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Index for this page...(Be aware some links below may have expired.)
All The Following Items Were Posted On December 1, 2004 1. Morris Raphael Cohen (1880-1947), American philosopher & logician
From A Preface to Logic. More information about Morris R. Cohen in the Academy. 2. George Santayana (1863-1952), American philosopher
From Realms of Being. More information about George Santayana in the Academy. 3. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1883), American philosopher-poet
From Intellect. More information about Ralph Waldo Emerson in the Academy. Special Topic for December: Philosophy, Religion, & the Question of God The questions surrounding this issue have intrigued all thinking human beings for thousands of years. It has been a source of controversy for philosophers, theologians, and just plain ordinary people of all religious persuasions or no persuasion at all. Atheism claims that God does not exist. Agnosticism says we cannot know. Theism defends belief in God. Biblical faith holds to the God of the Bible. Who is right? Can we know for a certainty? How does one know? History is chock-full of attempts both to argue for the existence of God and to refute the existence of "a God or gods." How does one succinctly introduce such a vast undertaking? Man has debated a higher power, higher purpose and the like since Aristotle in ancient Greece and likely beforehand. Most people today think of Thomas Aquinas' writings when discussing traditional arguments for God's existence, embodied in his famous Five Ways, which argue:
Aquinas believed that mysteries like the Trinity and the incarnation go beyond reason, are only found by revelation of Scripture but are not contrary to reason. However, many agree that his arguments in their original form do not suffice and have been refuted successfully. David Hume and Immanuel Kant entered the fray several hundred years ago and seriously challenged Aquinas' thinking. Yet contemporary theistic philosophers like William Lane Craig, Peter Kreeft and Alvin Plantinga have resurrected and improved upon such traditional arguments. Plantinga has changed the trajectory of the ongoing project of analytical philosophy (of religion, at any rate), resurrecting and improving upon Anselm's ontological argument while helping launch Reformed Epistemology. Plantinga is widely recognized to have decimated arguments for the logical problem of evil, as well. Philosophers recognize many arguments for the existence of God with varying degrees of seriousness. The major categories include:
Here are some essays from the great philosophers of medieval, modern, and recent philosophy which we have just been posted as "Classical Essays" on the Radical Academy website and which deal with various opinions about the question of God and religion:
Here are some interesting debates and writings about this perennial question which are posted on other websites: Does God Exist? Debate between William Lane Craig and Quentin Smith: In April 2003, renowned author, apologist and debater Dr. William Lane Craig debated well-known atheist Quentin Smith at the Harvard Science Center. Smith opens with two arguments for belief that there is no God or gods. Craig responds with the following basis for the debate and goes from there: I. Are there any good arguments against God's existence? and II. Are there any good arguments for God's existence? The entire debate transcript is online here with annotations provided by Dr. Craig. The Question of God - Two Different Lives: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Very well done page containing video vignettes of the PBS special The Question of God (see section on Nicholi articles at top). Each segment is brief enough to be practical while being extremely well produced. Transcripts also available. Don't miss other site channels, particularly Nine Conversations, in which individuals from a variety of perspectives from the publisher of Skeptic magazine to a Christian believer dialogue with Dr. Nicholi on topics like Science or Revelation? Why Believe? and Miracles. Three video segments available. Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God, by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli: From the Handbook of Christian Apologetics, this comprehensive survey contains original arguments for God's existence with many expansions. Format: the argument is summarized, often illustrated, then objections are presented and answered. Internet Infidels (The Secular Web): Reportedly the largest atheist site on the Web, "The Secular Web is...operated by the Internet Infidels, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to defending and promoting a naturalistic worldview on the Internet." PhilosophyofReligion.info: A rather complete yet succinct Web-based reference outline of: Arguments for the Existence of God, Arguments for Atheism, Arguments for Agnosticism, Christian Ethics, a Directory, a Glossary, and a Library. Creator Tim Holt writes, "Many, though not all, philosophy of religion resources on the Internet consist either of brief lecture notes or of technical journal articles. Here I've tried to find a middle way between these two extremes, providing material that is detailed, but also concise and reasonably accessible." Thanks to Byron Barlowe, Editor/Webmaster, Leadership University, for some of the above text and links to resources. Marilyn Manson - Professor of Philosophy? During this past week we posted the following news item in our Philosophy News & Commentary feature.
