In Blaise Pascal’s “The Wager”‚ he takes a different approach to explain why we should believe in God. He forms his argument based on that “We cannot have any certainty regarding the existence of God. He exists or does not exist‚ but reason cannot tell us which” Pascal continues explain the wager as having four choices and the consequences that go with them. If someone believes in God and God does exist then they will be granted eternal rewards‚ if they do not believe and God does exist then it is
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Belief in God exists in every culture and has throughout history (www.iep.utm.edu/relig-ep/). If we can conceive one of the greatest possible beings‚ then it must exist. Pragmatic arguments have often been active in the support of theistic belief. Theistic pragmatic arguments are not arguments for the suggestion that God exists; they are arguments that believing God exists is rational. Pragmatic arguments are relevant to belief-formation‚ since teaching a belief is an action. Pragmatic arguments
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The purpose of the paper is to answer several questions arising from an article by H. J. McCloskey entitled “On Being an Atheist”. McCloskey makes the claim that he is reminding fellow atheist why they believe there is no God. He claims that the traditional proofs have no merit. I believe the sheer magnitude and complexity of the world we live in is strong evidence of an intelligent designer and creator. Only an intelligent creator could form a world where the air that we breathe is part of
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This‚ what James quotes in his essay‚ is not Pascal’s reason for believing in God and as James points out it is probably nobody’s real reason for believing in God(William James 131). What Pascal is arguably trying to do here is point out to a non-believer‚ that there is a good reason to look at faith more seriously and consider what it can do. Perhaps‚ if someone reads Pascal’s argument and takes up interest in the church they may well become
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In other words‚ it is a position in which the person argues that since it cannot be “proven” either way‚ the most sensible position is to claim that you neither “believe” or “disbelieve”. In terms of Pascal’s Wager‚ you could say you aren’t going to make “any bets”. How would Pascal Wager classify you? Choose one: believer‚ non-believer‚ no way to classify you. ANS: Non-believer 8. In the history of western philosophy‚ most of the “classical arguments” with respect to the existence of God have tried
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our belief. To illustrate his point‚ James gives an example of Pascal’s wager‚ which conveys that we have a choice to either believe in God or to disbelieve in God. According to Pascal’s wager‚ if we choose to believe in God‚ we will be blessed eternally. In contrast‚ if we choose not to believe in God‚ we will lose. James‚ therefore‚ states that this example is not a living option. In other words‚ the hypothesis that Pascal has offered to us is
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existence of God? Throughout time many philosophers have been searching for an answer to creation and whether it is actually possible to prove (or not prove) if God exists. Some of the philosophers include Thomas Aquinas‚ William Paley and Blaise Pascal they came up with various different theories and arguments to prove the existence of God and why they believed he did exist. Another philosopher Karl Marx thought that his theory could convince people not to believe in God. One philosopher‚ Thomas
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Existence of God The question as to the fact on whether or not God exists or ceases to exist has been one of the most debated. Human beings find it necessary to prove the existence of God so that we can give meaning to life. People that disprove his existence do so because they find meaning elsewhere‚ such as in evolution. A person can believe and have faith in God‚ but as to whether or not his existence can be proven lays the argument between theists and atheists. The philosophers discussed believe
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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
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The Meaning of Life: Why are We Here? Michelle Klingenberg Colorado Technical University Author Note This paper was prepared for PHIL301‚ CS42-01‚ taught by Siamak Pouraryan on May 24‚ 2014. The Meaning of Life: Why are We Here? Why are we here? What is the purpose and meaning of life? These questions‚ or variations of‚ have probably crossed the mind of just about every person that ever lived at some point or other‚ and maybe even several times during their lives. It is important
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