Lecture notes
Class Notes - Intro to Philosophy of Religion
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- AQA
A summary of all the key definitions, explanations, and words/premises crucial to PoR.
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Introductionto
Philosophical
Arguments
, Introduction to Philosophical Argument
Philosophy translates as the love of wisdom. It is the search for new knowledge and
understanding. Philosophy asks questions about the structure of the world and the universe
and about the meaning of human life. The philosophy of religion examines general
philosophical problems about God and religion. It examines the nature and existence of God
and the way in which God is related to the world. It uses logical investigations and critical
thinking. It is about presenting an argument - an argument is a series of reasons that are put
forward to support a conclusion. It is a form of logical reasoning.
The idea of proof is important in philosophy of religion. To prove something means to show it
to be true. If a statement is true, then no counter arguments can be given against it.
Philosophers seek proof that what they believe is true and they use argument to support their
beliefs. An argument begins with a proposition or a premise (which is a statement of belief),
such as the moon is made from green cheese' and seeks to reach a conclusion.
There are different types of argument
We are concerned with deductive and inductive arguments In our course.
Deductive arguments
Deduction is a form of argument which starts with some premises and reaches a conclusion
based on logical reasoning. This type of argument does not depend on experience, but on
logical analysis. Deductive arguments are also known as a priori arguments. This term means
'to come before' and refers to the process of logical reasoning. It is this reasoning that proves
statements to be true or false.
A sound argument is what we mean by a philosophical proof. A definition of a proof is 'that
which results from a valid argument constructed from a set of true premises.'
Here IS an example of an argument:
Premise 1: The Eiffel Tower is in Paris
Premise 2: Paris is in France
Conclusion: The Eiffel Tower is in France.
A valid argument IS one in which there are no mistakes in the logic. This example is a valid
argument. However, just because an argument is valid, does not mean that it is true.
Here is another argument:
Premise 1: The Eiffel Tower is in Birkenhead
1
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