Barro). In a country with only one supported religion, tolerance and quality are not part of the equation, adherence and rules are the most important, and that does not give any tolerance for any diversity or competition…...

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References

Barro, Robert J. "Spirit of Capitalism: Religion and Economic Development." Harvard International Review 25.4 (2004): 64+.

Cimino, Richard, and Don Lattin. Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.

McCleary, Rachel M. "Religion and Economic Development." Policy Review (2008): 45+.

Rossi, Phillip. "Kant's Philosophy of Religion." Stanford University. 2005. 8 May 2009.

Evil Problems
The role of evil is generally misunderstood in the human approach to life. The fear of committing evil lies paramount within all facets of society. The purpose of this essay is to argue that to solve the problem of evil, humanity must begin to embrace the benefits and solutions to problems that evil provides. This essay will first define the concept of evil and discuss the problem in a philosophic manner that can help transmute evil ideas into more productive energies that can be used for growth and evolution

Defining Evil

The power of words carry emotional value that create energetic fields that permeate in the environment. Some words carry great power and instantly polarize the conditioned mind into an immediate and often irrational emotional reaction. "Evil" carries with it spiritual, moral and ethical values and energy that suggest the word's meaning has super power on and over or minds. To…...

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References

Boase, E. (2008). Constructing meaning in the face of suffering: Theodicy in lamentations. Vetus Testamentum, 58(4-5), 4-5.

De Wijze, S. (2002). Defining Evil: Insights from the Problem of" Dirty Hands." The Monist, 210-238.

Jung, C.G., & Stein, M. (1977). Jung on evil. Jung, 436.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (nd). "Evil." Viewed 7 Dec 2014. Retrieved from  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evil

Philosophy is a one of the most perplexing, interesting and intriguing branch of study that seeks to understand the world from a viewpoint not commonly used. Three are many different branches of philosophy and three important ones include metaphysics, epistemology and axiology.
Epistemology refers to the branch of study that tries to go deeper into the meaning and scope of knowledge. The field is concerned with important and pertinent questions concerning knowledge such as what is knowledge, how is it acquired and how do we know some of things that we know. For example we understand that adding 2 and 2 would give us 4. Epistemology is simply concerned with the origin of this knowledge and not with how we add etc. Moser (2002) writes: "Epistemology characterized broadly, is an account of knowledge. Within the discipline of philosophy, epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge and justification: in particular,…...

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References

1. Edgar Sheffield Brightman, A Philosophy of Religion (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1940)

2 W.H. Walsh, Metaphysics (London: Hutchinson University Library, 1963)

3. Paul K. Moser, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002)

4. Enrique Dussel, Philosophy of Liberation.

Philosophy and Morality
INSTRUCTIONS The exam consists essays. Please essays document. Please plagiarize. Be paraphrase verbatim language authors putting quotation marks. You document sources, -text citation ( footnotes) a reference page.

Philosophy

John Arthur's "Morality, Religion, and Conscience,"

A concern on the relationship between morality and religion is an ancient argument that continues in philosophy in the present times. The argument is mainly on whether morality emanates from an institution or religious background. Theologians in their numbers provide unwavering support the argument that a unifying absolute force or God provides universal moral guidance. The importance of observing morality and religion as independent on one another but related in some way has been argued by other philosophers (Lyons 479). John Arthur argues that morality and religion are not interlocking in relevant manners. Arthur argues that morality in independent from religion and religion does not influence moral action. It is his contention that moral values, decisions…...

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Works Cited

Arthur, J. "Morality, Religion, and Conscience." In Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy. Ed. edition, by John Arthur. Seventh. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:: Pearson Prentice Hall:, 2005. Print.

Hare, R.M. Moral Thinking: Its Levels, Method and Point. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. Print.

Lyons, William. "Conscience - an Essay in Moral Psychology." Philosophy 84.330 (2009): 477-94. Print.

Merle, Jean-Christophe. "A Kantian Critique of Kant's Theory of Punishment." Law and Philosophy 19.3 (2000): 311-38. Print.

eligion
Qualifications of the divine and the nature of supreme reality are core concepts of any religious tradition. Hinduism and Buddhism conceptualize the divine and the nature of reality in complementary yet distinct ways. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism, in a manner not wholly unlike the way Christianity emerged from Judaism. Therefore, there are several core similarities in the cosmologies and the conceptualizations of divine reality between these two faiths. Moreover, the religious practices and philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism tend to be more similar than they are different. These similarities should not obscure the real and practical differences in the ways Hindus and Buddhists conceptualize and communicate matters related to the nature of the divine, and the nature of supreme reality. In particular, Buddhism avoids distinctions between a divine and a profane realm; there are no actual Buddhist deities or gods. Hinduism boasts a plethora of gods and goddesses, although the…...

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Reference

Cline, Austin. "Hinduism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places." About.com. Retrieved online:  http://atheism.about.com/od/bookreviews/fr/Hinduism_2.htm 

"Basics of Buddhism." Retrieved online:  http://www.letusreason.org/Buddh1.htm 

Freeman, Richard. Interview data received February 21, 2013.

The Heart Sutra. Translated by Kumarajiva and Pevahouse. Retrieved online: http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/heart.txt

eligions of ome
Throughout history, religion has been having a major impact on the societies around the world. In the case of the omans, they had numerous religions that were practiced throughout the reign of the empire. To fully understand these ideas requires looking at the chapter titled Sol the Sun in the Art and eligions of ome. This will be accomplished by summarizing the various points and discussing a broad theme from the chapter. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights as to how specific practices from other cultures affected various oman religions.

In Sol the Sun in the Art and eligions of ome, it is talking about the worship of the sun god name Sol. He was a mythological figure that was considered to have the most power among the various oman pagan gods. This is because the omans believed that the sun was a vital source of…...

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References

Sol in the Roman Empire, 1 -- 30.

Beard Mary. Religions of Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Goldhill Simon. Being Greek Under Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2006.

Mary Beard, Religions of Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 167 -- 363.

1. The Essence of Thomas Aquinas's Natural Law Theory: An Exploration of Its Foundations and Implications

Discuss the metaphysical and ethical principles that underpin Aquinas's natural law theory.
Analyze the concept of the eternal law and its relationship to the natural law.
Examine the role of human reason in discerning the precepts of natural law and their binding force.

2. The Harmony of Faith and Reason in Aquinas's Summa Theologica: A Critical Examination

Trace the development of Aquinas's understanding of the relationship between faith and reason.
Explore the arguments Aquinas presents for the compatibility of faith and reason.
Evaluate the strengths....