God

A brief philosophical introduction

K.H.A. Esmail

• Publisher: Vernon Art and Science Inc.
• Year: 2017
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781622732593
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophical Metaphysics

God

A brief philosophical introduction

K. H. A. Esmail

Course Director and Tutor (Philosophy & Religious Studies),

Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge

Vernon Series in Philosophy

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For

J, P, S, R, & I

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Nature of God

Introduction

An all-knowing or omniscient thing and God’s knowledge

An all-powerful or omnipotent thing and God’s power

Chapter 2 Evil being overridden & God bringing about a particular kind of universe

Evil states of affairs and an evil state of affairs being overridden

God bringing about a particular kind of universe

God bringing about this particular kind of universe and evil being overridden in it

An observation on God bringing about this particular kind of universe and a moral theory

Chapter 3 The Existence of God

Are there sufficient grounds for the claim that God does not exist?

God and Evil

The principal arguments for the claim that God does not exist

Alvin Plantinga’s response in The Nature of Necessity

Another response

Chapter 4 The Existence of God

Are there sufficient grounds for the claim that God exists?

Some Ontological arguments Anselm

Some Design arguments

Some Cosmological arguments

An argument from the religious experience of God

Main Conclusions

Select Bibliography

Index

Introduction

Religion

The great religions of the world are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each of these great religions identifies the ultimate goal of a human being’s life and it identifies a means or means to realise it. Here is an example: in Buddhism, the ultimate goal of a human being’s life is to realise a particular state of being, viz. nirvana;1 the Eightfold Path is the means to realise it.

This ultimate goal is related in each great religion to something which is good and which is greater in value than anything else and which is not in a human being’s ordinary experience. Here is an example: in Buddhism, the ultimate goal of a human being’s life is related to something, viz. nirvana, which is good; it is greater in value than anything else; it is not in a human being’s ordinary experience.

There is a report (or reports) of an experience of this thing and a number of beliefs about it and a number of practices in relation to it in each of these great religions. Here is an example: in Buddhism, there is a report of an experience of this state of being in the life of the Buddha2 and in the life of others; there is a belief about it that a human being does not have the “basic impurities” of a human being in it; there is the practice of the Eightfold Path in relation to it.

This thing is God in some of these great religions.3 Traditionally, God is a thing which is alive and which is non-physical and which is among other things all-knowing and all-powerful and morally perfect and eternal and which has to be so and which has brought about the physical universe and human beings and which sustains the physical universe and human beings and which cares about the physical universe and human beings. God is worthy of worship. Someone who believes that God exists is a theist. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the prime examples of religions which are theistic.

Analytic philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and this work

The western tradition of philosophy...

Table of contents

• Abelard, Peter
• abstract things
• abstract things
• a possible world
• analysis
• Anselm
• Anselm
• Anselm
• Aquinas
• Aquinas
• argument(s)
• asrava
• Boethius
• Boethius
• Brahman
• Brahman
• Buddha
• Buddhism
• Buddhism
• Cantor, Gregor
• Chandogya Upanishad
• and God
• and God
• extrinsic
• in the momentum of a physical thing, on whether it can be brought about by a non-physical thing
• Charlesworth, M.
• Chisholm, R.M.
• Christianity
• Clarke
• Clarke
• concrete things
• concrete things
• concrete things
• consequentialism
• which includes a line of argument of Aquinas
• Descartes
• which use the principle of likelihood and increase any degree of belief that God can exist
• eternality, and God
• a response to the existence of
• as grounds for the claim that God does not exist
• liable to experience due to the conditions which prevail
• moral
• state of affairs being overridden
• state of affairs being overridden
• states of affairs
• experience, of a thing which is just like something
• experience, of a thing which is just like something
• explanation, of God’s existence
• fact
• human beings’ knowledge of
• and (intrinsic) value
• brute
• brute
• Fool, of Psalms
• Fool, of Psalms
• Frege, Gottlob
• Gettier, Edmund
• Gods, on whether there can be two
• Herodotus
• Hinduism
• Hinduism
• Hoffman, Joshua
• Homer
• Hume
• immutability, and God
• immutability, and God
• immutability, and God
• Isa Upanishad
• Islam
• Kant
• human capacities to acquire it
• tripartite analysis of
• tripartite analysis of
• Lane Craig, William
• Leibniz
• Lewis, David
• living and non-physical thing on whether it can exist
• modal expressions
• Molina, Luis de
• Moore, George Edward
• of an individual thing
• of things of a particular kind
• Nielson, Kai
• Nirvana
• Nirvana
• Nirvana
• on whether God can be omnipotent
• on whether God can be omnipotent
• on whether God can be omnipotent
• on whether there can be an omnipotent thing
• definition of
• on whether God can be omniscient
• on whether there can be an omniscient thing
• in the Second Chapter of Anselm's Proslogion
• Pali Canon
• Pali Canon
• Plantinga, Alvin
• Plantinga, Alvin
• Plato
• account of
• account of
• account of
• as a way to understand modal expressions
• which can be possessed by a thing at some timepower: which can be possessed by a thing at some time
• morally significant
• morally significant
• not morally significant
• of livings to act freely and God’s (fore-) knowledge
• of livings to act freely and God’s (fore-) knowledge
• to act freely
• to act freely
• to act freely
• to act freely
• to act independently of God
• to act independently of God
• to act independently of God
• which other free and independent living things are imbued with by God
• of God
• principle of likelihood
• principle of likelihood
• principle of sufficient reason
• principle of sufficient reason
• essential and accidental
• an argument from for the belief that God exists
• Rig Veda
• Rosenkrantz, Gary S.
• Russell, Bertrand
• sceptic, extreme
• significantly free creature
• simplicity, and God
• simplicity, and God
• simplicity, and God
• soul
• and propositions
• parts of
• relations between
• Swinburne, Richard
• teleological argument
• The Acts of the Buddha
• theist
• theist
• theist
• theist
• theist
• and God
• and God
• series
• traditional account of God
• traditional account of God
• traditional account of God
• traditional account of God
• universe
• Upanishads
• Upanishads
• Veda
• Veda
• Wittgenstein, Ludwig