Preview

‘Even though there is not enough evidence to establish God’s existence, it is still more rational to choose to believe there is a God, then to believe there is not.’ Discuss.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1340 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
‘Even though there is not enough evidence to establish God’s existence, it is still more rational to choose to believe there is a God, then to believe there is not.’ Discuss.
‘Even though there is not enough evidence to establish God’s existence, it is still more rational to choose to believe there is a God, then to believe there is not.’ Discuss.

Is it rational to choose to believe in God? The proof of God’s existence has been attempted by many a philosopher and argument, yet on countless occasions the reason of the argument has been flawed. Philosophers such as Pascal, James, Kierkegaard, Plantinga and Freud each have there own arguments on the matter of whether it is more rational to choose to believe there is a God, then to believe there is not.

Blaise Pascal came up with an argument known as Pascal’s Wager. It argues that we have good practical reason to believe in God, because there are vast benefits if you believe in him. It tries to give good reason for believing in God without attempting to prove God’s existence, proving God’s existence is independent from this argument. Reason and intellect cannot decide the question of whether God exists or not; therefore, it makes sense to choose the option that would benefit us most should we be right. Accordingly, the options would be as follows: The first being that you may live a religious and moral life and be rewarded by eternal happiness. The second option is you may live a pleasure-seeking life and be denied eternal happiness. The third option is that you may live a holy life but there is actually no God or eternal life. Lastly, the fourth option is you may live a pleasure-seeking life but it makes no difference because there is no God. For Pascal, the first of these options is the most important one because it represents the maximum gain and loss. Even if it should turn out that there is no God, the sheer risk of deciding against such a possibility warrants that we should take that option. Therefore, Pascal’s Wager shows that Pascal believes that it is rational to choose to believe there is a God, because it is for the greater good – you will go to heaven (if God does
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Swindal's Incompatibilist Model
    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis Of Swindal's Incompatibilist Model

    Swindal offers four models for the interaction of faith and reason. One of these models is particularly of interest here: the incompatibilist model. This model suggests, “…one can hold faith as transrational, inasmuch as it is higher than reason.” A second tier of this model is that faith can be irrational; hence, it is “not subject to rational evaluation at all” (Swindal, n.d., n.pag). The rationale behind having faith in God is that it binds together the common, or universal values and moral codes that are present in all cultures (Rachels, 1971, p. 621-22). Having said this, though, many who do have faith in God do not think that it requires any reasoning or any proof at all (Clark, n.d., n.pag.). In his discussion, though, Clark refers to…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Clifford on the Immorality of Religious Belief Without Evidence
    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Clifford on the Immorality of Religious Belief Without Evidence

    So far, we have been discussing the manner in which Clifford argues that it is sometimes impermissible to believe something when one lacks adequate evidence. But remember: Clifford’s position is that it is never permissible to believe anything for which one lacks adequate evidence. How does Clifford extend the argument we’ve considered into one(s) whose conclusion(s) is/are that it is never permissible to believe anything for which one lacks adequate evidence? To what extent are his arguments for this conclusion successful? Explain.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    William Clifford The Ethics Of Belief
    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    William Clifford The Ethics Of Belief

    Argumentative Essay on “The Ethics of Belief” PHIL 2641 Online – Section 001 February 13, 2008…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Pascal's Wager Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Pascal's Wager Rhetorical Analysis

    Pascal’s Wager is his attempt to justify the belief in God purely on appeal to possible personal gains. His argument is that it makes sense to believe in the God that is believed in by Christianity, therefore it makes sense for us to do so. Pascal believes that belief in God is the rational action to take, even if there is no evidence of God existing. In his work he finds various reasons to believe in God that are beneficial even if he/she does not exist. He also believes it is irrational to not believe in God. If you are an atheist you ultimately are missing out on the possibility of eternal happiness, because if there is no God you will not lose anything, but you will lose everything if there is a God.…

    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Three Alones Rhetorical Analysis
    • 3555 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Three Alones Rhetorical Analysis

    In his arguments, Pascal attempts to illustrate the attractiveness of Christianity by describing the human condition as one of inconstancy, boredom, and anxiety when we are distant from God. In a situation without God, humans are caught in a state of uncertainty, with no stable foundation upon which a meaningful and joyous life can be founded. We are inconstant in that we find it difficult to commit ourselves to a certain issue, only partially devoting our time and thought. Since God is the ultimate ontological good that humanity seeks, without God we are left restless and dissatisfied. Thus, we quickly become bored with our present existence, forever seeking diversions and vain pleasures that might fill the void within us. However, we are ever restless and unhappy until God completes us. As a result, the more inconstancy and boredom we feel, the more anxious we get in trying to obtain some sort of satisfaction in…

    • 3555 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pascal's Wager: Epistemic Argument For God
    • 1959 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Pascal's Wager: Epistemic Argument For God

    Pascal’s Wager does not provide has some challenges in its reasoning and is not a convincing argument for one to believe in God, but it can be applicable to a catered category of people. Pascal’s Wagers main issue is that it is not an epistemic argument. Before just dismissing Pascal’s Wager as not an epistemic argument, one must understand what an epistemic argument is. An epistemic argument is an argument that must be rational, reasonable and justified in order to be believed. For instance, if one believes in God because one experienced a miracle and then claims the miracle experienced, like an apple falling from a tree into one’s hand is a sign from God, one’s argument pointing to the miracle as evidence is not applying an epistemic argument.…

