Thursday, January 30, 2020

Proofs for God’s Existence Essay Example for Free

Proofs for God’s Existence Essay God’s existence can be proven in a multitude of ways. However, several introductory caveats are in order. First, by â€Å"God,† we mean the traditional Christian concept of an all-powerful and wise creator. Second, the project of â€Å"proving† anything is logic or science is nearly impossible. Even the best laid logical plans and the most iron clad arguments can be torn to pieces by a skilled logician. Such a state does not invalidate the proofs in question, just merely that the language of the discipline is such that any logical design can be manipulated and refuted by one who ardently desires it be refuted. What is being dealt with here is that faith in the God of the Christians is not an irrational, â€Å"blind faith,† but one that is eminently reasonable and defensible on metaphysical, logical and scientific grounds. 1. The proof of Aristotle, used by Thomas Aquinas later, is the â€Å"hylomorphic† proof and is very important to medieval thoughts about God and the nature of his existence. The theory centers around the distinction between first, form and matter which, second, corresponds to action and passion, or act and potency. The form of an object is it in act, or developing towards its natural telos, or end. The matter is passive, that which has non being, that which still needs to be developed. But the nature of reality is such that as one rises in knowledge, the form dominates over the matter. Mathematics, for example, is almost purely form, with only a minuscule amount of material stuff. But what is the origin of such things? Only the world of pure form, and hence, pure act, that is, God. God is pure act, pure perfection with no more need for development. It is the form of Forms that renders unchanging knowledge possible. The matter within its formal shell is not nly passive, but accidental, in that it is only the generator of sensations, colors, etc. But such things cannot exist without a substratum (there is no red, without it being a red something), and hence, form is the object of knowledge, not the matter, or the â€Å"accident† of the object. But knowledge only sees form, never matter. Matter might present form in the guise of a sensate object, but logical and mathematics does not work this way, these are separated from matter. Hence, the more universal the knowledge, the less matter. Hence, the ultimately form of knowledge is Pure form, hence God (Owens, 1980: 20-25). 2. Similarly, the proof of St. Augustine from the point of view of unchanging truth. Any such unchanging truth must have a cause. The truths of mathematics or logic never change regardless of time or place, and hence, there must be an entity in existence who could have brought such a world into being. Such an entity must never change or alter its being in any way, and hence, must be perfect (the only need for change is to improve, if no need for change, then there is no need for improvement). Therefore, God exists (Augustine, 1996: 19). 3. In terms of scientific proof, there is the entire question of natural law. The world is held together by a series of laws that never seem to change. They are regular and can be seen throughout nature, from its macro to its micro level. The â€Å"sensate† part of nature, logically, is anterior to the laws that allow it to exist. Hence, the laws of nature had to have come first, and are the form within which the sensate part of nature functions. Hence, an entity must exist that is capable of creating natural laws within which all created being can function in a regular and logical manner. Only God can be the cause of such things (Copleston, . 2006, 518). 4. The Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyev uses the critique of nominalism to prove the existence of God in his Lectures on Godmanhood. First, the idea of empiricism is faulty since no real individuals exist (only God has this quality, but this is putting the cart before the horse). The objects seen in daily experience are themselves not particulars, but universals, ultimately reducible to pulses of energy. Force is the ultimate reality of being in terms of metaphysics. Hence, the empirical approach to the world is arbitrary, since the particulars we take for granted are in fact huge and complex collections of force and energy that appear to the senses as colors, sounds, textures, etc. Hence, energy is the source of being, and hence, retain the ontological status as universals. But this can not be sufficient, since the universal nature of forces must be accounted for. And this accounting can only be an entity powerful enough to have first created these forces that ultimately would register in human senses as objects, seemingly solid and singular, but in truth, complex and made up of universals (and in fact, representing universals in themselves). But this ultimately spiritual reality must have an equally spiritual cause, that is God. In other words, as the empirical qualities of objects exist only in the mind, the ultimate reality of the world is to be found in universals, and hence, the world of spirit. But all spiritual objects must have a cause that is equally creative and powerful (Solovyev, 1948: 60-63). 