Philosophy Assignment

1. Science – (from Latin “knowledge”) represents logically or systematically arranged facts which organize the knowledge for the purpose of explanation and prediction of things connected to the universe. Science refers to the reliable knowledge, which has a potential to be rationally and logically explained. As a general rule, knowledge about the world is gained through experimentation and observation. This knowledge is systematized as well. From the ancient times to present days, science has been closely linked to philosophy. Nowadays, science often refers to a manner of achieving knowledge, not solely the knowledge itself. A great number of scientists developed science in its narrower meaning. Among those scholars were Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler. From the beginning of the 19^th century, this word became associated with the scientific method, a special study about the world. It included biology, geology, chemistry and physics. Nowadays, there are distinguished two branches of scientific fields: social sciences, which study present society and social behavior, and natural sciences, which study nature, including biological life.

2.  There are a lot of definitions of the term “religion”. Commonly, religion is a system of beliefs, which relates to human moral values and spirituality. Each religion has its own symbols, traditions, history and narratives. This knowledge is intended to explain meaning or origin of life. Various religions tend to derive religious laws, ethics, morality or an ideal way of life from ideas about the universe and human being. There are approximately 4,000 religions all over the world. Religions can contain mythology. Religions oftentime include different sermons, rituals and commemorations or venerations of gods, goddesses or a single god, festivals, feasts, funerary and matrimonial services, trance, prayer, dance, art, music, singing or other impacts of human culture. Religion is something extremely social. There are five largest world religions distinguished. They are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion and Buddhism.

3. There are different definitions of science. According to one of them, science is an intellectual activity of people, the main purpose of which is to obtain objective knowledge about the world, nature, society, and thinking. The second one is a creative activity of people, which is an ability to get new knowledge. The third one is a system of knowledge connected to various laws of nature and society. The term “science” includes both activities for obtaining new knowledge and the result of this activity. The term "science" is also used to refer to certain branches of scientific knowledge.

Religion – is a faith, a special system of different worldviews, a set of cultural, spiritual and moral values, which determine human behavior. In a broad sense, religion is a set of beliefs and faiths in the society. It includes a set of customs, rituals, rules of life and people’s behavior. In the narrow sense, religion is a belief in the existence of supernatural creatures and things.

Science and religion are the oldest forms of social consciousness. They evolved and developed over the years, so there are different definitions and opinions about them.

4. There are two realities placed in front of every man. Some people think religion compatible with science when others think the opposite way. An endless discussion between science and religion has been carried out for many centuries.

Science and religion present different windows into the reality of the world and provide different overviews of significant events.  For example, religious people believe that all people were created by God, while scientists belie this. They confirm miracles by taking help of knowledge. Scientists claim that people evolved according to Darwin’s theory.

 In the book “Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction” Thomas Dixon claims:

“Religion and science both provide resources with which people can make sense of the situation they find themselves in. From within a particular world view or ideology, certain maxims seem fundamental and unalterable: for a Muslim, the truth of the Quran; for a Christian, the fact of the resurrection; for an atheist, the purely human nature of all moral codes. Neither science nor religion can determine, for some mythical neutral observer, which foundational maxims we should adopt. However, they can provide concepts, beliefs, practices, rituals, and stories that can be used to piece together moral meanings” (142).

5. Falsifiability is a quality characteristic of scientific theory. In order to falsify something correctly, it has to be shown truly logically. Logical falsifiability is a totally different thing. There are no logical arguments against God’s existence. There is a great amount of arguments in favor of God’s existence: the Cosmological Argument and the Moral Argument. Both arguments are extremely strong. God is a spiritual being; his existence can only be perceived on a spiritual level.  God is absolute, infinite and eternal - all of these features attribute beyond the man’s intellect. The presence of the Universe does not run opposite to science, "it" goes far beyond it.

6. Non-existence of God should not be subject to falsifiability. No one can prove that God does not exist; there are no logical arguments against him. Medical scientists have an answer to every question, but they fail to put life into a normal body. Nobody can discern the phenomenon of life. It is incomprehensible till nowadays.

7. Causation refers to the suggestion that each event is caused by something. For each event, there is a set of circumstances such that if the circumstances occur one more time, the event would happen again. Therefore, it can be assumed that every given event is caused by a number of sets of precursor events that happened before, if people are not completely familiar with what those precursor events are.  The cause always determines an effect. For example, if a ball is thrown into a window, the window will be broken. That is why the ball is the cause of the broken down window. On the other hand, if the distance from the person who throws the ball and the window is bigger, the window will  not be broken. The window is also an element of the reason of the broken window. At least, if the window was stronger, the ball would not break it. It means that the person who broke the window is the cause of the broken window. If to look back in time, the parents of this man are the cause of the broken window.

8. Feuerbach and Nietzsche's theories deny the existence of God. Feuerbach claimed that people just made up the existence of God by different characteristics one gave to God before to show things they should believe in everyday life. He said that among reasons of the God’s creation was the fact that people could not manage with their failures or fears (380).

In modern literature, Dan Brown, presupposes non-existence of God. He claims that God is just an artifice. Brown says that someone in the ancient times invented God for own purposes to be the ruler of the world and to earn extra money. No one can prove His existence what means that God is just a fantasy.

A great variety of predictions were made against God, as well.

As it is already known, no one can prove the God’s existence or not-existence. Therefore, no one can confirm this. If to mention the information above, thus, people cannot explain truthfully the emergence of life. Various theories, predictions and presuppositions against God’s existence make people believe things they do not want to. Scientists try to take away the most precious things from people. Religion is very important in everyone’s life, even in extremely complicated situation people have the creature they can rely on and ask for help.

9. Free will has long been debated in science, especially in philosophy. The question about God’s existence is in regular conflict with free will. God does not have to exist in a world of free will, as He knows exactly what will happen, every person’s choice and move, right down to every person’s breath. These things call into difficulty the status of alternatives and choices as free. In case God knows everything about everyone’s choices, this constrains individual freedom. 

10. The term “determinism” means that laws of nature and past events set and fix the future. God has to exist in a world of determinism. It is said that God alone is the cause of everything. Therefore, God obtains to make all past events give rise to all prospect events. As a result, past and future events are connected.  

11. Hard determinism is a significant point of view on free will, which proclaims that just some forms of determinism are proper. This is not compatible with free will. Thus, free will cannot exist. Hard determinism is opposed to soft determinism, which is compatible to free will and proclaims that free will can exist even in spite of determinism.

 12. Descartes believes in the existence of God. Descartes says in his theory that God is infinite, eternal, benevolent, and perfect. In his later Meditations, Descartes says that God is non-deceiver, while in earlier Meditations he asserts that God can be a deceiver. The philosopher assumes that God is perfect. After that, may people, God’s creations, be imperfect? Descartes says that God did not give humans a faculty to make mistakes. Descartes claims that the sense of judgment is not endless. On the other side, free will is a choice to prefer which is never-ending. According to Descartes God made a mistake by creating a human who was imperfect. As a result, God may be not perfect, as well. This is a negation to the argument of God as an ideal being.