God's Existence: Introduction to Philosophy

The existence of God is an important philosophical issue. It may even be the premier issue. The following are some website to explore when completing the assignment on the existence of God:

Secondary resources are important and worthwhile for commentary and understanding. Here are a few:

Christian Thought 1: The Existence of God by Dr. John McDowell at http://www.geocities.com/johnnymcdowell/CTCL1 .

This website contains a series of lecture readings including information on prominent philosophers and the issues of "proofs of God"--namely Aquinas, Anselm, Paley, and Kant.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy at http://plato.stanford.edu/index.html. It is one of the best sites for philosophy because it constantly being updated.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is located at http://www.iep.utm.edu/.


Primary sources are essential to any academic research. The following websites have been listed for their applicability to each of the "proofs" contained in the Existence of God assignment.


Aquinas/Cosmological Argument:

Of course, the Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas, can be an important resource at http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/FP/FP025.html#FPQ25OUTP1.

This website can be helpful when examining Aquinas' five "proofs" which form the cosmological argument.


Anselm/Ontological Argument:

Another, for a brief examination of Anselm's ontological argument is: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/anselm.html.

This website gives both a brief overview of the argument in its most basic form and a translation of the relevant chapters from the Proslogion, the response by the monk, Gaunilo, on behalf of the Fool, and Anselm's response to Gaunilo.


Paley/Teleological Argument:

For William Paley's Argument by Design, or teleological argument, the following is an electronic version of his book, Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity:

http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/p/pd-modeng/pd-modeng-idx?type=HTML&rgn=TEI.2&byte=53049319.

Though the book is 548 pages long, one can examine specific parts by using a "ctrl+F" find search using key words and phrases.

Kant/Moral Argument:

Immanuel Kant's book Critique of Practical Reason can be found at
http://philosophy.eserver.org/kant/critique-of-practical-reaso.txt.

This book gives Kant's reasoning into the existence of God from a standpoint of morality.


Pascal/Pascal's Wager:

Pascal's Wager is in Section 3 of the Pensees at: http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/pensees/pensees-SECTION-3.html.

The relevant issue is in Section 233.


Kierkegaard/Subjective Theism:

Kierkegaard wrote about a "leap of faith" in his book Concluding Unscientific Postcript. Though the following is not a primary resource, it can give a summary of Kierkegaard's work and thoughts: http://www.angelfire.com/md2/timewarp/kierkegaard.html.

Swinburne's Argument from Miracles:

Richard Swinburne believes that evidence exists that miracles can occur and that miracles can be the result of a deity, of God. There are a number of arguments, starting with Swinburne that proposes and refutes this idea at http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/pecorip/SCCCWEB/ETEXTS/PHIL_of_RELIGION_TEXT/CHAPTER_5_ARGUMENTS_EXPERIENCE/Miracles.htm.

Russell/Agnosticism:

Bertrand Russell was a noted mathematician, philosopher, and agnostic. He gives his definition of agnoticism in Bertrand Russell on God and Religion edited by Al Seckel, essay #5, which is found at: http://www.nowscape.com/atheism/Russell_What_is_an_Agnostic.htm.


Hume/Atheism:

David Hume was a noted Scottish philosopher whose written works never stated that he was an atheist. A good website that refers to his works and his positions on religion is: David Hume (1711-1776)Writings on Religion at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/humereli.htm.