Philosophy of religion

1. ‘Conversions are not genuine examples of religious experience.’

Conversion is the process of changing or causing to change from one to another and it is the fact of changing ones religion or beliefs or the action of persuading someone else to change theories. A gradual conversion is like occurring, developing thoughts and moving in small stages, but the sudden conversion syndrome occurs where the person switches diametrical a belief in a short space of time, going from strong opposition to an idea to strong support (Kéri and Sleiman, 2017). It is hereby mainly a transformation of thoughts or religious and beliefs sue to sudden or gradual conversion (Copeland, 2018). However, conversions are not the genuine examples of developing religious experience. In this context, religious experience is a non-empirical occurrence that may be perceived as supernatural. It can be described as mental event, such as experiencing spontaneously resulting to intensive training and self-discipline (DeHoff, 2018). Genuine religion experiences are seen to be encouraging and they do not condemn the individuals but helping them to live a better life and also helping others. The major characteristics of religious experience are vision, conversions, luminosity and mystical experience (DeHoff, 2018). On the other hand, conversion is the adoption of a new religious belief from a previously had beliefs. This is when the effects of a religious experience are life-changing and the result of a conversion on a personal level is usually a greater understanding of faith. The religious conversion is hereby the process that leads to the adoption of a new religious attitude or the way of life and its effects can be permanent or temporary (Kéri and Sleiman, 2017).

A conscious and voluntary experience is considered as gradual conversions and on the other hand, an involuntary and unconscious experience is considered as widen conversion. For example, the religious conversion is likely to include a change in belief on religious topics which in turn leads to the changes of motivation for the individual behaviour within the social environment (Kéri and Sleiman, 2017). It can be stated that, religious conversion is playing a crucial role to develop religious thoughts and beliefs, but it has been argued that, conversion is not the genuine example for religious experiences (DeHoff, 2018). Hence through conversion, the beliefs and mind set of the person are changing over time and through religious conversion, the religious ideals and morals become the central to the person’s life. However, there is no universal common set of characteristics to describe conversion experiences as there are with other forms of religious experience, and hence it can be argued that conversion is not only examples of developing religious experience (Copeland, 2018).

2. ‘Paley’s teleological argument successfully defends the existence of God.’ Discuss.

Paley’s teleological argument is an attempt to prove that there is God that begins with the observation of the purposiveness of nature (Gage, 2020). After seeing a watch, with all its intricate parts, which works together in a precise fashion to keep time, it has been explored that, this piece of machinery has a creator, since it is too complex to have simply come into being by some other means, such as evolution (Firestone, 2019). The major arguments proposed by Paley are such as the human artefacts ate the products of intelligent design with a specific purpose as well as the universe resembles the human artefacts. Therefore, it is probable that the universe is an intelligent product with creative design that also has specific purpose. The universe is vastly more complex and gigantic than a human artefact is and thus there is the probability of having powerful and vastly intelligent designer who mainly created the universe (O’Donnell, 2020). Hence, ‘Paley’s teleological argument mainly focuses on the existence of God who creates the universe (Firestone, 2019). It is criticised by Hume, with the statements that the arguments does not prove the creator to be infinite, analogy fails as there is no other universe to more with and it is not valid (Gage, 2020). Through watchmaker analogy, it has been found that a watch on a heath and the nature displays with specific purpose such as the birds have wings to fly and also regularity like the planet orbit in regular motion (O’Donnell, 2020). Hence, the purpose and the regularity are suggestive of the designer. Paley hereby explores both purpose and regularity and thus is a more developed version of the argument than that of Aquinas (Gage, 2020).

