11. Philosophy vs. Religion
Philosophy Religion
• Questions all assumption of authority
(political, social, traditions, never dogmatic).
• Concerned with questions
(large, persistent, metaphysical).
• Only subservient to self-imposed standards
of rationality and reasonable argument.
• Value driven – according to humanity’s
highest potential
• Appeals to authority (God, gods,
prophets, religious denomination, etc.)
• Provide all-encompassing answers to
the life’s questions (meaning, purpose,
reality).
• Principally subservient.
• Value driven – according to
serving the will of the Divine.
12. Bertrand Russell,
“The Value of Philosophy”
“Philosophy, though unable to tell us with
certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is
able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts
and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while
diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it
greatly increases our knowledge as to what they might be; it
removes the . . . arrogant dogmatism of those who have never
traveled into the region of liberating doubt…”
13. What is Philosophy? Philosophy is like a table.
Philosophy helps us lay out issues and examines them in an orderly
and thorough manner. It helps us determine what is at stake with
certain ideas, assumptions, and what are the implications that
follow from those – notice the concern with clarity and the lack of
equal concern for answers.
15. God said it, I believe it, that settles it.
• How do you know there is a God?
• Which God said it?
• Couldn’t somebody be making it up?
• How do we decide what God means?
• Uh… so?
•A lot of people believe false things
• What settles it?
•What does “it” refer to: that it’s
believed, or that God said it?
16. Weekly Expectations
• Reading Assignments (See Course Outline in Syllabus)
• Short Essay Assignments
• Academic Honesty
17. Short Essay #1
John Hick notes that “It is also necessary, in the “one
world” of today, to face the problem of apparently
conflicting truth claims of the various religions.” p. 4
Philosophy of Religion, 1990
John J. Hick
Two of the main branches of philosophy, metaphysics
and epistemology, deal with this “problem” noted
above. Discuss why this problem is an epistemological
and metaphysical one.
18. What is Philosophy of Religion?
Not religious philosophizing – the philosophical
defense of religious convictions and to demonstrate
rationally the existence of God, thus preparing the way
for claims of revelation.
Philosophy of Religion, 1990
John J. Hick
Revelation – “the communication of some truth by God to a
rational creature through means which are beyond the ordinary
course of nature.” p. 56
19. What is Philosophy of Religion?
“[Philosophy of Religion] is not an organ of
religious teaching…” p. 1
Philosophy of Religion, 1990
John J. Hick
20. What is Philosophy of Religion?
“[Philosophy of Religion] studies the concepts and
belief systems of religion as well as the prior
phenomena of religious experience and the
activities of worship and meditation on which these
belief systems rest and out of which they have
arisen.” p. 1
Philosophy of Religion, 1990
John J. Hick
21. What is Philosophy of Religion?
“[Philosophy of Religion] seeks to analyze concepts
such as God, dharma, Brahman, salvation, worship,
creation, sacrifice, nirvana, eternal life, etc., and to
determine the nature of religious utterances in
comparison with those of everyday life, scientific
discovery, morality, and the imaginative expression
of the arts.” p. 2
Philosophy of Religion, 1990
John J. Hick