5. Spinoza’s concept of God is slightly different from the Christian view, but not entirely dissimilar. Spinoza argues for a single entity, Substance, that is the ultimate basis for all sensate objects. Substance is God, the ultimate basis (avoiding the word â€Å"cause† here) for all change and movement. Logically, there is only one ultimate Substance since there is no real reason for positing and more than one entity that, itself, can survive all change, but is not available to the senses. Spinoza’s Substance is not something that can be apprehended by senses, but only by the mind, and hence, is a spiritual being. While many writers have broken their backs trying to hold that nature is God for Spinoza, there is no reason to hold this: God is what is behind nature and is the ultimate basis for all being. Spinoza is not a pantheist, as nearly all commentators hold. Spinoza held that all change needs a basis, something that does not change. That which we see as changing is the modes of existence, the sensate objects in space and time (or mind and body). All of these sensate things can be reduced to that which is extended and that which is mental, ultimately one thing seen from two different points of view. But these two are merely two available modes for human comprehension of an infinite object that never changes, but is at the root of change, its basis, and that is Substance, or God, an infinite being who lies at the root of all change and the laws that govern change. It itself, does not change, but contains infinite attributes that only appear incompletely to human beings under two attributes only. Spinoza does not hold that there needs to be a cause of all things, but he does hold that there needs to be a basis of all things, that this is God (Della Rocca, 2008, 42-48) 6. The last proof or vision of God is to be found in Apostolos Makrakis, the little known 19th century Greek metaphysician. He was a Christian rationalist who held that Descartes butchered his own method. Makrakis holds that one can begin with Descartes ontological doubt. But the conclusion to this doubt, cogito ergo sum, is an arbitrary end point. When I engage in methodological doubt, I come up with several conclusions: first, the doubter exists, second, that the doubter is not the cause of his own existence, and third, that God exists necessarily. All of this derives from the single act of cognition: it is the true unpacking of the cogito. Since if the cogito is true, than the other propositions are equally true at the same time, known intuitively. Since the cogito is not self-created, then the outside world and God must exist necessarily in the same act of cognition as the original cogito. If one must strip away the outside world in order to reach the cogito, than the outside world is real, since in removing it, one reaches the truth of existence. The outside world cannot be a phantom then, if the doubter is not self-created. Something needed to have created and sustained the doubter, and this is as certain as the cogito itself. But since that outside world itself is not self-created (in other words, that the outside world does not know itself through itself, but through another), than God necessarily exists, and again, as true as the cogito itself. Hence, the cogito really says: I exist, the outside world exists, God exists, all at the same time all in the same act of cognition since the cogito itself implies it (Makrakis, 1956, 42-43). Again, none of these proofs are final, but the same can be said for all logic and science. But these do who that reason assents to the existence of God as infinite and all powerful. Spinoza’s approach is the most interesting, since it is compatible with mechanistic science, but holds that such science necessarily needs a basis for action, and this is Substance. The argument #3 above is also very difficult to refute, since one cannot hold to an ordered universe without holding to natural law, and if that, than the cause of natural law itself. If that is denied, then one is in the unenviable position of trying to argue that the material objects of nature can and did exist without a law to govern their actions. Hence, evolution is impossible. Natural laws (and a lawgiver) had to be before the actual sensate part of creation. But this, in an odd way, is very similar to the argument of Spinoza. It seems that science itself cannot function without recognizing natural law and it’s a priori existence with respect to the objects of science themselves. Bibliography: Owens, Joseph (1980) Thomas Aquinas on the Existence of God. SUNY Press Augustine (1996) â€Å"On The Free Choice of the Will† Readings in Medieval Philosophy. Ed. Andrew Schoedinger. Oxford. 3-24 Copleston, Frederick (2006) History of Philosophy: Medieval Philosophy. Continuum International. Solovyev, Vladimir (1948) Lectures on Godmanhood. Lindisfarne Press (this is sometimes called Lectures on Divine Humanity) Della Rocca, Michael (2008) Spinoza. Taylor and Francis Makrakis, Apostolos (1956) â€Å"The Tree of Life. † in Foundations of Philosophy. Chicago, OCES. 1-104