This is the news about that event as reported by our friend and colleague, The Left Coast Report:
(Thanks to The Left Coast Report by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax for the above information. If you would like a free subscription, please visit http://NewsMax.com/email.shtml) Declaration of Independence Banned In the city of Cupertino, California, a fifth grade public school teacher at Stevens Creek School, Stephen Williams, has been prohibited by the principal from distributing the Declaration of Independence among other documents from the American Founding. Why? Because they mention God. Like the recent challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance, many Americans will view this as an outrage. It is. But it would be a mistake to think that striking down the Pledge or banning the Declaration or any other historical document from our public schools is a new development. The sad fact is that these actions are supported by more than fifty years of Supreme Court jurisprudence. Carried to its logical conclusion, the position staked out by modern courts would prevent not only any mention of God in the classroom, but would render teaching the natural rights principles of constitutional government unconstitutional. In his dissenting comments in the 1985 case, Wallace v. Jaffree--which struck down an Alabama law allowing students a one-minute period of silent reflection as unconstitutional--Justice Rehnquist predicted that upon the arguments of the Supreme Court, the Pledge of Allegiance could also be held unconstitutional. Two years ago, Rehnquist's predication came true, as a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance represented an unconstitutional establishment of religion. As Americans prepare to give thanks to God for the blessings they enjoy, many are asking why there is a concerted effort to drive God out of our schools and out of our public square. Modern Supreme Court jurisprudence regarding religion, and the all-too-familiar instances of students and citizens being prohibited from acknowledging the existence or authority of God, are symptoms of the liberal project to remake America. Thomas Krannawitter and Daniel Palm wrote this summer about the attempt by Los Angeles County to remove a cross from the county seal. Liberals want to remove constitutional limitations on government power, and, at the same time, replace moral, free, self-sufficient citizens with needy, subservient citizens dependent on government. Removing God from the American mind advances both goals. Understanding that sound government and a free, moral society rest upon a belief in the "laws of nature and of nature's God," California passed a law in 1997 requiring public schools to teach the Declaration of Independence and other documents from the Founding period. By prohibiting Mr. Williams from distributing the Declaration, not only is Stevens Creek School undermining legitimate civic education, they appear to be in direct violation of California law. John Eastman, director of the Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, commented, "Unfortunately, our courts have abandoned the original meaning of the religion clauses of the First Amendment, and what we are witnessing today is the logical consequence of a half-century of misguided jurisprudence." Eastman, who also filed an amicus brief in the case of Newdow v. U.S., may be reached for comment by members of the media at (562) 900-3902. Source: The Claremont Institute - http://www.claremont.org/writings/precepts/041124karako_krannawitter.html View Homosexual Film, or School Faces Lawsuit ACLU tells district: Force students to watch 'tolerance training' video. If administrators of Kentucky's Boyd County school district can't find a way to force all students to attend sexual orientation and gender identity "tolerance training," the American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to take them to court -- again. Ten months ago, the district settled a lawsuit with the ACLU over the right of a student group, the Gay-Straight Alliance, to meet on campus. The year-long litigation strained relations in the conservative northeast portion of the state. In addition to allowing the group to meet on campus after school, district officials agreed that all students, staff and teachers would be required to receive "tolerance training." Source: WorldNetDaily. Entire article at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41667. Ron Paul: Pro-Life Christian Conservatives Should Oppose the War Just a few days after the presidential election, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) -- the only libertarian in Congress -- rose to the House floor to deliver a stinging critique of the Bush administration's war policy, assaults on civil liberties, and massive increases in the size and cost of government. During the wide-ranging speech, Congressman Paul -- a devout Christian who opposes abortion -- urged the millions of pro-life Christian conservative voters who voted for Bush to abandon support for the Iraq war and related military globalism. Said Paul: "It's clear the Christian conservative turnout was critical to the President's re-election. Though many may well have voted for the family/moral values touted by the President and mishandled by Senator Kerry, most agree with the Christian Right that our policy of pre-emptive war in the Middle East is not in conflict with pro-family and pro-life values. "This seems strange indeed, since a strong case can be made that the conservative Christian Right, those most interested in the pro-life issue, ought to be the strongest defenders of peace and reject unnecessary pre-emptive war. "Here are a few reasons why conservatives ought to reject the current policy of pre-emptive war: 1.The Constitution is on the side of peace. Under the Constitution -- the law of the land -- only Congress can declare war. The president is prohibited from taking us to war on his own. 2. The Founders and all the early presidents argued the case for non-intervention overseas, with the precise goals of avoiding entangling alliances and not involving our people in foreign wars unrelated to our security. 