In Memoriam

In Memoriam

» Twilight Advent Calendar Withdrawal Demanded by Church Group - Nuse International, News told properly

» Twilight Advent Calendar Withdrawal Demanded by Church Group - Nuse International, News told properly

Pope condones condom use in exceptional cases

Pope Benedict XVI has said the use of condoms is acceptable in exceptional circumstances, according to a new book.

This seems to be a revisionary step forward by the current Pontiff considering traditional Catholic views on contraception, especially when we look deeper into the HIV/AIDS pandemic around the world and how often Catholicism's strict anti-condom message may have hindered progress of reducing this.

See the full article on the BBC LINK

Also look at how the Vatican is keen to play things down... who knows how liberal the Church is prepared to go?

The End of God?: A Horizon Guide to Science and Religion (1/4)

Talking with God: The Euthyphro Dilemma

Talking with God: The Euthyphro Dilemma

A new game for all AS students to try!

Polygamy

Polygamy

Most Anti-Abortion Christians Should Be Anti-Abortion

Most Anti-Abortion Christians Should Be Anti-Abortion

Abbeyfield Humanities: Ultimate questions - Introduction to Philosophy

Abbeyfield Humanities: Ultimate questions - Introduction to Philosophy

Abbeyfield Humanities: The Creation story

Abbeyfield Humanities: The Creation story

Chris and Lucas rapping in philosophy.

The teleological argument as you have never heard it before!

Miracles: Parting of the red sea disproved by science?

The BBC reported on a recent report from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research about how science and computer modelling may be able to explain the parting of the Red Sea, as described in Exodus.

Take a look at the video in the article for an explanation.

This relates nicely to current yr13 work on miracles!

LINK

Cosmological Argument by Y10

The Teleogoical Argument by Y10

RE Keywords - Unit 8

Why Is Justice Important for Christians?

Human Rights in the UK

The Design Argument

Design Argument video used in Year 10 lesson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHm9ZyZxKLU

Student work of the week

The Released Prisoner's Blog - Work based on Plato's cave by Lucy

A blinding light made my eyes water and stream. I walked up slowly to the entrance of the cave but my legs were wobbly and sore after sitting down for so long. I rubbed my arms; they still hurt after breaking free from my chain. I clung onto the cave walls as I steadily got to the cave entrance. My eyes would not open from the brightness of the outside world I was discovering. I stood, and slowly, very slowly, began to open my eyes. I had seen more colour in that glimpse than I had in my entire life. Everything was so sharp and precise. My lungs filled up with so much air, I could hardly believe what I was seeing and feeling. Was this real?

Slowly, I placed my right foot on green material that covered the ground, it was warm and soft, I had been used to cold, hard cave floors. I then placed my other foot down and opened my eyes fully. I glanced upwards. Before my eyes, I saw a never ending blue reaching up as far as you could imagine.

Then, in the centre of this infinity of sky and air, I noticed something peculiar. I only saw it for a second but it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. My eyes watered as I strained to keep looking at this orange fireball, the source of all this light and life.

Never in my life had I ever been so confused but tranquil at the same time, I had never felt so peaceful and harmonious yet I had no idea where I was. I only knew it was better than that dark, dull cave.

What if we could learn to live in this world and not accept life for what I knew it was before? This unseen world seemed like such an extraordinary and blissful place, why couldn't we learn to live out here?

I ran back to the cave, desperately trying to release the other prisoners from their chains. They fought bac, slapping and pulling my hand away. I was confused and couldn't understand why they wouldn't want to see some extraordinary paradise that had been waiting outside this cave all our lives. I had to show them. Dragging the prisoners by their arms, I started dragging them up the hill to the light, they screamed and kicked and refused to let me take them. They just wanted to accept life as they knew it. A tedious, dull life with no risks and no surprises, with the idea that the only living other life form was misty, unclear shapes projected onto the wall in front of them.