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Foreshadowing in A Tale of Two Cities Essay -- Tale Two Cities Essays

Foreshadowing in A Tale of Two Cities    How does diabolically spilt blood and mysterious footsteps become important in a historical fiction novel? What makes these murder-mystery traits relevant? Charles Dickens, author of A Tale of Two Cities, creatively foreshadows future events using suspenseful topics: A forbidden declaration of love, a tragically beautiful sunset streaked with crimson, echoing footsteps of a past that will not be forgotten, and wine stained streets soon to be smeared with blood. The aforementioned events are pulled together in this story of love and sacrifice. Collectively, they are an example of successful use of foreshadowing to create an atmosphere of foreboding and intrigue.    Dickens dedicated many of his long-winded paragraphs to the scene where the Defarge's wine was spilt. He describes in detail how eager and needy the French peasants were... drinking wine from muddy streets, feeding the drink to the youngest and oldest of their ranks. Such a scene may seem unimportant, but, since it was thoroughly described, Dickens m...

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

A Change Of Heart About Animals: Rifkin’s Analysis Essay

How many times people give all their trust, love and affection to someone who  inevitably cheats, betrays or disappoints them? Who has the chance to cure and take  care of an animal knows that this wont’ ever happen, they remain faithful and loving by  your side in whatever situation. There are striking similarities between human and animal beings, from their astonishing  intellectual and cognitive abilities, to their widely developed emotional side. People should  reconsider and change the way they treat and relate our fellow creatures, legally and in  everyday life, because they are much more than an experiment, or a children amusement or  an accessorize, they are living beings. Jeremy Rifkin is an American writer, public speaker and activist who wrote an article for  the Los Angeles Times in 2003 , meaningfully dense from the title: † A Change Of Heart  About Animals†. In this article he sheds light on the human like qualities of animals,  emphasizing how similar they are to us, providing examples like persuasive studies and  accurate data. Our everyday companions do have empathy, intelligence and feelings and  should be treated as such. The author starts building up his credibility with precise and sophisticated diction  through the entire text, and making use of universally highly recognized sources. Referring  to studies on pigs’ social behavior at Purdue University or to findings published in the  Journal of Science, he obtains the attention and the trust of the reader. In fact references to  the highest level universities and science magazines, give the reader a sense of secure  reliability on the author, associating these names to quoted scientists and prestigious  researches. Moreover Purdue’s studies on pigs that showed how the lack of physical and  mental stimuli can depress and deteriorate pigs’ health, were heartily taken by the European  Union. Especially in Germany, the government took action encouraging the farmers to  stimulate pigs with human contact and toys every day. Researches taken so seriously not  only by a national government, but also by an institution like the European Union, lead to a  growth of the author’s ethos even for the most skeptical readers, installing a global sense  of trust. Then Rifkin goes on exploring the most emotional and sympathetic human like  aspects of our closest nature relatives. Since animals share the same emotions and anxiety  as humans do, the reader can relate on an expressive level with them. An actual example  that Rifkin uses, was how elephants will mourn over a death of their kin, standing next to  them, touching their dead bodies with their trunks. Elephants understand the sense of  mortality experiencing grief, and the sensation of loss after the death of a beloved one as  we do. Any person who unluckily had to face how struggling the last goodbye to someone  close is can connect with them, feeling empathy and at the same time sadness thinking  about their own tough experiences. And at the end, as last heart warming pathos appeal,  Rifkin gives colorful examples of the horrible treatments that some animals must go trough  like painful laboratory experiments, inhumane conditions and slaughter. These portrays of  unevenly horrific treatments put negative images in our minds, making the reader really  wonder how possibly people can treat with any regards creatures having so many things in  common with us. Rifkin strongly appeals to the reader’s logic as well, in fact one reason why animals are  treated with so much inferiority is because they are viewed as having much less  intelligence. On the contrary, the author displays how clever animals can be, including as  proof the mind blowing results of two experiments. For instance, Oxford University scientists  noticed how smartly two New Caledonian crows managed to use the right hooked wire to  extract one piece of meat from a tube, in the majority of time in which the experiment was  repeated. Beyond impressive was Koko, a 300 – pound gorilla in Northern California, who  was able to learn more than one thousand signs of the sign language and several thousand  English words, moreover she scored between 70 and 95 on human IQ tests. The example of  the unbelievably humane cognitive abilities of this clever female gorilla, is even more  impressive and has a greater impact on who is reading because the primate family is  widely known as being the closest to ours.  The human race descends from the animal one, and feelings, language skills  and anything purely related and considered human has not just appeared one random day. Animals are much more similar to us than we ever thought, sensing and experiencing  emotions like sorrow, depression and excitement. Moreover they have a mesmerizing level of  intelligence, they can master sophisticatedly tool making tasks and possess qualities that the  majority of people have never even imagined. How can people merely consider our four  legged companions as just animals? It is so hard to believe and realize that still so many  human beings are treating our fellow friends with no regards. When a man unfairly treats a  creature so similar to him, who should we really consider as beast? â€Å"The more I know  people, the more I love my dog. † said Mark Twain, and the way people treat animals  depicts what kind of people they are. If we consider ourselves as people who deserve the  title of human being, we should definitely behave in the best way possible toward them,  protecting and guaranteeing them similar rights to ours, considering how similar we are.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Ukraine An Unending Cycle Of Corruption - 1705 Words

