Philosophy 240: Essay Topics 1

What reason does William Paley give for obeying God’s will?  How do you think Nietzsche would criticize Paley?  With whom do you agree more and why?

Describe in you own words what Tolstoy is trying to say through the metaphor of the dragon and the well.  Are you convinced by Tolstoy’s solution to the problem of death?  Why or why not?

Compare and contrast Plato and Epicurus with respect to the existence of the soul.  Do you—like Plato—believe in an eternal soul?  What reasons (as opposed to faith) do you have for believing so?

Evaluate the ontological argument for the existence of God, especially in relation to the premise that it is greater (or more perfect) to exist than not to exist.  Do you find this argument convincing?  Why or Why not?  What does Kant mean when he states that existence is not a predicate?

What key premise is the basis for the cosmological argument for the existence of God?  What is the evidence for this premise?  In what ways can this premise be disputed?  Do you think the cosmological argument for the existence of God is convincing?  Why or why not?

Give an example of a phenomenon whose complexity seems to indicate some kind of design (e.g. the eye, the solar system).  Now attempt to explain this phenomenon in evolutionary terms (biological or cosmological).  Do you find this evolutionary explanation more or less convincing than the idea that the cosmos was designed by a higher being?  Give reasons!

According to moral arguments for the existence of God, the very fact that we have morality is proof of a higher being.  What do you think of this position?  What other explanations can you think of for the existence of morality?  Do you think absolute moral standards can be upheld without the existence of God?