AS students work on Plato and the Forms

Y12 students used playdough to illustrate the heirarchy of the Forms. Plato believed that good was the highest Form that gave knowlege of all other things - this is represented by the sun. Then came Forms of universal qualities such as justice and truth. Next came Forms of concepts and ideals, followed by physical living objects and finally inanimate objects. More information can be found on p16 of the text book.

 

Students work on their models

Group 1 finished heirarchy

Group 2 finished heirarchy

The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow

Any book that claims in it's first chapter that philosophy is dead is in my opinion engaging in philosophy by asking  big questions. Any book that references Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy also in it's first chapter, in my opinion is worth a read! That the book claims then to have proven that there is no place for God in the creation of the universe seems to make this book essential reading material for all philosophy students.

"...philosophy is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.... (it) leads us to a new picture of the universe and our place in it that is different from the traditional one."

The Grand Design p5

Follow the link below to read further comment on this book:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/12/the-grand-design-stephen-hawking

Can science and Orthodox Christianity live harmoniously together in the mind?

Posted for an A level student for comment and discussion

There are thousands of arguments concerning science and religion but who is right and who's wrong? Well Orthodox Christians believe in the "One True God" who created the world and takes a keen interest in those who inhabit it. It is believed that God is pure spirit, the creator of the world, holy and good, all powerful and worthy of mankinds worship and love. Yet science suggests there is no God of any sort - our existence is purely a sequence of random occurences ending up with life, simple you may think but maybe not - where did the first cell come from? This is a gap that Christianity is happy to fill.
But does this make it true? If you are told something by enough people does that make it true? This is how organised religion works. In the Christian church you are taught to ignore things that don't fit with the churches view which leads to closed minded people. Science teaches us to look beyond what is in front of us and question everything.
So can Science and Christianity live harmoniously together in the mind? I don't believe it can purely because one teaches closed mindedness and the other encourages free thinking. Although there have always been exceptions where important scientists have been devout Christians and have been very influencial in the progress of Science, I generally feel these two disciplines can not exist harmoniously together.

Pope's visit to the UK

The Pope's visit to the UK has prompted lots of comments and discussion in the news from the UK being accused of being a third world country due to it's fanatical athiesm to the thousands of people who have turned out to catch a glimpse of the person who they see as God's representative on earth.

For GCSE RE courses the role and authority of the Pope is very relevant in the Rights and Responsibilities section of Religion and Society. Also his views on contraception and homosexuality are important when considering the Marriage and the Family unit of Religion and Life

For A level students it is interesting to follow discussions regarding his position on the use of contraception, his views on homosexuality and the propossed canonising of Newman

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11329489
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11360529
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11361749
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11355258
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-trouble-with-the-pope/4od

A Level Results

Well done to all Abbeyfield Philosophy and Ethics students on the fantastic grades you achieved in the summer exams. Time for A2 students to focus now for January and Philosophy A2!

Channel 4 must watch on Wednesday!

As part of Channel 4's 'Richard Dawkins: Age of reason' season, you can watch loads of his rantings on C4 and 4OD :-)

A really good one is a summary of his hit book the God Delusion, which will first be broadcast on Wednesday 25th Aug at 9pm.

Synopsis:

"In this controversial two-part series, Dawkins describes God as the most unpleasant fictional character of all and launches a wholehearted attack on religion as the cause for much of the pain and suffering in the world."

Or watch the whole Age of Reason series on 4OD (LINK)

Teaching philosophy with Spider-Man By Katie Connolly

Article from BBC website
Spider-Man's alter-ego Peter Parker struggles with his superhero status (Image courtesy Marvel Entertainment)

For years, fans of the Batman comics have puzzled over a mystery at the heart of the series: why doesn't Batman just kill his arch-nemesis, the murderous Joker?
The two have engaged in a prolonged game of cat-and-mouse. The Joker commits a crime, Batman catches him, the Joker is locked up, and then invariably escapes.
Wouldn't all this be much simpler if Batman just killed the Joker? What's stopping him?
Enter philosopher Immanuel Kant and the deontological theory of ethics.