As a former soviet nation, Bulgaria has not had any help in becoming a respectable country in the eyes of the world. Through hard work and many tough times, Bulgaria became a â€Å"magnet for foreign companies†. With many tourist attractions including the Balkan peaks and Black Sea beaches, coupled with a very intelligent middle class, Bulgaria had everything going for it. However, low wages, unemployment, and organized crime have all plagued this nation since the start of the 21st Century. Therefore, I would like to pose the following question: after such a long battle with corruption, and the hold it has inside the Bulgarian government, will Bulgaria ever become â€Å"normal† or are they stuck in an unending cycle of corruption? Before discussing this highly interesting topic, I would like to give some basic facts about Bulgaria. Bulgaria was emancipated by Russia after the end of WWII and subsequently the Bulgarian Communist Party came to power. The Communists conver ted Bulgaria into a new industrialist state with heavy emphasis on industry. Agricultural production did not progress nearly as fast, partly because there was a lot of private ownership. After the death of Stalin, Russia began moving towards more moderate policies. By then Todor Zhivkov was the Communist party leader in Bulgaria and he did not intend for these moderate policies to stay. Under the leadership of Zhivkov, Bulgaria nearly became similar to a slave to Russia. The economy slowed down, and the government wasShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagescategory, and Thailand, Turkey, northern Mexico, and Malaysia seem to be heading there. However, migration controls, variations in labor and wage laws, and the constantly shifting flows of trade and finance that often failed to reproduce the holistic cycles of goods, money, and people in the previous Atlantic migrations will drag the process out. As in the past, migrant remittances have varied effects. Much of the money sent home then and now has gone toward conspicuous consumption, the support ofRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagessatisfied employees are less likely to quit, and they engender stronger customer loyalty. Low turnover and high customer loyalty both helped make organizations more profitable. This study also found some evidence for what might be called a virtuous cycle: having satisfied employees tends to improve subsequent financial performance, which tends to improve later employee satisfaction even further. No organization can be all things to all employees, but this study does suggest that attention to improving