Exam 4: Plato the Beginning of Everything

According to Lammenranta, "The _______________ is often understood as a form of formal or logical circularity, in which the conclusion appears as one of the premises."

How does Masham define "absolute atheism"?

Do you agree with Anselm when he says, "For, it is one thing for an object to be in the understanding, and another to understand that the object exists"?

Berkeley says, "When in broad daylight I open my eyes, it is not in my power to choose whether I shall see or no, or to determine what particular objects shall present themselves to my view; and so likewise as to the hearing and other senses; the ideas imprinted on them are not creatures of my will."

Leibniz says that our reasonings are grounded upon two great principles, the second in virtue of which we hold that there can be no fact unless there be a ________________, why it should be so and not otherwise, although these reasons are not always known by us.

Philo says, "Now, according to this method of reasoning, it follows, (and is, indeed, tacitly allowed by Cleanthes himself) that order, arrangement, or the adjustment of final causes is not, of itself, any _____________; but only so far as it has been experienced to proceed from that principle."

Explain how Pascal supports the following claim: "It is incomprehensible that there should be a God, and incomprehensible that there should not be a God."

Explain Masham's point when she says, "It is indeed only a rational fear of God, and desire to approve ourselves to him, that will teach us in all things, uniformly to live as becomes our reasonable nature; to enable us to do which, must be the great business and end of a religion which comes from God."

Discuss Philo's point when he says that we are not justified in transferring from parts to the whole.

Paley says, "Nor, fifthly, would it yield his inquiry more satisfaction to be answered, that there existed in things a magnitude of disorder, which had disposed the parts of the watch into their present form and situation."

For James, the decision between two hypotheses is ...

Descartes says, "when I think of it more attentively, it appears that the _________ can no more be separated from the _______ of God, than the idea of a mountain from that of a valley, or the equality of its three angles to two right angles."

According to Parsons, "if any (even one) actual evil is gratuitous, that is, if a perfectly good, all-powerful creator would not have a morally sufficient reason for permitting it, then God ..."

Explain what Cleanthes means in this passage: "There is no being, therefore, whose non-existence implies a contradiction. Consequently there is no being, whose existence is demonstrable."

Why does Joyce believe that "Of man, it is true that the balance is immensely on the side of happiness"? Do you agree with Joyce? Explain your answer.

Paley argues that if you find a watch while you are out walking, upon inspecting it you would probably conclude that it was recently lost by its owner.

Explain Kierkegaard's claim that although we think our proofs get close to proving God's existence, the final step is always a leap of faith. Do you agree with Kierkegaard? Explain your answer.

Clifford asserts that "the question is not whether their belief was true or false, but whether they entertained it on ..."

Kierkegaard says, "For if God does not exist it would of course be ..."

Do you agree with Parsons when he says, "if any (even one) actual evil is gratuitous, that is, if a perfectly good, all-powerful creator would not have a morally sufficient reason for permitting it, then God cannot exist"? Explain your answer.