Assignment Code: MPYE-010/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: MPYE-010

Assignment Name: Philosophy of Religion

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Note:

i) Give answer of all five questions.

ii) All five questions carry equal marks.

iii) The answer of questions no. 1 and 2 should be in about 500 words.

1. Explain and evaluate Ramanuja’s objections against Shankar’s Advaita Vedanta. 20

Ans)

Or

Compare Buddhist and Jain idea of Liberation. 10+10= 20

Ans) Awakening is another name for the Buddhist path (marga) to liberation, which is described in a wide range of ways. [1] The Noble Eightfold Path, one of many summaries provided in the Sutta Pitaka, is the traditional one. Within various Buddhist traditions and theologies, there are numerous additional routes to liberation. Religions have also left the human race with a rich legacy of art and beauty, as well as played a significant role in helping us recognise the inherent dignity of every human being, regardless of race, colour, or sex; Some religious figures, such as Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Mahatma Gandhi, Oscar Romero, and Desmond Tutu, have been true friends to liberation movements.

After all is said and done, it would seem that institutionalising or organising religion in some way is unavoidable - unless we are quite prepared to accept the repercussions of reducing it to some sort of personal, abstract, and "spiritual" preoccupation. In fact, there are at least three key reasons why some form of religious organisation should not only be tolerated as inevitable but even accepted as such.

The philosophical tradition associated with Jainism dates back to ancient India. The dualistic metaphysics of Jain philosophy, which maintains that there are two distinct categories of existence—the living, conscious, or sentient being (jiva) and the non-living or material world—is one of its main characteristics (ajiva).

Numerous philosophical subjects, including epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, cosmology, and soteriology, are covered in Jain texts. Understanding the nature of living things, how they are bound by karma (which are viewed as minute material particles), and how living things can be freed (moksha) from the cycle of reincarnation are the main concerns of Jain thought. The Jain rejection of a Creator deity and belief in an endlessly cyclical universe are also noteworthy.

According to the Jain, Jain philosophy is timeless and has been transmitted on numerous occasions by great enlightened tirthankaras in the distant past ("ford-makers"). The evolution of Jain thought can be traced back to a few significant individuals in ancient India, primarily Mahavira (c. 5th century BCE, a contemporary of the Buddha), and perhaps Parshvanatha (c. 8th or 7th century BCE, though this is disputed).

Paul Dundas asserts that throughout the long history of the Jain philosophy, there hasn't been a significant radical doctrinal shift. This is largely due to Umaswati's Tattvrthastra's influence, which has persisted as the main, authoritative philosophical text among all Jains.

The most well-known individuals in the world were Mahatma Buddha, Mahavira, and Maskasi Gosalaputra, who introduced Buddhism, Jainism, and the Ajivika-sects, respectively, as newly reformed religions based on religious tolerance. Both Buddha and Mahvir Jaina made a significant effort to teach, preach, and live by religious tolerance and nonviolence. Buddha emphasised the "Middle path" in his eight-fold path philosophy to emphasise peaceful coexistence between various sects. Mahavira Jaina believed in a philosophy of religious tolerance while also adhering to strict austerity.

2. Elucidate the idea of religious experience, in detail? 20

Ans) Many different scholars have defined religious experience in different ways, each emphasising a different aspect. According to Norman Habel, religious experiences are unusual types of encounters in which a follower of a particular religion develops a connection to or awareness of the sacred within the context of that tradition. These could be immediate or mediated (through rituals, special people, religious communities, totemic objects, nature, etc). (Without any intervening agency) Understanding and re-examining religious experiences from different traditions is crucial in the modern world, where religions are becoming more rigid and institutionalised and fundamentalism and orthodoxy are on the rise. Religious experiences are crucial because they support religious convictions (for instance, they are used to justify the existence of God). From a philosophical standpoint, it is also necessary to understand the significance, the elements, and the knowledge ingrained in religious experiences. This module serves as an aid and an introduction to such a discovery process.

Why do people have relationships with things that are considered sacred? There are numerous theories that address this issue. According to Emile Durkheim, people seek religious experiences because they feel uncertain and powerless, and traumatic and dramatic events show them that they have little control over these things (natural happenings). This perspective seems to be biased. It's a stretch to claim that cosmic or natural phenomena exist solely to represent social dominance. Van der Leeuw asserts that in addition to being unusual in nature, "a manifestation of immutably ordered regularity" can also reveal power—the power hidden behind everyday objects, "the power of the sacred world above."

In his book The Ancient City, N.D. Fustel de Coulanges asserts that religion derives from both internal and external sources. Religion expresses the subjective aspects of human experience, and internal sources refer to psychological projections of people. The reactions to natural forces are referred to as external factors. Religion is concerned with the power(s) involved in these objective and subjective aspects of reality as experienced by humans. It looks for a more profound level of existence or reality.

According to American anthropologist Edward Sapir, people seek religion and religious experiences because they are constantly looking for spiritual peace outside of the mundane, confusing, and perils of everyday life. Deep realisation that we are ultimately helpless in this world leads one to associate themselves with the unknowable in order to find some mystical security. A religious experience and religion result from this. There is religion when this reaction to the supreme sacredness is institutionalised in thought, practise, and structure. Paul Tillich claims that people come into contact with the holy, or something higher than themselves. They become more receptive to the sacred through this "something beyond." The Ultimacy encounter is what makes a religious experience central.

We frequently encounter paradoxes in our interactions with others. We experience belonging to the society and feeling cut off from it, as well as power and dependence. Such paradoxical encounters push us to look beyond interpersonal connections. The practise of religion is one such instance of "looking beyond." Any religion's central tenet is its religious experiences. They serve as an example and an inspiration. Religious experiences frequently inspire people or communities to move forward (for example, the Pentecostal experience for Jesus' followers or the Buddha experience). Religious Experience is closely guarded and held in high regard within the religious tradition because it serves as the core or epicentre of a religion. It is a standard to aspire to.

Or

What are the Ontological and causal arguments to prove the existence of God? What are the failures of Ontological and Causal arguments in proving the existence of God according to Kantian Perspective? 20

Ans)

3. Answer any two questions in about 250 words each. 2*10= 20

a) Compare the English school and the French school of materialism. 10

Ans) According to Karl Marx, Great Britain is the mother of all modern Materialism and the father of Materialism. Marx referred to Bacon as the "real progenitor of English Materialism" and acknowledged him as the leading thinker of British Materialism. According to Bacon, physics, which is founded on sense perception, is the main element of natural philosophy, which he views as the only genuine philosophy. The "Rational Method" of investigation for sense perception uses five main forms: induction, analysis, comparison, observation, and experiment. However, Hobbes, who systematised Bacon's ideas, addressed some of the inconsistencies that Bacon's use of theology in developing his case for materialism had caused.

Marx argued that French Materialism gave English Materialism a societal component. The French school was an uprising against the theological and metaphysical speculative philosophy of the 17th century. Three schools of thought influenced the school: Descartes's physics, English Materialism, especially Locke's epistemology, and Pierre Bayle's Materialism, which opposed the 17th-century metaphysics of Descartes, Spinoza, Malebranche, and Leibniz. This institution can be further divided into mechanistic and socialistic subtypes.

While the latter grew out of Locke's epistemology, the former was influenced by Descartes' physics. They grew naturally, making it difficult to distinguish between them. Le Roy, a physician who was influenced by Descartes' physics, which had endowed matter with self-creative power and thought mechanical motion to be its manifestation, founded the mechanistic school. He declared that thoughts were mechanical motions, and that the soul was modus of the body. This progression was continued by another doctor, La Mettrie, and culminated in Cabanis, who in his work, Rapport du physique et du moral de l'homme, perfected Cartesian Materialism. This institution gradually merged with French natural science.

b) What are the main arguments of St. Augustine to prove the existence of God? 10

Ans)

c) Compare St. Augustine’s and John Hick’s theodicy. 10

Ans)

