God and cosmology dr william lane craig vs dr sean carroll, an atheist theoretical physicist. Someone who has chosen not to believe in god can refuse to be convinced, even in the face of abundant evidence. If you put it as complex nervous systems it sounds pretty deflationary. The debate between science and religion over the existence of a higher power often leads to little more than a shouting match. Shelly kagan argues that this inference assumes that if a factor has genuine moral relevance, then for any pair of cases, where the given factor varies while others are held constant, the cases in that pair will differ in moral status kagan 1988. The personality theory is revised to state that the key to personal identity is having the same personality provided that there is no branching, that is, provided there is no transfer or duplication of the same personality from one body to another. The implications of gods existence seem too uncomfortable for some. An absolutely perfect being must have all the positive attributes, including the attributes of existence. Jan 26, 2008 with the nature of proof and evidence in view, a cumulative case for the existence of god can be made. Lively interview with yale university philosopher shelly kagan about death, the subject of his popular yale course and new book.
He says suicide can rationally and morally be justifiable in some particular situations. Identity across space and time and the soul theory overview. Shelly kagan is the clark professor of philosophy at yale university. The bulk of the course surveys and explores some of the main normative factors relevant in determining the moral status. There is an allimportant question that is inseparable from the question of gods existence. The existence of god test study guide pdf existenceofgodcat word doc the existence of god crossword puzzle pdf. Encourage open discussion on this topic and work to create an atmosphere where unbelievers have to face some new ideas about gods existence. If you watched the debate in the previous post, you know that professor shelly kagan is fond of the theory that our morality is a putative contract between us that we would make if we were perfectly rational beings. Kagans main research interests lie in moral philosophy, and in particular, normative ethics. Jun 12, 2012 lively interview with yale university philosopher shelly kagan about death, the subject of his popular yale course and new book.
Craig and a prominent ethicist from yale university discuss whether god is necessary as a foundation for objective moral values and duties. The existence of god richard swinburne university of oxford. God is conceived as a being than which none greater can be thought, and even the nonbeliever can grasp that idea. One could say that it is the rational investigation of fundamental aspects of existence. It is divided into three main parts and covers all of the core theological teachings of aquinass time.
In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of god involves the disciplines of epistemology the nature and scope of knowledge and. Philosophy pdf will include all information unique. But of course, that complex nervous system allows you to do calculus. Put under that description, when asked whats so special about humans, im at a. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Shelly kagan leave of absence fall 2019 clark prof of philosophy.
Thus a god could not exist, because logically if religion the study and praise of a particular god is poisonous to humankind, god itself must also be detrimental to the existence of man. In this thoughtprovoking book, philosophy professor shelly kagan examines the myriad questions that arise when we confront the meaning of mortality. The lecture focuses on the question of the metaphysical key to personal identity. The existence of god cannot be proved by scientific experimentation. William lane craig vs antony flew william lane craig and antony flew met in 1998 to discuss the question of god s existence. Phil 655b, normative ethics shelly kagan a systematic examination of normative ethics, the part of moral philosophy that attempts to articulate and defend the basic principles of morality. Nov, 1997 shelly kagan is a great philosophy professor. Throughout history we have seen some of the bloodiest wars fought in the name of a god. Aquinass five proofs for the existence of god the summa theologica is a famous work written by saint thomas aquinas between ad 1265 and 1274. This is a simple followup to the previous question, designed to draw out the strongest objections to gods existence within the group, along with the strongest evidence for it. The bulk of the course surveys and explores some of the main normative factors relevant in determining the moral status of a given act or policy features.
Gods existence scholarly writings reasonable faith. Unlike richard dawkins, flew was one of the most respected atheist thinkers of the 20th and early 21st century his scholarly works on david hume are still studied today, and his presumption of atheism argument is still. This is something evidently inexplicable by science. The questions is whether we need to god in order to be the ground for morality. But for others, it is not a problem of proving that god exists, but rather questions about whether the concept of a supreme being is even coherent. The existence of god and the beginning of the universe the kalam cosmological argument, by showing that the universe began to exist, demonstrates that the world is not a necessary being and, therefore, not selfexplanatory with respect to its existence. Shelly kagan is an first rate moral philosopher and this is a fine book, though it is not a book a agree with. Much of his work centers on the debate between consequentialist and deontological moral theories, with publications on the nature of wellbeing, moral desert, utopia, and the. The existence of god is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture a wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of god can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective. This view broadly defines god s existence by making the claim, god is everything, and everything is god. William lane craig, who questions the common assumption that the existence of god is not necessary for morality.