3. The American tradition and sense of morality for almost all our history rejected the notion that we would ever deliberately start a war, even with noble intentions. 4. The Christian concept of Just War rejects all the excuses given for marching off to Iraq with the intention of changing the whole region into a Western-style democracy by force, with little regard for the cost in life and limb and the economic consequences here at home. 5. America faces a 7.5 trillion dollar national debt that is increasing by 600 billion dollars per year. Fiscal conservatives cannot dismiss this, even as they clamor for wars we cannot afford. 6. History shows the size of the state always grows when we're at war. Under conditions of war civil liberties are always sacrificed -- thus begging the point. We go hither and yon to spread our message of freedom, while sacrificing our freedoms here at home and eating away at the wealth of the country. 7. Those who understand the most important function of our national government is to provide strong national defense should realize that having troops in over 100 countries hardly helps us protect America, secure our borders, or avoid alienating our allies and potential enemies. 8. The best way to prevent terrorism is to change our policies, stop playing crusader, and stop picking sides in religious civil wars or any other civil wars. "Blowback" from our policies is not imaginary. 9. Promoting true free trade and promoting prosperity through low taxes and less regulation sends a strong message to the world and those interested in peace and commerce. 10. A policy of free exchange with other nations avoids the trappings of the new isolationists, who influence our foreign policy with the generous use of sanctions, trade barriers, and competitive currency devaluations. They are only too willing to defer to the World Trade Organization and allow it to dictate our trade and tax policies. "Conservatives who profess to uphold the principle of right-to-life should have little trouble supporting the position of the Founders and the Constitution: a foreign policy of "peace and commerce with those who choose and no entangling alliances." Paul's appeal comes just a few weeks after the leading British medical journal, The Lancet, published a controversial study claiming that 100,000 or more innocent civilian men, women and children may have been killed in the Iraq war so far, mostly by U.S. bombing. More than 1200 U.S. soldiers have died in the war. Source: http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2004/cr112004.htm (Thanks to James W. Harris of the Advocates for Self-Government and The Liberator Online for the above information. If you would like a free subscription to the Liberator Online, visit: http://www.self-gov.org/liberator/maintain.html.) (Note: The Radical Academy regularly carries Rep. Paul's columns and speeches. His archive is located HERE.) Hollywood Shrugs Off the Moral Values Factor Exit-poll analysis of the presidential election conducted by news groups indicates that the issue of moral values was the largest factor in voters' decision making. Four-fifths of those who voted for President Bush chose moral values as their No. 1 issue. That Bush won nine of the 11 states that had an amendment defining traditional marriage on the ballot also suggests marriage and family issues loomed large in the minds of the voters. The news media have been desperately trying to spin away from the truth about the heartland viewing moral values as a critical issue. ABC's Peter Jennings said, "There's been a lot of buzz in the political establishment, in the country at large, about this question of quote, 'moral values.'" Jennings bellyached that the exit polls "did not ask what moral values did you have in mind" and marveled that people "interpret this as a mandate for conservative religious values." "Angels in America" playwright Tony Kushner, who volunteered for John Kerry's campaign in Florida, told the New York Times, "I think it's bad news for the left if we begin paying too much attention to all the noise people are making that this means the country has been completely remade into a conservative Christian nation." Arianna Huffington seemed to have to twist phrases in her syndicated column to try and come up with a different explanation. Unlike actress/activist Susan Sarandon, who on Bill Maher's "Real Time" carried on about the "black-box thing," "hanging chads" and "voter fraud" (that Democrat specialty), Huffington admitted that "this election was not stolen. It was lost by the Kerry campaign." But she decried the idea that Republicans would be "framing their victory as the triumph of conservative moral values and the wedge cultural issues they exploited throughout the campaign." Huffington assured her adherents that "it wasn't gay marriage that did the Democrats in; it was the fatal decision to make the pursuit of undecided voters the overarching strategy of the Kerry campaign." (Thanks to The Left Coast Report by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax for the above information. If you would like a free subscription, please visit http://NewsMax.com/email.shtml) "If once [the people] become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions." -- Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 1787. A Little of This and a Little of That A Little Wisdom:
-- Aeschylus (525-456 BC), Ancient Greek soldier, playwright A Little Advice: If your computer says "Printer out of Paper," this problem cannot be resolved by continuously clicking the 'OK' button. A Little Question: When you're finally holding all the cards, why does everyone else decide to play chess? A Little Put-Down: I would like to help you out. Which way did you come in? A Little Proverb: The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. A Little Reflection: "Propaganda is a soft weapon; hold it in your hands too long, and it will move about like a snake, and strike the other way." -- Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), French playwright A Little Observation: Ethics only exists in the eyes of the beholder. A Little Humor: "At the opera in Milan with my daughter and me, Needleman leaned out of his box and fell into the orchestra pit. Too proud to admit it was a mistake, he attended the opera every night for a month and repeated it each time." -- Woody Allen (1935- ), American humorist, director, actor, author. From Side Effects. A Little Quote: "People think that being famous is just about having your picture taken all the time and being rich rich rich, and you know what?... They're absolutely right." -- Madonna, American actress and singer A Little Definition: Fanatic -- one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. A Little One-Liner: Instead of loving your enemies - treat your friends a little better. A Little Quip: I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out. Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites The world becomes ever more bizarre, By Tom DeWeese: Someone has messed with the time continuum and thrown the world into an alternative universe. I present the following items as proof. Item 1. A Washington State school district canceled its annual Halloween celebration because it's disrespectful to real witches. "Witches with pointy noses and things like that are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion and so we want to be respectful of that," said Puyallup School District spokeswoman Karen Hansen. An open letter to Maureen Dowd, by J. Matt Barber: Dearest Elite and Most Enlightened Maureen: Ours is a Nation wherein we are the drooling, Neanderthal, war-mongering Red-Staters. You are the freethinking, lucid, peace-loving Blue-Staters. We are the toothless, barefoot, OshKosh B'Gosh Conservatives. You are the handsome, well-cultured, stylish Liberals. We are the hate-filled, dogmatic, fanatical Christians. You are the tolerant, agnostic, atheist, new age, pantheist, moral relativist…whatever…(man that's a mouth full! Pick one will ya!?). These are the "truths" you hold to be self-evident - that not all Americans are created equal. What do police departments really do?, by Vin Suprynowicz: Back in August, I reported an incident out of Wisconsin that may -- or may not -- help us answer the question: What should you do if police ask permission to search your home? The daily Oshkosh Northwestern reported back on July 20: "Local police still have no culprit in custody following a Saturday night shooting that left an officer wounded in a south-side Oshkosh neighborhood. The soul of ingratitude: Edmund Wilson, by Michael Moriarty: If there ever was an Emperor of Ingratitude born in America, if the legions of spoiled, thankless and malevolent intellectuals ever prayed for an American deity, the Devil obliged their call to him by coming up with you, Edmund Wilson. Not only have you zipped through and still are dancing your cold-blooded skis, in repeated editions of your work, through this faculty's little slalom runs, you have so surpassed their permanent admissions requirements with such flying colors that you are not only Dean but President of the entire American College of Marxists. Congratulations. Libertarianism, Conservatism, and All That, by Jude Blanchette: Every person attracted to the thought of Ludwig von Mises is eventually faced with the question: should I be a conservative or a libertarian or must I choose at all? The Mises Institute even added this point on its Frequently Asked Questions ("Are you conservative, libertarian, anarchist, socialist, or what?"). The current political moment demonstrates the importance of the issue. Conservatives generally think their man won the election but libertarians look at the Bush presidency and see war, big government, and violations of rights all around. "That They Are Endowed By Physical Reality With Certain Unalienable Rights" - Hypocrites In the Science Lab, By A.J. DiCintio: How would you respond if the Bible said this? "So Moses stayed there in his laboratory for forty days and forty nights; and drawing his ideas from the book of Science, he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." Or if Thomas Jefferson had written this? "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by Physical Reality with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." ID card doubts - Blunkett blames dead German philosopher, By Lucy Sherriff: Home Secretary David Blunkett said today that the German philosopher Immanuel Kant is to blame for