Summary
Summary AQA AS/AL RS - Arguments for God Glossary
- Course
- Institution
A glossary of all the key words you need to know as part of the topic on the arguments for the existence of God.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
dianaozola23
Content preview
Glossary: Arguments for the Existence of GodA posteriori - Knowledge gained through sense experience (empirical evidence).
● Sense experience is problematic because we are inferring from our senses, but not everyone can sense
the same thing - our senses can be wrong, e.g., optical illusions show our senses are not always right - if
sense data is wrong, then the conclusion is probably wrong. Humans sense the world in a different way
(E.g., can’t see UV light) - human senses are limited, so sense data is/may be wrong.
● Can be a strength because everyone has access to it and it is the way we have always gained knowledge of
the world; we can also build on it (our current knowledge is the best it has ever been in human history -
we apply it to real life situations) - a posteriori arguments work in the real world.
A priori - Knowledge gained prior to (not through) sense experience.
Inductive - Premises are created that lead to a conclusion that leads to a probable truth, not a complete truth.
Even if the premises may be true, the conclusion is not always true.
Deductive - Premises that lead to a conclusion. If premises are true, the conclusions are guaranteed to be true
(only if the argument is valid). The conclusion is entailed in the premises due to the meaning of the words. If the
argument is valid and the premises are true, the argument is sound.
Abductive - Arguments to the best explanation.
Analytic - Whether a statement is true/false based on the meaning of the words. The OA analyses the concept of
God in the same way as other concepts, e.g., ‘bachelor’ contains the concepts of ‘man’ and ‘unmarried’ - these
concepts are entailed in the concept of ‘bachelor’. Our concept of God contains the concept of perfection, which
in turn contains the concept of existence, so God must exist.
Synthetic - Where truth value can only be determined relying on observation and experience - ‘all bachelors have
brown hair’ is true if the evidence shows this.
Inference - A conclusion reached through evidence and reasoning.
Analogy - An inference where information or meaning is transferred from one subject to another.
Sound - An argument that is not only valid, but begins with premises that are actually true.
Occam’s razor - The simplest explanation is usually the best explanation, e.g. Russell argues the simplest
explanation as to why the universe exists is that there is no explanation as to why the universe exists - “It is an
inexplicable brute fact”.
Reductio ad Absurdum - (Latin for ‘argument to absurdity’) A form of argument that attempts to show that a
given claim is false by showing that its acceptance leads to an absurd conclusion, i.e., an argument is disproved by
showing the absurdity of following it through to a logical conclusion - the argument is reduced to its absurdity
(only works if there is faulty logic in the argument) e.g., it would be absurd to say nothing exists now.
Teleological:
● Analogical - An argument from analogy, based on an analogy of the watch as the watch is ordered much
like the world; both are also regular and have purpose.
● Qua Purpose - Referring to how the world appears to show design in the way parts of it appear to be
constructed for a purpose.
● Temporal Order (Regularities of Succession) - Refers to orderly processes that operate the same way
every time, i.e., the laws of nature (always regular), e.g., the laws of physics.
● Spatial Order (Regularities of Co-presence) - Refers to the tendency for things to turn up together in
orderly patterns; examples of order in nature, e.g., the human eye.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller dianaozola23. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.51. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now