William lane craig is, far and away, my favorite debater, and over the years ive watched, listened to, and read dozens of his debates with atheists, agnostics, muslims and liberal christians. Last year, yale philosophy professor shelly kagan posed something of a puzzler. Thus god exists in the understanding, even if not in reality. Join the discussion post a comment or question to facebook. He investigates some philosophical issues concerning death, raises some questions and attempts to answer them. Airlines, however, sometimes fail to deliver on such requests. Death the open yale courses series kindle edition by. Shelly kagan absolutely dismantles him without even touching on the real issues with seeing the christian god as a source of morality gods genocide, evil people not being accountable for sins after accepting jesus etc etc. God and the ontological foundation of morality article pdf available in religious studies 4801. The existence and order of the universe my first phenomenon which provides evidence for the existence of god is the existence of the universe for so long as it has existed whether a finite time or, if it has no beginning, an infinite time. It seeks reasonable answers to the biggest questions.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading death the open yale courses series. The theistic theory of morality is that it is the commands of a perfectly rational being. The second is to press home an important objection to that account. This website is for people of various faiths who seek to understand islam and muslims. Unlike richard dawkins, flew was one of the most respected atheist thinkers of the 20th and early 21st century his scholarly works on david hume are still studied today, and his presumption of atheism argument is still used by atheists. It bases that everything purports a certian unity, and that unity is all inclusive and in some sense divine and exists from only one being god. According to the first vatican council, the existence of god can be known with certainty by the natural light of human reason through those things that have been created.
A cumulative case for the existence of god apologetics315. If there is such a thing as common sense, this claim is part of it. Do right and wrong really exist if there is not god. The problem of the existence of souls before bodies in mulla sadras philosophy. In academic philosophy, one of the best compliments you can give a book is to say you disagree with it but think it has to be read by those in the field. A vegetarian in his everyday life, shelly kagan orders meatless meals when he flies. Apologetics is a field of theology that presents historical, reasoned, and evidential bases for christianity, defending it against objections. For a scientific explanation as such explains the oc. Other things being equal, people ought to get what they deserve. This attempt to prove gods existence argues that the universe shows a design, and thus there must exist a designer god.
The first is to interpret and clarify the account of the ontological foundation of morality proposed by craig. Mar 02, 20 last year, yale philosophy professor shelly kagan posed something of a puzzler. The notion of god means an absolutely perfect being. There are several sites that provide lists of debates with craig, but none of these lists are exhaustive, and some of them are inaccurate providing e. Here is a link to the debate between moral philosopher shelly kagan yale and william lane craig on whether god is necessary for morality. The question is not whether people need god in order to act morally, because atheists are able act morally and immorally just as well as theists. Craig that questions the basis of many views that are held today. William lane craig debates truth according to scripture.
It offers an excellent presentation of craigs moral argument for god including craigs standard moves in reply, as well as a thorough and devastating critique of it. Acceptance of gods existence is conditioned for many on whether or not a convincing proof thereof can be presented to them. Shelly kagan department of philosophy po box 208306 yale university new haven ct, 065208306. William lane craig vs antony flew william lane craig and antony flew met in 1998 to discuss the question of gods existence. The argument from the paucity of benign mutations d. Now we will cover empirical arguments for the existence of god. If we use the classic epicurean formulation that death is nothing to fear since its presence means ones absence and therefore there is no being any longer in existence for whom death impacts, and ones presence means its absence. Shelly kagan defends the idea of morality without god in a debate with dr. God and the ontological foundation of morality religious. However, this short cumulative case has shown that the existence of god is the most plausible explanation for the evidence. In this collegial dialogue at columbia university in new york, dr. In recent decades, they have formed a consistent basis for countless nonsequiturs and strawman arguments against christianity.
Kagan s view is dependent upon the fictional existence of perfectly rational beings or at. Articles on natural theology, featuring defenses of the cosmological, teleological, and axiological arguments and responses to critics of those arguments. If that happens, and he is offered a meat meal that he knows will be thrown out if he doesnt eat it, hell eat it. The question of whether life on earth exists, because of blind, dumb luck and chance, through evolution, or because of special creation by a supreme being, cannot be avoided in studying the existence of god. It is purely a question of faith and refers to the intuitive side of man. But life is complicated, and this claim does not get us very far. One of the questions the summa theologica is well known for addressing is the question of the. Philosophy shelly kagan a systematic examination of normative ethics, the part of moral philosophy that attempts to articulate and defend the basic principles of morality.
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