Philosophical arguments

The subject of whether or not God exists has elicited numerous philosophical debates over the years. Many philosophers have questioned whether God exists, with some arguing that he does exist while others refute this claim. The debates on the existence of God is based on the teleological and cosmological arguments. In his article, McCloskey refutes the claims made by these two arguments and holds that they are false. The author states that humans should dismiss the idea of God since there is…

business people, getting others to agree to our ideas will be a crucial part of our jobs. We need to understand the best strategies to persuade others. In order to understand persuasion, we need to know the objectives of persuasion, what type of arguments to use, and how to successfully persuade. The three main objectives of persuasion are reinforcing positive opinions, realizing unformed opinions, and neutralizing hostile opinions. Reinforcing positive opinions is often the easiest. When…

number of arguments for and against the existence of God emerged at this time, and while the philosophical debate on the existence of God is still in session, the initial dust has settled. At this point in time, it is abundantly clear that a the cosmological argument is untenable at both a metaphysical and empirical level, and that the various versions of the cosmological argument fail to support the existence of God. There is good reason for critically examining the cosmological argument.…

God’s existence has been a key topic of debate over the past couple of centuries. People argue either way very strongly, and many are not open to hearing the other side. When this topic is argued, there are two main arguments, the cosmological and teleological argument. In this article, “On Being an Atheist”, H.J. McCloskey argues against each of these views. He believes that without sure “proof” of God, we need to totally pitch the idea that God exists. If this were the case, many…

essay, I will defend for the existence of God. First I will present Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God on the claim that he is the greatest conceivable being, then I will present Gaunilo’s objection for the unsoundness of Anselm’s argument on the claim of which there are no set limitations for the characteristic of the greatness, which I think fails. I will show that Anselm’s ontological argument can withstand Gaunilo’s objection by emphasizing the maximal characteristics God…

RS Essay ‘The teleological argument proves that God exists.’ Evaluate this sentence. The teleological argument or the argument from design, proposed by the philosopher William Paley, is an argument for the existence of God. It is based on the theory of design and Paley uses the analogy of a watch having been designed by a watchmaker and the universe equally having a ‘universe-maker’. Thus, Paley deduces that the skilled designer who could create this complex and intricate universe could only be…

McCloskey’s view on this argument is said to be similar to his views on the cosmological argument. He shares in his article that this argument is unreasonable because this argument cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt. This standard for a perfect argument that McCloskey requires seems unrealistic. Certainly, it cannot be possible to prove one-hundred perfect that any argument is absolutely without a doubt true. If the conclusion follows the premises, the argument is valid, but not…

The existence of God has been debated throughout history. There are many arguments for the existence of God but there are two commonly-accepted arguments among theists: the cosmological argument and the teleological argument also known as the argument from design. In his article entitled “On Being an Atheist”, H.J. McCloskey attempts to refute each of these arguments. His stated purpose in the article is to provide reasons for atheism and to show that it is more comforting to be an atheist than…

Paley’s argument for the Existence of God Paley’s argument is termed the design argument which is solely based on an analogy of a watch. This is that the universe as a whole is complex and there must be an intelligent designer responsible for designing the universe. Just like the watch, the parts come together to fulfill a purpose, and if we have never seen a watch before the complexity or the way the watch was designed would make us conclude that it was made by an intelligent designer. This…

Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God Philosopher Samuel Clarke introduced a myriad of reasons that are now considered the “Cosmological Argument” that directly attribute reason to the existence of a supreme being we humans consider “God.” Throughout this essay, I will be discussing Clarke’s Cosmological Argument, but I will be using the formulation from Professor Kearns’ notes. Clarke’s Cosmological Argument is founded on four premises and a single conclusion. This essay will analyze…