    • 1959 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mccloskey Argument Analysis
    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Mccloskey Argument Analysis

    William Lane Craig argues in Reasonable Faith that, if life ends in a grave, that it does not matter whether someone has been a good or bad person because one’s “destiny” is not related to how a person behaves, thus someone has no motivation to live life as a good person. McCloskey argues that not believing in a God is more comforting when someone you love or yourself is going through a hard time or is suffering from a terrible disease. Rather than believing in a God who is purposely allowing the person to suffer through whatever they are going…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Pascal s Wager
    • 1065 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pascal s Wager

    Pascal lays out multiple outcomes that come with the belief in God. He also gives the outcomes of not believing in God so one may see the results in comparison to each other. He argues that by believing in God, if He does in fact exist, the rewards are infinite. In other words, by believing in God, there is an infinite amount of gain possible if He exists, but if he does not exist, there is only a finite amount of loss. Here, by comparison, the infinite amount of gain outweighs the finite amount of loss possible. Likewise, not believing in God’s existence will result in no gain or a finite loss if He turns out to exist. However, not believing and God not existing will result in only a finite gain. He finally explains that believing in God has a higher utility than not believing in God, and one should do that which has the higher expected utility.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Teleological Argumentative Analysis
    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Teleological Argumentative Analysis

    Throughout the course of time, many philosophers, dogmatic religions and even individual human beings themselves have tried to prove the existence of God. The recurrent question that constantly arises is whether or not you can prove the existence of God solely by rational thinking alone. To that, the answer is no. It is not possible to prove the existence of God solely by rational thinking as you also need to incorporate aspects of faith, but rational thinking helps solidify your beliefs pertaining to God and leaves the answers we cannot conceive rationally up to faith. You cannot understand something outside of your existence rationally because you cannot experience it or see it; you can only theorize, believe and trust in it. You will never be able to reason what you have no knowledge of. In this essay, I will argue that in…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Collins And Rowe's Argument For The Existence Of God
    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Collins And Rowe's Argument For The Existence Of God

    The question of whether there is a God has been debated by many philosophers, religious experts, and even your average citizens. Many of those people have attempted to argue why God is or is not real. This paper is going to present two different arguments by the philosophers: Robin Collins and William Rowe. The first argument by Collins is an argument for the existence of God, who designed our incredibly complex universe. The explanation of Collin’s argument will be followed by Rowe’s argument against the existence of God, which is in relation to intense suffering that exists in this world. With those two arguments at hand, the question is, are the conclusions compatible?…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    response to Being an Atheist
    • 2161 Words
    • 9 Pages

    response to Being an Atheist

    In fact McCloskey places the bar even lower by referring to the “proofs of” rather than “arguments for” God’s existence, thereby overstating the Theist’s claim. With respect to the “proofs” for God’s existence that McCloskey attempts to deal with, namely the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments, McCloskey offers trivial objections that are easily answered. With respect to arguments for God’s non-existence, McCloskey offers the logical form of the problem of evil which, while rich in rhetoric, does not contain enough logic to necessitate its title. McCloskey ends his article with a pragmatic justification of Atheist, stating that Atheism is more comforting that Theism; a point that is stark in its irrelevance.…

    • 2161 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Cosmological Argument In Proving The Existence Of God
    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Cosmological Argument In Proving The Existence Of God

    Have you ever thought to yourself, is there a god? Is there actually an almighty being to protect us? Someone who will be there to forgive us for our immoralities? Well in this report, I will be examining evidence there is that suggests the existence of god to determine whether or not there I a possibility of the existence of God.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pascal Wager's Argument
    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pascal Wager's Argument

    The existence of God has always been a commonly asked question in the world today. Since there is no scientifically proven answer, arguments have been accumulated over time. One being the Pascal Wager’s argument. This theory states that either God exists or God does not exist, you can either wager for God or wager against God. This belief advocates the belief in God rather than providing evidence. Does Pascal's Wager commit the fallacy of appealing to consequences?…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pascal's Argument For God
    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pascal's Argument For God

    Pascal says “If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us’’ (Pascal, 2). Throughout Pascal’s argument he makes the constant notion believing in order to gain finite happiness, how is it possible to know if God is willing to provide this infinite gain if he is infinitely incomprehensible? This critical mistake is the very reason Pascal’s argument doesn’t work, we just don’t have the knowledge to know about what truly happens after death. Pascal makes his argument for God by noting “you must wager. It is not optional” (Pascal, 3). In which one has the choice of believing in God or not to believe in God, whether we want to risk the chances of infinite happiness or to rot…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Cosmological Argument
    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cosmological Argument

    Out of the four arguments for the existence of a God, the Cosmological argument is the most persuasive. For thousands of years, humans have wondered what their purpose on Earth is and how we came to exist. Because of this wondering, many humans have concluded that there is an all-powerful creator who created the universe and everything in it. But, since we cannot see this creator and have no evidence as proof of his existence, there are many people who doubt the existence of an all-powerful creator. There are four main arguments for the existence of God. They are the Teleological argument, the Cosmological arguments, the Ontological arguments, and the Moral arguments. None of them provide objective proof…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics