← Religious, Moral & Philosophical Studies syllabus

ScotlandReligious, Moral & Philosophical Studies

Philosophy of Religion

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Does the existence of the universe show that God must exist as its first cause?

The cosmological argument: the argument from causation and contingency (Aquinas's first three Ways, the Kalam version), and the main criticisms from Hume and Russell.
The cosmological argument for God in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Philosophy of Religion. Covers the argument from causation and contingency (Aquinas's Ways and the Kalam version), the first cause and necessary being, and criticisms from Hume and Russell, with how to evaluate it.
14 min answer →

What is the question of the existence of God, and how do philosophers argue for and against it?

The existence of God: theism, atheism and agnosticism, the burden of proof, and the distinction between a priori and a posteriori arguments that frames the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments.
How the existence of God is debated in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Philosophy of Religion. Covers theism, atheism and agnosticism, the burden of proof, and the distinction between a priori and a posteriori arguments that frames the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments.
13 min answer →

Can the existence of God be proved from the very idea of God alone?

The ontological argument: Anselm's a priori argument from the concept of the greatest possible being, Descartes's version, and the criticisms from Gaunilo and Kant (existence is not a predicate).
The ontological argument for God in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Philosophy of Religion. Covers Anselm's a priori argument from the idea of the greatest possible being, Descartes's version, and the criticisms from Gaunilo's island and Kant's claim that existence is not a predicate, with how to evaluate it.
14 min answer →

Does the existence of evil and suffering count against the existence of an all-good, all-powerful God?

The problem of evil and suffering: the logical and evidential problems, moral and natural evil, and the main theodicies (free will, the Augustinian and Irenaean responses) with their evaluation.
The problem of evil in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Philosophy of Religion. Covers the logical and evidential problems, moral and natural evil, the inconsistent triad, and the main theodicies (the free will defence, the Augustinian and Irenaean responses), with how to evaluate them.
14 min answer →

Does the order and apparent design of the universe show that it must have a designer?

The teleological (design) argument: Paley's watchmaker and the argument from order and purpose, the fine-tuning version, and criticisms from Hume and from evolution by natural selection.
The teleological or design argument for God in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Philosophy of Religion. Covers Paley's watchmaker analogy, the argument from order and purpose, the fine-tuning version, and criticisms from Hume and from Darwinian evolution, with how to evaluate it.
14 min answer →