Homework questions- Philosophy unit

UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES
PHILOSOPHY QUESTIONS


P H I L O S O P H Y 2. 1

1. How do some Christians use Colossians 2:8 to support their belief that faith does not need to be defended on philosophical grounds? What is wrong with this interpretation?

2. What led former atheist C.E.M. Joad to embrace the Christian view of the universe?

3. What does “faith precedes reason” mean? How does Edward T. Ramsdell explain this idea?

4. What is Christianity’s basis for special revelation?

5. What is the Christian view of the relationship between the natural and the supernatural? How does this view differ from that of the naturalist?

P H I L O S O P H Y 2. 2

6. Which system of philosophy influenced Islamic philosophers? What kind of problem does this
create for the Islamic view of God?

7. Which argument did Muslims develop for the existence of God?

8. Are Muslims naturalists or supernaturalists? Why? Do Muslims believe in life after death?

9. Do Muslims believe in miracles? Does the fact that Muhammad did not perform any miracles
cause a problem for Muslims?

10. How do Muslims interpret Deuteronomy 18:15–18 and John 14:16? How do Christians usually interpret these verses?

P H I L O S O P H Y 2. 3

11. What is the essence of naturalism?

12. How did Roy Wood Sellars regard the Christian worldview? In his opinion, what has rendered Christianity obsolete?

13. What is the cosmology of the Secular Humanist?

14. For the naturalist, what is the ultimate means of perception?

15. How does the naturalist’s monistic view of the mind and body differ from the Christian’s
dualistic view? What are two troubling implications of a naturalistic answer to the “mind-body”
question?


P H I L O S O P H Y 2. 4

16. How does Lenin describe matter?

17. What is the Marxist view of truth and knowledge (epistemology)?

18. What is the Marxist dialectic and how does it work?

19. What is the Marxist metaphysical belief?

20. How does Marxism address the mind-body question? What is the problem with their
explanation?

P H I L O S O P H Y 2. 5

21. Are Cosmic Humanists in agreement with the tenets of naturalism?

22. What is the Cosmic Humanist view of philosophy?

23. How do Cosmic Humanists understand truth? Where does the Cosmic Humanist look to find
truth?

24. Why do different Cosmic Humanist thinkers express different interpretations of reality?

25. According to Cosmic Humanism, what is the only substance that actually exists?

P H I L O S O P H Y 2. 6

26. Why is the statement “God so loved the world” nonsensical to a Postmodernist?

27. What is literary deconstruction? What does this theory mean for the Bible?

28. What is the “correspondence theory” of truth? Why do Postmodernists reject this theory?

29. What is the primary idea behind “word play?”

30. What four points does Kevin J. Vanhoozer use to summarize Postmodern philosophy?