Term
| "Bare" vs. "Interesting" existence after death. |
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Definition
| W/o a conscious life (bare); with a conscious life (interesting) |
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Term
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Definition
| A human being is made up of two things. 1- I am a soul. 2-I have a human body. |
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Term
| Traditional Western View of the nature of a soul |
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Definition
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Term
| Reasons for believing in conscious survival |
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Definition
| 1-Appeals to scripture. 2-Moral arguments (making sure ppl get what they deserve, make sure everyone has a chance to live a life worth living, making sure the soul-making can continue) |
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Term
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Definition
| 1-Consciousness is wholly dependent on a live & functioning brain. 2-Death is followed by the destruction of one's brain. 3-It is quite likely, therefore, that death is followed by the permanent cessation of consciousness. |
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Term
| A Dualist response to the Brain-Death Argument |
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Definition
| Maybe its only in this life that the soul needs a live and functioning brain to be conscious. (Ex: Prisoner who depends on a single window as access to the outside world. He depends on that window only when he is imprisoned in the room having that window.) |
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Term
| Near Death Experiences as evidence against Brain-Death Argument |
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Definition
| NDEs give us a reason to think that a person can be conscious when his brain is not functioning |
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Term
| Timeline for Near Death Experiences |
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Definition
| 1-Loss of oxygen supply to the brain. 2-Flat EEG; no brain activity. 3-Out of body experience in which patient makes accurate observations he couldn't have made by any normal means. 4-Dark tunnel, light, life review, meeting departed loved ones, being told to go back. 5-Waking up. |
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Term
| Empirical Evidence for conscious life w/o the brain |
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Definition
| 1-NDEs. 2-Apparitions. 3-The phenomena of mental mediumship. |
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Term
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Definition
| Boy mysteriously drowns who didn't know how to swim. Family went to mental mediums, did not solve the mystery. Some sessions were striking, however, and seemed in touch with Vandy. |
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Term
| Explanations for Mental Mediumship |
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Definition
| 1-Fraud. 2-Lucky "hits". 3-Telepathic communication with the dead. 4-Telepathic communication with the living. |
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Term
| Personal Identity Across Time |
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Definition
| We normally think that persons endure through time and change. This implies that a person existing at one time is the "same" person that existed at another time. |
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Term
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Definition
| Same person (body, mind, soul) unaffected by time |
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Term
| Numerically similar identity |
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Definition
| Same person but evolved over time. |
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Term
| Kleenex Box example of personal identity across time |
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Definition
| Suppose I have a Kleenex box i can touch, taste, etc. If i throw it in a fire, then get an exactly similar box from the factory, is it the same box? |
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Term
| Hick's re-creation theory of resurrection |
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Definition
| The whole person is destroyed. After some time has passed in which the person does not exist, they are re-created from scratch. |
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Term
| Questions to Hick's re-creation |
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Definition
| 1-Would it be the same person? 2-Would it be a mere replica? |
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Term
| 2 Types of theory of personal identity across time |
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Definition
| 1- Those that focus on some underlying "thing" that remains in existence throughout all difft. periods of one's life. 2-Accounts that focus on the relations between the segments of conscious life (linear) |
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Term
| 3 Classical accounts of personal identity |
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Definition
| 1-Same body. 2-Same soul (both are first type). 3-Psychological continuity/connectedness (second type) |
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Term
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Definition
| Body-switching is possible (prince & the cobbler) |
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Term
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Definition
| If soul-switching is possible, then soul theory must be abandoned. |
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Term
| Objection to psychological continuity |
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Definition
| Memory theory-if you remember doing something, then you are the same person as the one who did it. |
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Term
| Problems with memory theory |
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Definition
| 1-Suffering from total amnesia. 2-Memories can become faded/misconstrued |
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Term
| Irrational to fear death because: (Epicurean View) |
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Definition
| 1-Nothing can be good or bad for you unless it results in pleasant or painful experiences for you. 2-When you're dead, you'll have no experiences of any kind. 3-So death can't be bad for you. 4-It's irrational to fear what can't be bad for you. 5-So it's irrational to fear death. |
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Term
| Objection to first point (Nothing can be good or bad for you...pleasant or painful experiences) |
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Definition
| When you die, you lost the chance to do the things you wanted to do. |
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Term
| Nagel's objection to first point |
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Definition
| There are negative & positive goods and evils. Neg. good is absence of something bad (and visa versa). If continued life is bad then death is a negative good (and visa versa) |
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Term
| Objection to Nagel's view |
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Definition
| Even a neg. good or evil has to happen to somebody. But you won't be around when you're dead. So nothing good or bad can happen to you then. |
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Term
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Definition
| Death is bad for the person who used to exist. |
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Term
| Why are we upset about nothingness after death but not before birth (Nagel)? |
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Definition
| You would have gone on living & experiencing good things had you not died; but no one born much before you were born would have been you. |
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Term
| Final objection to Nagel's view |
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Definition
| Isn't death natural? If so, how can it be evil? Ex: A mole is naturally blind, so blindness isn't evil for it |
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Term