scepticism about the governments plans for a compulsory national identity card. He was speaking at a meeting at the Institute of Public Policy Research, restating his arguments in favour of the scheme. Defending the logic of fundamentalists, by Scott Bouma: "That's how it is!" "No it's not! And here's why..." University campuses are unique in bringing together groups of intelligent people who have good ideas and love to debate them. Sure, college is about getting a piece of paper that entitles me to a good job, but college is first and foremost about the exchange and development of knowledge. University campuses are one of the few places where I can disagree, openly and heatedly, with someone else's idea, and still be great friends with them. That's cool. Doctor makes call to House of God -- Dr. Timothy Johnson discusses 'Finding God' at the Memorial Church, By Beth Potier: As medical editor for ABC News and an associate of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Timothy Johnson has found professional success and some level of fame throughout his career. Now, he's finding God. The Right To Keep and Bear Arms, by Jacob G. Hornberger: Arguably, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution should have been made first in the Bill of Rights because without the right to keep and bear arms, such rights as freedom of speech and freedom of the press would be treated as nothing more than meaningless "privileges" bestowed and taken away by government officials at will. The Second Amendment is the American people's ultimate insurance policy against tyranny because government officials know that guns in the hands of the people provide the only practical means by which to resist tyranny. They know that a disarmed society almost always becomes an obedient society in the face of omnipotent, tyrannical government. Cosmic Conundrum - The universe seems uncannily well suited to the existence of life. Could that really be an accident?, By Michael D. Lemonick and J. Madeleine Nash: Dealing with cranks is an occupational hazard for most scientists, but it's especially bad for physicists and astronomers. Those who study the cosmos for a living tend to be bombarded with letters, calls and e-mails from would-be geniuses who insist they have refuted Einstein or devised a new theory of gravity or disproved the Big Bang. The telltale signs of crankdom are so consistent -- a grandiose theory, minimal credentials, a messianic zeal -- that scientists can usually spot them a mile off. Where are the ethics in brazen bioethics?, by Michael Cook. For a small country, Australia punches above its weight in bioethics. There's Peter Singer, now at Princeton, one of the most prestigious universities in the US. He has become world famous as a theoretician of animal rights and advocate of infanticide for disabled babies. There's Philip Nitschke, the poster boy of the world euthanasia movement now that his American counterpart, Jack Kervorkian, is rattling the bars of a Michigan prison. And there's Julian Savulescu, the Uehiro professor of applied ethics at Oxford, who recently returned home to tell Australian parents that they have a moral obligation to genetically modify their children. An obligation, mind you, not just a nice idea. Influential ''Philosopher'' Means Bad News for America, by Isaac Strahl: Does the name Peter Singer mean anything to you? He is one of the most influential ''philosophers'' of modern times, and that does not bode well for America, writes Marvin Olasky. Singer, of Princeton University, is the fellow who advocates giving parents a 28-day ''return policy'' on their newborn children. If the baby proves defective, return her for…well, you get the picture. In Politics - Whether It's Good or Bad, It's Happening, by Jay Bryant: For most of the twentieth century, the American two-party system was subject to criticism that the parties didn't stand for anything. From George Wallace to Nikita Khrushchev, detractors proclaimed there was not a dime's worth, or kopek's worth, of difference between them. My political science professor put it as well as anyone. The two parties, he said, are like bottles, each distinctly labeled and both empty. What Became of Conservatives?, by Paul Craig Roberts: I remember when friends would excitedly telephone to report that Rush Limbaugh or G. Gordon Liddy had just read one of my syndicated columns over the air. That was before I became a critic of the US invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration, and the neoconservative ideologues who have seized control of the US government. The shifting ethics of abortion, by Amanda Dunn: Changes in technology and society have brought the questions that surround a mother and unborn child back into the political arena. It is a provocative image: in one part of a hospital, premature babies are being kept alive at just 23 weeks' gestation, while in another wing, a 24-week-old foetus is being aborted. The first shot in the war on political correctness, by Frank Salvato: Political correctness used to be something that most people considered an annoyance, well-adjusted people anyway. Championed by a group of malcontent busybodies who were probably "traumatized" as children and who have developed a passion for sticking their noses into other people's business, political correctness, in its infancy, was about gender pronouns, hyphenated nationalities and stereotypes that only the thin-skinned could possibly consider offensive. Alarmingly, this is not the case anymore.
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