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The Arguments
Check to make sure the exact content of your specifications before using these links. Not all of them are relevant to our course.
A Note on God's Omnipotence
Thomas Aquinas provides an attempt to ask the question "Can God create a bowl of porridge too big for God to lift" (though in Aquinas' case, he uses the idea of lifting a stone). Click here to see a note on the argument. This page is a part of the "Ask a Philosopher" section of "The Philosopher", the Journal of the Philosophy Society.
Omnipotence and Free Will
This is another page from the Philosopher Journal.
General Notes on the Arguments
General Notes on the Arguments
This link takes you to some brief notes on the various arguments - a good starting point! Another page of general introductory notes can be found by clicking here.
Richard Swinburne
This link takes you to an article by Professor Swinburne called "The Justification of Theism". The article is a summary of his arguments in his book "The Existence of God". For a synopsis of his book, click here.
Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist
This article (found on the Leadership University site) sets out to turn the tables on the Atheist. It proposes a different approach - that it is for the Atheist to prove that God does not exist!
The Ontological Argument
Descartes' Fifth Meditation - "Of God, That He Exists"
Rene Descartes provides one of the classic versions of the Ontological Argument - read the original text of his argument here.
The Ontological Argument - Introduction
This is a link to the Stanford Encyclopaedia article on the argument.
Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
Kant raises some fundamental objections to the Ontological Argument. Read Chapter 3 of the Critique here. You can also see the entire text. See a website devoted to the work by clicking here.
The Ontological Argument
This is a link to a discussion about Anselm and his Ontological Argument!
The Ballad of St Anselm
If you know the tune to Waltzing Matilda, you might be able to make something of this! The tune should start up automatically (be warned!!) so just sing along!
Bach's Fugues
John Stuart Mill
Mill's objections to the Teleological Argument hinge upon the Problem of Evil in a World designed or regulated by God. This link takes you to the text of the second of Mill's Three Essays on Religion. Faithnet also has a useful article on the topic - click here.
Critics of Darwin
Charles Darwin's idea that the diversity of life on earth is as a result of the process of evolution appears (if he is right) to deny the possiblity of design in the Universe. Follow this link to a series of reviews of books arguing for and against Darwin's theory. Click here to go to the TSAS-RE Evolution links. One of the best known critics of Religious Belief is the biologist Richard Dawkins. Click here to see a site devoted to his work.
The Elegant Universe
Recently Channel 4 has screened a series presented by Brian Greene of Columbia University in the US. The programmes looked at the ideas behind String Theory, and included an attempt to explain the 11 dimensions proposed by the theory. Basically, the theory is arguing for a much more complex and confusing universe than that proposed by Newton. Does an elegant universe require a designing power??? This link is to the excellent PBS Website, where you can even watch the series on your computer (though you will need a broadband connection!).
Intelligent Design
This is a variation of Paley's Argument From Design - there is a movement to have the theory included alongside (or even instead of) Evolution and the Big Bang. The BBC has a news story about this - click here.
Harold Morowitz
Morowitz is the biochemist who is mentioned in your notes on the Teleological Argument. His work on the processes of life is fascinating, if a little baffling. Click here for a profile hosted by the Santa Fe Institute
The Moral Argument
Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative
Kant argues that God acts as judge and guarantor of morally good behaviour. Other philosophers used Kant's arguments to propose that God is the source of Moral Behaviour. This site is offered as part of a "Sceptic's Guide to Christianity" - it argues against Pascal's Wager and the Moral Argument, and gives a useful introduction to the Moral Argument. Faithnet offers a good introduction to the Moral Argument - click here. For a background to Kant, go to the Island of Freedom site. A general introduction to the topic, but not a very academic one, can be found here (though beware of the music - it might make your browser sieze!). Try the TSAS-RPE Categorical Imperative Page as well!
The Critique Of Practical Reason
Read Kant - in his own words - as he argues for the Existence of God.
C. S. Lewis and the Moral Argument
The author of the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was one of the greatest Christian authors of the Twentieth Century. Read about his argument that the source for the sense that people have of how they ought to behave is God.
John Henry Newman
Cardinal Newman is one of the most influential figures in English Theology - he is associated with the Moral Argument for the Existence of God. Click here to access texts and articles. Another link is to the "Newmanreader" - click here for collected works on-line. The chapter of the "Grammar of Assent" that deals with the Illative Sense is here. For a brief introduction to the Illative Sense, try this. Explore Newman's views on Epistemology (the Philosophy of Knowledge) with a website from Notre Dame College, Ohio. The site draws some interesting conclusions regarding the debate over whether the mind is simply a machine.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud argued that the conscience (or moral sense) was a product of conditioning and experience, rather than the Voice of God.
Aquinas on Santa
It seems that Aquinas attempted to prove the existence of Santa...
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