Chapter 2 Essay Questions

Philosophy of Religion

5. Thomas Aquinas: The Five Ways

  1. Is an infinite regress impossible, as Aquinas says? Can you conceive of an infinite series stretching back in time or forward to the future? Explain.
  2. Why does Aquinas think that an infinite regress is impossible? What is his argument?

6. William Lane Craig: The Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Anthropic Principle

  1. Many scientists say that some events (e.g., on the quantum level) are literally uncaused, and some say that the universe itself could have been uncaused. If these claims are true, how would they affect the cosmological argument?
  2. How does Craig respond to the suggestion that science shows that some events are uncaused?

7. Paul Edwards: A Critique of the Cosmological Argument

  1. How does Edwards respond to the claim that an infinite series of causes is impossible?
  2. How does Edwards address the contention that there must be a cause of the series of causes as a whole?

8. William Paley: The Watch and the Watchmaker

  1. What are the premises and conclusion of Paley’s argument?
  2. How might an evolutionary biologist respond to Paley’s argument?

9. David Hume: A Critique of the Teleological Argument

  1. Why does Hume say that the order, arrangement, or adjustment of final causes is not in itself proof of design? Is this a good argument? Explain.
  2. Why does Hume say that Cleanthes has no reason to ascribe perfection to the Deity?

10. St. Anselm and Gaunilo: The Ontological Argument

  1. Critics have claimed that Anselm’s argument is an attempt to define God into existence. Why would they say this?
  2. What is Anselm’s reply to Guanilo? Does it effectively dispose of Gaunilo’s objection? Why or why not?

11. William Rowe: An Analysis of the Ontological Argument

  1. What is Rowe’s chief criticism against the ontological argument? Is it sound?
  2. What is the debate surrounding the notion of existence being (or not being) a predicate?

12. Fyodor Dostoevsky: Why Is There Evil?

  1. What is the significance of the “little child” in Ivan’s argument?
  2. What does Ivan mean when he says that the tears of one tortured child are not worth the “higher harmony”?

13. B.C. Johnson: Why Doesn’t God Intervene to Prevent Evil?

  1. Johnson addresses various excuses that the theist might make for God. What are they? How does Johnson reply to them?
  2. What point is Johnson trying to make with his scenario of the infant dying in a burning house?

14. John Hick: There Is a Reason Why God Allows Evil

  1. Do you believe that the idea of a person who can be infallibly guaranteed always to act rightly is self-contradictory? Why or why not?
  2. What does Hick mean by “the world is seen . . . as a place of ‘soul-making’”?

15. William L. Rowe: The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism

  1. Do you accept Rowe’s argument from evil? Why or why not?
  2. What response can the theist make to Rowe?

16. Blaise Pascal: Yes, Faith Is a Logical Bet

  1. What is Pascal’s wager? Do you find his argument convincing? Why or why not?
  2. Critics have accused Pascal of committing the fallacy of false dilemma. What do they mean by this? Is their criticism valid?

17. W.K. Clifford: The Ethics of Belief

  1. Do you agree that what the shipowner did was wrong because he had no right to believe as he did? Why or why not?
  2. According to Clifford, what does morality have to do with proportioning one’s belief to the evidence?

18. William James: The Will to Believe

  1. Can we make something true simply by believing it to be true? Why or why not? Does James make this claim?
  2. The world has a multiplicity of religious views, gods, and religious practices, many of which are incompatible with one another. What would James say about this fact? Given this state of affairs, would James’s approach to belief be useful?

19. Alvin Plantinga: Religious Belief without Evidence

  1. What is the Great Pumpkin objection, and how does Plantinga respond to it?
  2. What is the difference among (i) accepting a proposition because it is supported by evidence, (ii) accepting it on faith, and (iii) accepting it because it is “properly basic”?

20. Michael Martin: Faith and Foundationalism

  1. What is Martin’s central argument against Plantinga’s claim that belief in God can be properly basic? Do you agree? Why or why not?
  2. Do you think a belief in God can be rationally justified? If so, how? If not, why not?

21. Søren Kierkegaard: Faith and Truth

  1. Would there be any danger in discovering religious truth through the holding of extremely passionate beliefs, as Kierkegaard suggests?
  2. What would Kierkegaard say about a religious group that held passionate beliefs that were at odds with the passionate beliefs of another religious group?

22. Bertrand Russell: Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?

  1. What are the premises in Russell’s argument that religion cannot cure our troubles?
  2. How does Russell compare believers and nonbelievers in terms of truthfulness and intellectual integrity? Do you think that his observations are correct? Why or why not?
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