The world is hereby a complex phenomenon with qualities of regularities and purpose and hence, it can be argued that the world has a creative design, called God. God is a purposeful creator; all of life is created by God with a definite purpose and goal (Firestone, 2019). The teleological argument looks at the world around us, attempting to use the evidences for Gods existence. It further works for nature such as human hand and resemble artefacts which are designed with appropriate purpose (O’Donnell, 2020). The works of nature are probably the reduction of design and it is numerous and complex and thus the works of nature are designed by the grand designer with much more intelligent and powerful than a human designer (Firestone, 2019). Hence, as per the Paley’s teleological argument, there is existence of God who is creative to design the nature, world and human being (Firestone, 2019). Without effective order, purpose, benefits and suitability, something in the world cannot be there (O’Donnell, 2020). The universe has all these qualities and it is argued that God has created the Universe with specific purpose and qualities. As per Paley’s teleological argument, it has been explored that, the regularity in the world and universe, such as in the orbits of planets or the passing of seasons must come from a creative designer, God (Gage, 2020).

3. Evaluate Plato’s view on the hierarchy of the Forms, including the Form of the Good

Plato’s view on the hierarchy of the Forms is illustrated in the allegory of the cave and as per the view; true reality existed beyond normal perceptions of the world. According to Plato, there is poor imitation of the real world in the world where we live. And the world is constantly changing over the period of time where we rely on the senses to understand what is going on. It is a forever changing and ideas fit through our minds. Hence, the real world is different from the outside world where we live (Alican, 2017). The real world is mainly unchanging and eternal with the perfect forms of things. As per the arguments, the reality has a form of human being, mountains, colours, dogs, courage live and goodness, but the world has been changed over time with the mind set and activities of the individuals (Bartels, 2017). As per the theory of forms, the real world is not changing, but the reality exists beyond our physical world., the firms are mainly abstract, perfect, ideals and unchanged over the period of time that transcend time and space that they exists in the realm of forms (Frank, 2018). There are differences in the material world and the world of the firms.

The materials world is transitory moves in time and space, but world of forms is outside of time and space. The world of forms is real and absolute, which is also unchanging and permanent. The materials world is superficial and changing over the mind-set of the individuals and contradictory are subject to opinion (Alican, 2017). However, the world of rooms is non-contradictory and does not subject to the opinion, it is beyond the senses and immeasurable leading to perfect. Forms for Plato are unchanging and eternal and the objects in this world imitate a form which exists in the real world, such as a beautiful person is an image of beauty (Bartels, 2017). In the realm of Forms, the Form of the Good is the highest of all the Forms exist and it is because all other Forms participate in the Form of the God and similarly the particulars in this world participate in their own Forms in that realm. The Form of the Good is the reason for the existence of other Forms being good in the world. Hence, it can be stated that, the idea of firms is generated in the allegory of the cave and he believed that the true reality existed beyond the normal perceptions of the world what we perceived around us is just a shadow of the truth (Frank, 2018).

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Reference List

Alican, N.F., 2017. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Does Plato Make Room for Negative Forms in His Ontology?. Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 13(3), pp.154-191.

Bartels, M.L., 2017. Plato's pragmatic project: a reading of Plato's Laws (Vol. 111). London: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Copeland, S.M., 2018. Knowing Christ Crucified: The Witness of African American Religious Experience. London: Orbis Books.

DeHoff, S.L., 2018. Psychosis Or Mystical Religious Experience?: A New Paradigm Grounded in Psychology and Reformed Theology. Berlin: Springer.

Firestone, R.S., 2019. Dismantling Paley’s Watch: Equivocation Regarding the Word “Order” in the Teleological Argument. Open Journal of Philosophy, 10(1), pp.155-186.

Frank, J., 2018. Poetic justice: rereading Plato's" Republic". London: University of Chicago Press.

Gage, L.P., 2020. Newman’s Argument from Conscience: Why He Needs Paley and Natural Theology After All. American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, 94(1), pp.141-157

Kéri, S. and Sleiman, C., 2017. Religious conversion to Christianity in Muslim refugees in Europe. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 39(3), pp.283-294.

O’Donnell, R., 2020. Maynard Keynes and William Paley: Rarely Explored Connections. The Review of Keynesian Studies, 2, pp.46-77.