Philosophy: Religious Experience

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Quotes
'what is the difference between a man saying that God spoke to him in a drean and a man dreaming that God had spoken to him?'-Thomas Hobbes- levaiathan 32 'some people drink too much and see snakes, while others fast too much and see God' Russell
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Wiiliam James: PINT
Passive: occurs by itself, not willed or wanted. Ineffability: indescribable, cannot be put into words. Noetic:Gives knowledge no gained by human experience. Transient: short duration but life changing effects
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Swinburne on testimony
Principle of credulity: people should be believed unless we have good reason not to. Principle of testimony: people in general are truthful. there need to be good reasons to doubt their honesty.
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Problem of other minds
we cannot see into other peoples minds. we cannot know how they interpret experiences. even if we trust and believe that someone is being sincere about an experience, we cannot assert that this is enough evidence for us to also believe the experience
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Problem of other minds continued
there are sincere people who have different beliefs like sincere nazis and sincere members of the KKK. but that does not make their beliefs valid. sincerity and honesty does not mean validity.
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Rudolf Otto
the numinous a sense of divinity that is transcendent and outside the everyday experiences(awe and wonder) this is what a religious exerience is to Otto
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Types of REX
Corporate: an event experienced as a group/ more than one person. EG Toront blessing (Catch the fire church) Personal(mystical) experience: Teresa of Avila having visions of Mary as a child. Conversion experience: one that causes one to become religi
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Conversion experiences
Conversion experience: one that causes one to become religious or convert to another religion. Christian example= Saul to Paul. Other example= Cat Stevens- atheist and now muslim and known as Yusuf Islam(Joseph in arabic
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Argument Against REX Hare+ Hick
Hare:Blik- a believer can interpret something as god, they will believe it is true. it cannot be proven for everyone so the experience is unreliable. Hick:'experience cna be constituted as manifesting the divine... but it cannot carry proof of god
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Argument Against REX Freud+Mackie
Freud: psychological reaction to the hostile world-we feel helpless and so create god in our mind as a great father and protector. Mackie:'religious experience... is essentially incapable of supporting any argument traditionally with theism'
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Argument Against : Hume
almost like chinese whispers, experiences can be dramatised and made more bizarre as the experience is told over and over again 'the hair monster grows larger, grows horns and even extra heads as the news is passed on'
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Wiiliam James: PINT

Back

Passive: occurs by itself, not willed or wanted. Ineffability: indescribable, cannot be put into words. Noetic:Gives knowledge no gained by human experience. Transient: short duration but life changing effects

Card 3

Front

Swinburne on testimony

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Problem of other minds

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Problem of other minds continued

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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