d) Write a note on the problem of evil. 10

Ans) The task of the philosopher is to determine whether the facts of suffering, which elicit a variety of strong religious reactions involving belief, emotion, and motivation, also serve as the foundation for a convincing argument from evil to the nonexistence of God—an argument that should persuade the thoughtful and reasonable person who gives it careful thought. Like literature, philosophy is preoccupied with the issue of evil, including its causes, characteristics, and effects. Philosophers have attempted to define evil, evaluate the usefulness of the moralistic language of evil, and inquire as to what the presence of evil reveals about human nature. Religious thinkers have pondered such issues as how an all-powerful and compassionate God can allow evil and unjustifiable suffering, whether evil is comprehensible and serves some kind of rational purpose or is completely beyond comprehension, and whether evil is unsolvable or capable of being eradicated or overcame. At least among intellectuals, secular explanations of evil that link evil to psychological or environmental flaws tended to replace religious and philosophical ones in the twentieth century. Psychologists and sociologists have attributed evil to a variety of causes, including mental illness, childhood abuse, psychological desensitisation, and dysfunctional patterns of development. They have also attributed it to social, demographic, economic, and political stresses, as well as frustrations, inequalities, and political dislocations, as well as flawed ideologies and misplaced idealism. A common theme in many historical accounts of evil is contingency. Understanding the social, economic, cultural, and political contexts and ideologies that malform societies and promote collective evil must be a major objective of moral history of evil. The causes of historical evils have ranged from racial and religious intolerance, challenging economic conditions, the unbridled functioning of the free market, and utopian and messianic ideas.

4. Answer any four questions in about 150 words each. 4*5= 20

a) Differentiate Religion, Philosophy of religion and Theology. 5

Ans)

b) Write a note on the dialectic materialism. 5

Ans) In the history of ideas, materialism is one of the most intriguing inquiries. The purpose of this unit is to give a thorough introduction to the history and philosophy of various materialist schools and how they led to Marxian materialism, also known as Dialectical Materialism. The writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels represent the height of the materialist worldview. The evolution of materialist philosophy from antiquity to Marx is discussed in this unit. (Whenever the terms Marx or Marxian are used, they also imply the contributions of Engels, who had an inconsequential impact on the development of Dialectical Materialism. Ludwig Feuerbach set the stage for Marxian Materialism while Engels pushed for their philosophy to be named after Marx, thus the name Marxian. A review of these institutions would give rise to a logical theory about how modern materialism developed. Since Marx and Engels had studied the writings of their forebears in order to accept or reject their arguments for materialism, it also tells the storey of how Dialectical Materialism developed over time.

c) Critically evaluate the understanding of ‘History’ in Marx’s Philosophy 5

Ans)

d) What is charismatic experience? How does Martin Buber characterize charisma? 5

Ans) The term "charismata" refers to gifts or favours bestowed by God on particular people. This is regarded as being upon the founders, prophets, leaders, and heroes of religions or religious movements in theistic religions. For instance, miracles, future prophecy, ecstatic prayer for healing, exorcism, etc. are thought to be gifts given to a select few by God. This is what Christians refer to as "spiritual gifts." The New Testament of the Bible contains several examples of this kind of religious experience, including tongues-speaking, prophecy, revelatory dreams, knowing other people's thoughts, healing abilities, miracles, etc. These gifts are given to holy men and women. The prophets and saints of Judeo-Christian tradition, walis of mainstream Islam, sheiks and pirs of Sufi Islam, gurus, sadhus, and acharyas of Hinduism are all examples of them. Monks or other holy people also have charismatic experiences in non-theistic religions like Buddhism. These are Dhamma-given blessings that should only be applied for the benefit of humanity's welfare, not for selfish gain.

e) Write a short note on the idea of religious language. 5

Ans) Why should one research the characteristics of religious language? What makes religious language unique? Or are common language and religious language synonymous? The debate in religious terms essentially concerns one fundamental question regarding what we can say about God. In the broadest sense, discussions of religious language centre on the nature and purpose of the language used in religious literature. The discussion is conducted not only according to western tradition but also according to Indian and other traditions. Regarding their concerns regarding the nature of religious language, I will try to concentrate on Indian and western traditions. We also find it challenging to understand how specific descriptions can be ascribed to God in the context of religious language discussion for those types of descriptions of God that appear to not have any problems with the meaning at all.

f) What is free-will? Write a note on the free-will argument. 5

Ans) Alvin Plantinga (God, Freedom and Evil, 1974), a contemporary supporter of Augustine's viewpoint, asserted that it would have been illogical for God to have created a being who could only have carried out good deeds. A significant contribution to current discussions of the issue of evil is Plantinga's perspective on the free will defence. As he explains, the theological presumptions that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good are added to the two philosophical claims that support the free will defence. Humans are endowed with free will, which they should exercise to further their good deeds. The so-called free-will argument, which is very similar to Augustine's argument and is perhaps the most popular theodicy, goes something like this:

1. Evil is the result of human error

2. Human error results from free-will (the ability to do wrong)

3. If we didn’t have free-we will be robots

4. God prefers a world of free agents to a world of robots

5. Evil is therefore an unfortunate - although not unavoidable outcome - of free-will

6. For God to intervene would be to go take away our free-will

7. Therefore, God is neither responsible for evil nor guilty of neglect for not intervening

Later, Anthony Flew and J.L. Mackie criticised this theory, contending that God could have chosen to create "good robots" with free will instead.