Is the new Superman meant to be Jesus?
At least, that's how the discussion progresses in a growing number of philosophy classes in the US.
Cultural and media studies have paved the way for universities to incorporate pop culture into their curriculum. These days it is not uncommon to find a television studies class alongside 17th-Century literature in the course listings of an English department.
Now, philosophy professors are finding superheroes and comic books to be exceptionally useful tools in helping students think about the complex moral and ethical debates that have occupied philosophers for centuries.
Moreover, superheroes are attracting students to a discipline often perceived as overrun by musty books, suede elbow patches and bow ties.

Socratic tradition
William Irwin, a philosophy professor at King's College in Pennsylvania, edits the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, which includes titles such as Batman and Philosophy, and X-Men and Philosophy.
He says there's nothing unusual about using popular references to illustrate complex theories.
Is Peter Parker morally obliged to be a superhero? (Image courtesy Marvel) "This is what philosophy has tried to do from the very beginning," he says. "Philosophy starts with Socrates in the streets of Athens taking his message to the people and speaking in their language - agricultural analogies and common mythology."
Through the centuries, though, philosophers retreated into academia, creating a convoluted vocabulary that can appear inaccessible to the average first-year university student - those "deontological" ethics for example.
Christopher Bartel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Appalachian State University, asks students to read the graphic novel Watchmen in order to explore questions about metaphysics and epistemology.
In one class, he uses the character of Dr Manhattan, who claims that everything - including people's psychology - is predetermined through all the causal laws of physics.
Mr Bartel uses this to teach theories of determinism and free will, and the moral responsibilities entailed in those world views.
Mr Bartel says his course - Philosophy, Literature, Film and Comics - is a "fantastic recruiting tool", and that more of its students go on to specialise in philosophy than students in any of his other courses.
"I usually have students read Plato, Aristotle and Hume in introduction to philosophy courses. They often find it interesting, but get scared away by just how hard it is to read the stuff," Mr Bartel told the BBC.

"Comic books can provide really good illustrations of these philosophical ideas without scaring them off."

He says there are always students who think the course will just be an easy A grade, but they soon realise that despite the fun nature of the material, the work is deeply serious.

Great power, great responsibility?

For Christopher Robichaud, who teaches ethics and political philosophy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and Tufts University, superhero-based thought experiments can help people grapple with ethical dilemmas in an unsentimental fashion.
Peter Parker's Uncle Ben told him that with great power comes great responsibility, an axiom that thematically recurs through the series (Image courtesy Marvel Entertainment)
Imagine for example, that you are Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) and you have just discovered that you have superpowers. Do you have a moral obligation to use your new-found powers to help others?

In one published essay, Mr Robichaud uses that question to explore consequentialism, an approach to morality which, as the name suggests, judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based solely on its outcomes.

A consequentialist would be likely to argue that Peter Parker has a moral responsibility to be Spider-Man because that decision would bring about the greatest good.
But Peter Parker was also a talented scientist, so a non-consequentialist could argue that fulfilling his scientific vocation could be an equally valid choice for him. Perhaps being Spider-Man is above and beyond the call of duty - the answer is murky.

The conversation does not end with superheroes, of course. Mr Robichaud encourages students to take the framework they have learned and apply it to decisions in their own personal and professional lives.
But he says it is a neutral way to start talking about ethical issues that people often find provocative or confronting.

"Ethics is one of those hard things to teach because for a lot of people the answers are very personal," Mr Robichaud told the BBC. "If you make it about artificial examples at first, then it allows people to think a little bit more safely and clearly about ethical issues."

Sniggers

The incorporation of superheroes into a philosophy curriculum is not without critics.

