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Learning Objectives
- Be able to write philosophically on a variety of topics
- Understand the different contexts and criteria for knowledge
- Have an understanding of the relation of philosophy to other disciplines and areas of inquiry
Much of the reading for this chapter engages with questions covered in other chapters and modules from Introduction to Philosophy, including how one can know of something and its existence, how belief is formulated in the first place, and how metaphysics is a possible form of knowledge. Some of the writings are from Christian philosophers, while others are from psychologists studying human beliefs.
Guiding Questions
- What does William James’s statements on hypothesis and belief mean, in layman’s terms? Are these two ideas applicable to all philosophies of religion?
- What does St. Aquinas mean by “gradations” as a means of proving God’s “existence”?
- Work out what William Paley means through his watch example and how one can know an object exists. How does he differentiate between metaphysics and atheism in this regard?