5. Write a short note on any five in about 100 words. 5*4= 20

a) Suleh-Kul 4

Ans)

b) Kalam Argument 4

Ans) The cosmological argument for the existence of God is modernised in the Kalam cosmological argument. It is named after the Kalam, a form of mediaeval Islamic scholasticism that gave rise to many of its central concepts. The argument was revived primarily as a result of William Lane Craig's The Kalam Cosmological Argument (1979), among other writings. The philosophical view of causation was a topic of David Hume's an Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and the metaphysical arguments for a beginning of the universe were a topic of Kant's first antinomy. Various philosophers discussed the premises surrounding causation and the beginning of the universe in the Kalam cosmological argument. Craig credits the 11th-century Persian Muslim scholastic philosopher Al-Ghazali with the idea that actual infinities and a temporally past-infinite universe are metaphysically impossible.

c) Neurotheology 4

Ans) The study of correlations between neural phenomena and people's individual spiritual experiences—also referred to as spiritual neuroscience—and the development of theories to explain these correlations is known as neurotheology. "Science's attempt to explain religion within the physical aspect of the brain using rational thought" is the definition of neurotheology. Neurotheology proponents, including Indians Jacob Abraham and Augustine Pamplany, contend that the subjective experiences that are typically classified as spiritual or religious have a neurological and evolutionary basis. Numerous popular science books have used the topic as their starting point (See for Further Reading).

Using the galvanic skin response, which correlates with emotional arousal, Indian-born Vilayanur S. Ramachandran investigated the neural basis of the hyper religiosity seen in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in order to ascertain whether the hyper religiosity was due to a generalised heightened emotional state or was particular to religious stimuli.

d) Numinous 4

Ans)

e) Process Theodicy 4

Ans) Process philosophy holds that reality is constantly evolving and changing. This view holds that no opinion about how the world is can ever be proven to be accurate. According to process theology, God is still evolving, and his reality is not set in stone. According to this viewpoint, God is "dipolar," that is, He has two "poles," a mental and a physical one. The material world itself, which functions essentially as God's "body," is the physical pole. God is partially distinct and partially enmeshed in the world as a result of this relationship, just like we are in our physical bodies. As a result, God experiences all suffering in creation along with all other beings, and creation is seen as a collaborative effort between God and all other beings.

f) Ritual 4

Ans) Sacraments, sacred ceremonies, or rituals are one of the religious forms or structures that express the extrinsic nature of religions. Before continuing, it would be helpful to make a few minor distinctions. Sacraments are religious rituals or ceremonies that are frequently used in Christianity. These ceremonies are carefully thought out, formally approved, and led by ordained and trained ministers. Sacramentals are the more basic rituals and practises (such as praying the rosary or blessing ourselves with holy water). "A sign of the sacred" is the meaning of the Latin word sacramentum. Sacred ceremonies that invoke and evoke energies to empower life are also known as rituals. These are comparable to sacraments, but a ritual can be any sacred ceremony, and some rituals can even be carried out by regular believers.

g) The Buddha Experience 4

Ans) Gautama Buddha came from an Indian noble family. Due to his upbringing and lack of exposure to life's harsh realities, such as pain and suffering, he had many unanswered questions. He joined several others who were also on their spiritual journey in their search for the appropriate and most satisfying solutions. He studied the Vedas and the Upanishads in great detail and engaged in strict asceticism. But even after six years, he was unable to come up with any solutions. Then, with a resolve to find the solutions to his questions, he sat in intense meditation. He attained enlightenment throughout these meditations. His unique religious encounter left a profoundly lasting impression on both him and the larger society.

h) Contribution of St. Anselm in the development of philosophy of language 4

Ans)