"We are not saying that the canon of Superman comic books is equivalent to Homer and Dante and you can study them for their own sake... The goal is always to get people interested in philosophy by speaking first in terms that people are familiar with”
Professor William Irwin
Editor, Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

When academics struggle to fill seats in their medieval poetry classes while their colleagues are turning students away from packed courses on the mythic rhetoric of the superheroes, sniping in common rooms is to be expected.
Professor Mark White of the City University of New York says he is sure his work on Batman and philosophy "arouses some chuckles in the corridors", but he is careful to point out that he is not teaching the philosophy of comic books, he is using comic books to teach philosophy.
Mr Irwin agrees, drawing a distinction between his work and that of cultural theorists.

"Cultural studies coming out of the UK took popular culture very seriously as an object of study," Mr Irwin told the BBC.

"We are not saying that the canon of Superman comic books is equivalent to Homer and Dante and you can study them for their own sake. We're not suggesting that comic books replace Plato and Descartes - not at all. The goal is always to get people interested in philosophy by speaking first in terms that people are familiar with."

Mr Robichaud has little patience for critics who say that this work cheapens the traditional study of philosophy.

"The sort of philosophy I do - analytical philosophy - uses thought experiments all the time," he says. "If the examples we are drawing from are fictional examples from popular culture, as long as that's in the service of good philosophy, who cares? Who cares if the example is from Middlemarch or Watchmen?"

Shaun Treat, who teaches at the University of North Texas, is not bothered by "highbrow" critics either. For him, the proof is in the pudding: the students lap it up.
After years of teaching traditional debates like Hobbes versus Locke, he says, "it's amazing how much more the students are interested and engaged when you them put in cape and tights and have them slug it out".

Useful?

Useful?

So what is philosophy and why are you studying it? Follow the above link to an article which aims to shed some illumination on the matter!

NYC Mosque & Collective Responsibility

NYC Mosque & Collective Responsibility

Should a mosque be built close to Ground Zero in New York? Is it a recipe for racial hatred or should equality mean a mosque can be built anywhere, even if it might cause upset? Follow the above link and comment below.

Same Sex Marriage, Majority Rule & Bias

Same Sex Marriage, Majority Rule & Bias

Holocaust Eductation Trust - A Trip to Auschwitz

Two Abbeyfield Year 12 students recently had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz with the Holocaust Education Trust. The experience had a profound effect on both students and they have shared their experiences with students at school through assemblies and lessons. To see Simone's review of her experiences, please follow the link below.

http://www.slideshare.net/haigwilliams/simone-partner-review

French MPs set to vote for ban on Islamic full veil

 

A French Muslim woman was recently fined 22 euros for driving while wearing a full-face veil.  A French ban on the public wearing of the Islamic full veil is expected to have an easy passage in parliament's lower house when it votes shortly.

See full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10611398.stm

A2 Reading List

Summer and course reading for all A2 philosophy students. If Abbeyfield students wish to borrow a book for the summer please see Mrs Haig and sign it out in the red book.

http://www.slideshare.net/haigwilliams/a2-philosophy-reading-list

AS Philosophy Reading List

http://www.slideshare.net/haigwilliams/as-philosophy-reading-list

Summer and course reading for all would be philosophy students at Abbeyfield.

The death of a Holocaust survivor - Sonia Weitz

Come take this giant leap with me
Into the other world..the other place

And trace the eclipse of humanity.

Where children burned while mankind stood by,

And the universe has yet to learn why

...Has yet to learn why.

- Sonia Weitz, from her poem, "For Yom Ha'Shoah"

It is impossible for us to understand how those who survived the Holocaust can really feel. Holocaust survivors relive their experiences so the world can try to understand and learn from events of the past. The poetry of Sonia Weitz has helped many to begin to understand the Holocaust. If you would like to find out more about this amazing woman, please follow the link below.

http://www.facinghistory.org/about/who/profiles/sonia-weitz

The Spirit of Independence: The Social Psychology of Freedom — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

The Spirit of Independence: The Social Psychology of Freedom — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

GCSE Edexcel Unit 8: Religion and Society

This is the course students will take in Y11 either to compliment the short course they have already taken or for our new Y10 students, as the second year of the GCSE. It is 4 units long and covers the following topics:

