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A-level RS - Philosophy (Eduqas/WJEC) > 2F Atheism > Flashcards

Flashcards in 2F Atheism Deck (31)
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1
Q

Who (it is said) was the first atheist?

A

Diagoras of Melos

2
Q

In Ancient Greek, what doe ‘Atheistic’ mean?

A

‘godless’ or ‘disrespecting the local Gods’

3
Q

What is the biblical mention of atheism?

A

Ephesians 2:12 - ‘atheoi’, ‘without God’

4
Q

When was the term ‘atheist’ coined and what did it mean?

A
  • The Renaissance

* It was an insult as it implied a lack of moral restraint

5
Q

How did the Age of Enlightenment affect atheism?

A
  • It encouraged people to think for themselves

* Appealed to both human reason and scientific methods to find truth

6
Q

How did increased travel/communications give credence to atheism?

A
  • Aware of other religions and the contradictions

* Argued that the religion you follow is dependent on where you are born and has little to do with truth

7
Q

How did the French Revolution affect atheism?

A

The church was seen as an outmoded institution that propped up the monarchy

8
Q

Who/when was the last person to be jailed in the UK for atheism?

A
  • George Holyoake

* 1842

9
Q

Who/when was the first openly atheist MP?

A
  • Charles Bradlaugh

* 1886

10
Q

What is negative (weak) atheism?

A
  • The atheist does not make the claim that God does not exist
  • Theist makes the assertion ∴ bears burden of prood
  • Does not believe, but does not assert as true that no deities exist
11
Q

What is positive (strong) atheism?

A

Both the atheist and theist give reasons to defend belief

12
Q

What is protest atheism?

A

A revolt against God on moral grounds

13
Q

What is New Atheism (antitheism)?

A

Religion = a threat to survival of human race

14
Q

What is strong agnosticism?

A
  • Impossible to know whether God exists as our knowledge is limited
  • Evidence is never possible
15
Q

What is weak agnosticism?

A
  • Existence = currently unknown but not necessarily unknowable
  • Judgement must be withheld until evidence becomes available
  • The common form of agnosticism, indicating a suspension of a decision
16
Q

What triggered New Atheism?

A
  • 9/11

* Religion is seen as dangerous/deluded/harmful

17
Q

Who are ‘The Four Horsemen (of the Non-Apocalypse)’ and what books did they write?

A
  • Sam Harris (first person to express the view): ‘The End of Faith’
  • Richard Dawkins: ‘The God Delusion’
  • Daniel Dennet: ‘Breaking the Spell’
  • Christopher Hitchens: ‘God is Not Great’
18
Q

Who created the term ‘New Atheism’?

A
  • Gary Wolf

* Wrote an article for ‘Wired’ about Harris, Dawkins and Dennet

19
Q

Explain the New Atheism criticism: Non-thinking.

A
  • Faith, by nature, = opposed to trust, blind trust
  • Faith + r. = irrational
  • Faith = intellectually irresponsible
  • Adults force belief on children as they are taught to believe unquestioningly
  • Leads to fanaticism (9/11 hijackers believed in going to paradise) ∴ r. = to blame, not the extremists
20
Q

Give a quote from Dawkins on non-thinking.

A

“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence…Faith is not allowed to justify itself by argument.”

21
Q

Explain the New Atheism criticism: Infantile worldview.

A
  • R. view of reality = deficient, impoverished
  • Science offers a bold, brilliant vision
  • New Atheism rejects idea of supernatural as it fails to do justice to the grandeur of the world
22
Q

Give a quote from Dawkins on the infantile worldview.

A

The universe presented by organised r. = “extremely limited”

23
Q

Explain the New Atheism criticism: Impedes scientific progress.

A
  • Sci. theories = based on evi. = rational
  • Religion turns away from evi. ∴ = irrational
  • Blind faith/r. fundamentalism subvert science
  • Blind faith in truth of holy book = axiomatic for believers ∴ if evi. contradicts book, evi. is wrong
  • When a science book is wrong, it is corrected; not the case with holy books
  • R. saps intellect and ruins sci. education
  • R. furthers the idea that unquestioning faith is a virtue.
24
Q

Give a quote from Dawkins on impeding scientific progress.

A

“Cowardly…to say that something you don’t understand is to do with a supernatural occurrence.”

25
Q

Explain the response to religion and science not being compatible.

A
  • John Polkinghorne: different levels of explanation are needed to provide a rich whole
  • Alister McGrath: Both show good reasons for thinking something is right without confirmation. Dawkins fails to make the distinction between “total absence of supporting evidence” and “absence of totally supporting evidence.”
  • R. + sci. complement rather than contradict. E.g. Big Bang could have been both.
26
Q

Explain the response to the lack of depth.

A

Arguments from New Atheism lack substance - akin to a tabloid headline (sound convincing, lack substance)

27
Q

Explain McGrath’s challenge concerning definition.

A

New Atheism (antitheism) defines itself for what it is against, rather than what it is for

28
Q

Explain the response of there being no new ideas.

A
  • The ideas are neither ‘new’ nor part of a ‘movement’
  • It is simply the publishing of atheist material by well-known atheists
  • Only thing giving it any strength was the fact that a number of well-known people were connecting atheist ideas to terrorist attacks
29
Q

Explain the response of New Atheism attacking religion.

A
  • It stirs r. hatred, esp. towards Islam.
  • Studies have shown a direct connection between rise in New Atheism and Islamaphobia
  • R. = damaging for society; r.’s key teachings are about positive changes to society
  • Cardinal William Levanda: New Atheism misrepresents the doctrines of the church + is the main form of discrimination against Christians
30
Q

Explain the increase in fundamental activity.

A
  • Fundamentalism = unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs
  • Upsurge in Islamic + Christian fundamentalism
31
Q

What has the rise of New Atheism led to?

A
  • An increase in r. apologists affirming the reasonableness of the Christian faith
  • Much public discussion