Natural theology

own definition of a maximally perfect being. Anselm portrays that God can be known solely from reasoning in thoughts rather than from impression of god himself in our knowledge. According to Hume and his empirical beliefs in “Dialogues concerning Natural Religion”, “The only manner to prove that a being a priori is if its inverse entails a contradiction” (Hume, XI). But the nature of god according to Anselm isn’t dependent on experience because “He alone exists through himself” (Anselm, 9) in…

One of the things that stood out in Grendel could be seen as a minute detail, but still deserves to be noted and discussed. Throughout Grendel, after the arrival of Beowulf, Grendel refers to him almost constantly as “the beardless warrior.” Beowulf is mostly referred to as this during Chapters 11 and 12, after his arrival. To begin to delve into the meaning behind this phrase, one should begin by thinking of how Beowulf was described in Beowulf. In that story there is never a mention of the…

The existence of God has been a question that has plagued mankind since the beginning of time and it is a question that has divided numerous philosophers throughout history. In this essay, I will critically evaluate Richard Swinburne’s cosmological argument which can be found in this book is there a god? Richard Swinburne states that his book is trying “To reach a conclusion about whether, on balance the arguments indicate that there is a God or that there is not." Richard Swinburne attempts to…

argument, “The mere existence of the world constitutes no reason for believing in such a being.” (2) There is definitely a reason for our universe and why it is the way it is. Evans and Manis make a valid point when they say that there appears to be no natural reason why our universe exists versus nothing existing. Many of the items in our universe are contingent meaning that they exist but they do not necessarily have to exist. When this is taken into consideration then it leads one to wonder…

Idealism and materialism are two contrary doctrines in philosophy. The idealism view contends there are no physical objects that exist outside the mind unless the mind is conscious of the physical object. Idealism believes everything takes place entirely in the mind and nothing exists outside of the mind.Whereas the materialistic view is that only material things exist. Materialism ascribes that material things are not dependent on the mind to exist which is in direct opposition to idealism. The…

Little, black dots on a page. Essentially, that is all written music is. It’s really all that any form of writing is. A meaningless code in motion will stay in motion, utterly meaningless until an educated eye interprets its significance. Yet, once this meaning is deciphered and most importantly, communicated, those formerly insignificant dots of ink – whether they be notes, poetry, prose, or paint – create a world of artistic possibilities. If the position of the artist is solely a channel, a…

The existence of God has been an argument that society has been fighting for years, along with other debates within them. If you believe that God exists, then the argument would be whether or not Jesus Christ is his one true born son. The cosmological argument only deals with the fact that the universe is created by a great designer. Some say that this argument is illogical because one can simply not know whether or not that there is an intelligent creator, and the universe could create itself…

Throughout the article, “God,” Simon Blackburn gives different insights that may seem logical to a person limited to a self-seeking mindset. Therefore, I will be making the argument that Blackburn is incorrect when claiming that, due to the existence of evil, there must not be an all-powerful God whom doesn’t care. Through his piece “God” Blackburn addresses various different cases through famous philosophers and theologians, namely Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Cleathnes. He firmly disagrees…

From the moment man stepped foot on the porous soil of earth, an inner-voice began to awaken from within the confines of cerebral tissue; a compelling force that enables man to chose between both what is right, and that which is not. Is it a higher power, or the complex mechanics of evolution that is to blame for the establishment of this subconscious observer? Did the creative force bestowing mankind with such a powerful tool know the extent to which it would be used? As impossible as these…

1. How can I make sure that I am not dreaming right now? Well, according to Rene, “when I see where things come from and where and when they come to me, and when I can connect my perceptions of them with the whole of the rest of my life without a break, then I am quite certain that when I encounter these things I am not asleep but awake” (191). 2. Basically. According to Rene, “I am, then, in the strict sense only a thing that thinks; that is, I am a mind, or intelligence, or intellect, or…