• Religion, Rights and Responsibilities: The role of authority when making moral decisions, human rights, the electoral process in the UK, Christian teaching on moral responsibility, genetic engineering and cloning.
• Religion, The Environment and Medical Issues: Global warming, stewardship, medical treatment for infertility, transplant surgery, the attitudes of Christians and Muslims to these issues.
• Religion, Peace and Conflict: The UN and world peace, how religious organisations promote world peace, why wars occur, Just War theory, bullying, conflict in families, forgiveness and reconciliation, the attitude of Christians and Muslims to these issues.
• Religion, Crime and Punishment: The need for law and justice, theories of punishment, capital punishment, laws on drugs and alcohol and the social problems caused by them, the attitude of Christians and Muslims to all these issues.

Students currently in Y10 at Abbeyfield, who are interested in taking this course should speak to Mrs Haig for a letter and further information and watch the you tube link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjY-foU8Ipw

French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils

The debate around religious attire in France continues today with discussion in the French parliament on burqa-style veils. Different countries have different understandings about the role of religion and society; at the same time, do you think there should be limits on religious attire in public?


French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-07-06-france-burqa_N.htm
.

Using religious language to fight global warming

An interesting discussion of how religious terminology is used by scientists discussing climate change. Have they adopted the language of a millenium cult to "scare us" into stop sinning and take climate change seriously?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8468233.stm

Morality Play

A new morality game to test your ethics from The Philosopher's Magazine online.

http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/morality_play.php

Philosophy A2

The Philosophy A2 course begins on 22nd June with a module on Religious Language. Full course outline is attached below:
Religious Language

• Use and purpose of religious language

• The via negative

• Verification and Falsification principles

• How meaningful is religious language

• The use of symbol, analogy and myth to express our understanding of God

• The Vienna Circle

Religious Experience

• Arguments from religious experience

• Main conclusions drawn by William James

• Forms of religious experience: visions, voices, “numinous” experience, conversion experience, corporate religious experience

• Revelation through sacred writing

• MIRACLE including:

o Different definitions including Hume

o Biblical concept of miracle

o Criticisms made by Hume and Wiles

The Nature of God

• God as eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, omni-benevolent and the philosophical problems these cause

• Boethius – Book 5 The Consolations of Philosophy

• Would a good God reward or punish



Life and Death: The Soul

• Distinctions between body and soul (Plato, Aristotle, Hick and Dawkins)

• Questions surrounding the nature of a disembodied existence

• Relationship between the afterlife and the problem of evil

Tenth worker at ipad factory commits suicide.

Do workers have the right to good working conditions? What constitutes good conditions and what should an employer do when 10 of their workers commit suicide? Read the following report from The Independent and consider it in the light of the business ethics topic and the recent programmes on "Blood, sweat and luxuries"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tenth-worker-at-ipad-factory-commits-suicide-1982897.html

Fallacy-B-Gone Critical Thinking Spray - Effective on Politicians, Banke...

Found this on the TPM site - If philosophers made infomercials!

'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists

Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell.

The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell.

The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA.

See the story here...

Is this the ultimate in intelligent design? What are the ethical implications here?

Pale Blue Dot

You need to watch this twice: once to listen to what he is saying and once to spot all the films he uses in the clips. A small prize for any of my a-level students who can spot more than 20!

Religious Story Animations

Proof that I am not the only Religious Studies teacher to use play dough in my lessons!

The famous violinist or Whose body is it anyway?

Remember Judith Jarvis Thomson's violinist? Test out the consistency of your views on personhood and abortion by trying this quiz from Talking Philosophy.

http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=1730&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Also of interest - Should you kill the fat man? which tests Utilitarian beliefs.

An immoral waste of time?

Consider this and relate the various ethical theories to the issue. What would a libertarian say? What does Natural Law say? How would a Utilitarian respond to this?

Please comment!

http://www.jeremystangroom.com/immoral-waste-of-time/314/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

What does it take to be a man?