| Nagel's responses to final objection |
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Definition
| 1-The mole has no idea what it would be like to see; but life familiarizes us with the goodness within it. So whereas the mole can't be bothered by the fact that it can't see, we can be disturbed by the fact that our lives will end. 2-Even if it were natural and inevitable that we die in excruciating pain, it would still be bad. So it's wrong to conclude that it isn't bad to die just b/c it is natural and inevitable. |
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Term
| Four Noble Truths of Theravada Buddhism |
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Definition
| 1-Suffering (and the impermanence of everything). 2-The cause of suffering (desire: clinging & craving, caring for the false ego). 3-The cessation of suffering (enlightenment/nirvana). 4-The eightfold path (right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration) |
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Term
| Hick's religious pluralism |
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Definition
| There is an important sense in which they all "get it right". None has any more truth than the other. |
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Term
| Hick's pluralism w/ salvation |
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Definition
| Salvation shouldn't depend on a mere accident of birth |
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Term
| In what sense do all the great religious traditions of the world "get it right"? |
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Definition
| All are centered in "The Real", and all promote love and compassion. |
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Term
| Hick's Ultimate Reality in itself |
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Definition
| It is infinite. It transcends the grasp of the human mind. |
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Term
| Hick's many phenomena of Ultimate Reality |
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Definition
| Some phenomena are personal, some not. All are merely traits of the Ultimate Reality |
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Term
| 3 Partial Analogies for the case of a Mystical Religious Experience |
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Definition
| 1-The drunkard's pink rats (Rats are not there, simply seen as hallucinations). 2-Trained microscopist (Can see things others cannot b/c of training). 3-Seeing persons (only a few) in a society of blind persons have the advantage of prediction. |
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Term
| Broad thinks third fits better because... |
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Definition
| Seeing persons represent insight that blind persons are completely unfamiliar with |
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Term
| Broad's main line of argument |
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Definition
| 1-When mystics in different times and places have similar experiences and put more or less the same interpretation on them, it is reasonable to believe that their experiences are veridical unless we have a good reason to believe otherwise. 2-There are no positive reasons for thinking that mystical experiences aren't veridical. 3-So, it is reasonable to believe that mystical experiences are veridical. |
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Term
| The analogy with sense perception |
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Definition
| We can see/hear others around us to know they exist. Broad is generalizing this to relate to all experiences which is what makes it a poor analogy. |
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Term
| (Pascal) Wagering on God means |
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Definition
| Belief in God, together with centering your life in God |
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Term
| Factors in determining a good bet |
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Definition
| 1-The probability of winning. 2-The payoff. 3-The cost of making the bet. |
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Term
| Decision matrix for Pascal's wager |
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Definition
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Term
| Answer to: It is better to suspend judgment (Pascal) |
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Definition
| You can't avoid choosing. Suspending judgment about God is betting against God. |
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Term
| Answer to: Belief is not voluntary (Pascal) |
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Definition
| Acting as if you believe will eventually turn you into a believer |
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Term
| Answer to: The cost of the wager is too great (Pascal) |
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Definition
| All you will be giving up are sinful desires. You will ultimately gain in this life (love, friendship, etc) |
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Term
| How do we know the payoffs are what Pascal says they are? |
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Definition
| Payoffs depend on religious system you appeal to |
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Term
| Things Pascal could still be right about |
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Definition
| 1-Evidence may be inconclusive. 2-You have to bet your life on something. 3-Risk is unavoidable. 4-Our deepest loves, fears, and longings make a difference to what we can believe. 5-Living as if you believe can make a difference |
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Term
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Definition
| It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. |
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Term
| Clifford's Analysis of the Irresponsible Ship Owner |
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Definition
| He first went wrong when he formed the unwarranted belief that Divine Providence would ensure the safety of the ship |
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Term
| Clifford's response to the claim that it's wrong to hold a belief w/o sufficient evidence only if you act on that belief |
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Definition
| 1-You're less likely to investigate the issue properly if you are already committed to a view of the case. 2-To believe is to have at least some tendency to act |
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Term
| Clifford's response to the claim that some beliefs held w/o sufficient evidence are private & harmless |
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Definition
| Belief is never a purely private matter. There are always implications for other people. |
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Term
| William James' 2 intellectual duties |
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Definition
| 1-Believe the truth. 2-Avoid error. |
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Term
| Difference b/een Clifford & James regarding such duties |
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Definition
| Clifford-it's always more important to avoid error. James-in some cases it is right to risk error in order to satisfy duty #1 |
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Term
| 2 conditions when it is OK to believe something w/o sufficient evidence (James) |
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Definition
| 1-The issue cannot be decided on purely intellectual grounds. 2-We are confronted with a genuine option (one that is lived, forced, and momentous) |
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Term
| Argument from Divine Hiddenness |
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Definition
| Why isn't there more (or better) evidence of God's existence? |
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Term
| Answers to Divine Hiddenness argument |
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Definition
| 1-If God exists, then He must want everyone to know that he exists. 2-If God exists, He is able to let everyone know that he exists. 3-Not everyone knows that God exists. 4-In light of 1 & 2, the most likely explanation of 3 is that God does not exist. |
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