Food for thought after today's Y13 debate on sexual ethics and equality.

http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=1737&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Will the proposed corporate governance laws improve a company's ethics?

Corporate governance rules and business ethics

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article7096628.ece

The start of designer babies?

Embryos containing DNA from a man and two women have been created by scientists at Newcastle University.

This new avenue of exploration into IVF treatment has led to the creation of an embryo where one mother's genes are replaced with more desirable one from a donor mother, due to the original egg donor having a potentially harmful genetic condition. Have we stumbled into designer babies?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8619533.stm

5 Minutes with AC Grayling

Here's a link to a series of five minute interviews with an eclectic collection of people.
thos one is with the Philosopher AC Grayling and within the five minutes he talks about his views on free will and also give a 22 second summary on Emmanuel Kant.

VIDEO LINK

There is also an interesting interview with Richard Dawkins on life and death.

A few news stories to ponder over

Please comment if you have any views on any of the articles.

'A third of britons would sleep with a stranger for £1 million'
Ends to a means or abusing your body for money?

'New codes allow pharmacists to refuse to dispence based on religious beliefs'

What are peoples views on these? Get commenting!

New video from 06clared - Euthyphro

Do morals come from God?

A Level Philosophy And Ethics OCR

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

A Level Philosophy And Ethics OCR

View more presentations from Rachel Haig-Williams.

GCSE Philosophy And Ethics OCR

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

GCSE Philosophy And Ethics OCR

View more presentations from Rachel Haig-Williams.

Author Terry Pratchett welcomes assited suicide guidelines

Author Sir Terry Pratchett welcomed today's guidance on assisted suicide as "the best we can get without a change in the law".
The 61-year-old, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, believes people should have the right to choose when they die.

Read the full article by following the link below:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/terry-pratchett-welcomes-assisted-suicide-guidelines-1910907.html

What changes have actually been made? Follow the changes and subsequent discusions in the next set of links:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-call-for-debate-on-new-assisted-suicide-guidelines-1910696.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/assisted-suicide-policy-focused-on-suspect-motivation-1910294.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/assisted-suicide-rules-fail-to-settle-debate-1911312.html

And finally read philosopher Julian Baggini's comments:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/julian-baggini-suicide-can-be-a-rational-choice-1912358.html

Do we need to say our prayers?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8434059.stm

Year 10 were asked in their recent mock exam if there was any point to prayer. They were very divided - perhaps it made you feel better, perhaps God did answer prayer but maybe not in the way we would hope or perhaps praying is a pointless activity as God either doesn't care, can't answer everyones prayers as they conflict or he simply doesn't exist.

At A level we will consider prayer as a religious experience and in the sections on miracles. Read the above article on damaging climate change in Kenya and consider whether you think prayer will help in any way.

Sir Elton John's perspective on Jesus as a great man...

Ok, so I can't see any Christians agreeing with Elton's views that Jesus was in fact gay, but does he make a good point for harmony and cohesion even when people are different? If Jesus told us to love everybody then why is religion inherently discriminatory, can theists not forgive? What's your point of view on cohesion in religion?

Check out the article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8523538.stm

Psychological and Sociological Challenges to Religion

I thought that this would be the area that most people were unsure about, so I thought I'd take some things off of websites whilst trying to skip the more unusual parts of Freud's work.


Key Facts About These Challenges

• These challenges are a posteriori arguments seeking to challenge religious belief.
• Argues from psychology (relating to human psyche) and sociology (relating to society).
• Critics of these challenges include most religious people.
• Advocates include Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Jean Charcot.

Freud's Findings

• Religion is an aid to overcome inner psychological conflict.
• Religion helps us to overcome the conflict between our desires and society.
• Religion is an illusion to overcome our fear of nature.

Religion helps us to overcome the conflict between what we want and what society says we're allowed to do - Religion gives us a reason to submit to society; it gives us the promise of a better life after as a reward for our good behaviour in this society. We find a father figure in religion and God, someone that rewards and punishes us like a child.

Religion is an illusion to help us accept that aspects of nature cannot be controlled - We are helpless to nature. Religion personifies God by making him the force that controls nature. By praying to God, we are aiming to gain some control over the elements. Again, religion and God become like a father figure by providing us protection from nature in the same way a father protects his child.

Challenges to Freud's beliefs

• Darwin put forward the theory of evolution, stating that we evolved from animals, but there is no evidence in nature of a father figure.
• Freud only tested his beliefs on a small amount of people.

In the news late last year was a court battle between two parents, who's son was seriously ill - the mother was arguing for life support to be turned off, the father was insisting that his son had a good enough life to live. (more information below) In the end, the father withdrew his legal plea, and the child was allowed to die.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/02/parents-court-clash-over-child

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/10/baby-rb-father-withdraws-legal-plea

This could be useful when considering ethics, such as Aquinas' natural moral law, and kants categorical imperative. Which course of action would they consider the 'right' one?

This could also be a useful example to use - at what point does suffering outweigh the importance of human life?

Should there be more religion on television?

Should there be more religion on television?
The Church of England's general synod has voted to back a motion expressing "deep concern" at what it believes is a cut in religious TV programming. Are enough religious programmes broadcast?But the synod drew back from singling out the BBC, instead backing a motion aimed at all mainstream broadcasters, and called for more programming that "imaginatively marks major festivals". The BBC said it had increased its coverage in recent years, while Channel 4 said religious programmes were "at the heart of its schedule".Should broadcasters televise more religious programmes? Should religion have a larger platform in the media? Do you watch religious programmes? What form should religious broadcasts take?

Have your say by following the link below or commenting here.

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=7492&edition=1&ttl=20100210201554

Assisted suicide - the debate continues

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8490062.stm

Sir Terry Pratchett joins the debate on euthanasia and set out his ideas in the Dimbleby Lecture entitled "God's waiting room". To find out more or watch the Panorama programme, follow the link above to the BBC papges.

The Taliban

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1549285.stm

Use the above link to find out more about the Taliban and their religious and political goals. Useful background information for units on War and conflict at A level and a fundamentalist Islamic group for GCSE.

Morally right or totally misguided?

Should the American Baptists have tried to take the Haitian children out of the country? Use different ethical theories to test the validity of their case.

What does Natural moral say?
Can Kantian ethics be applied?
And what about Virtue ethics?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-baptists-knew-taking-children-out-of-haiti-was-wrong-1886357.html

A Mercy Killing?

Cooment on the not guilty decision given to Kate Gildedale by Sarah Wootton

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/sarah-wootton-only-clearer-laws-can-bring-compassion-to-the-euthanasia-debate-1879738.html

Symphony of Science

Love Dawkin's voice on this!

Average intelligence predicts athiesm rates.

"Average intelligence predicts atheism rates across 137 nations". Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2008.03.004."using data from a U.S. study of 6,825 adolescents, the authors found that atheists scored 6 g-IQ points higher than those adhering to a religion.""Among the sample of 137 countries, only 23 (17%) had more than 20% of atheists, which constituted “virtually all the higher IQ countries.”"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2111174/Intelligent-people-less-likely-to-believe-in-God.html

Why does God allow natural disasters?

At the heart of Haiti's humanitarian crisis is an age old question for many religious people - how can God allow such terrible things to happen? Philosopher David Bain examines the arguments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8467755.stm

Join the debate - Should we be free to criticise serving soldiers?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8457885.stm

An act of love or an act of murder?

"I asked myself what Tom would want. He wouldn't have wanted to live like this."
Frances Inglis

Words from a mother who injected her brain damaged son with heroin. What are the ethics of this case? How would an absolutist view it? What about a relativist? How do you view it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8459388.stm

The Wootton Bassett March

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/jan/06/dan-bull-anjem-choudary-youtube

Any comments?

The exam song

A little light relief from all the studying!

Religious Experience - another school's project

An excellent video from another school discussing the different views of religious experience.