Preview

Postmodern Trends in Philosophy Suggest a New Vision of God and Morality

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
13630 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Postmodern Trends in Philosophy Suggest a New Vision of God and Morality
CONTENTS
Chapter
INTRODUCTION
1. POSTMODERNISM: AN ANALYSIS
1.1 What is Postmodernism?
1.1.1 Origin of Postmodernism
1.1.2 Modernism Vs Postmodernism
1.1.2.1 Postmodernity Begins where Modernity Ends
1.1.2.2 Postmodernism is a Continuation of Modernism
1.1.3 Differentiating Postmodernism and Postmodernity
1.2 The Historical Development of Postmodernism
1.2.1 Martin Heidegger
1.2.2 Friedrich Nietzsche
1.3 Characteristics of Postmodernism
1.3.1 Shift of Emphasis
1.3.1.1 A Move from Meta-narratives to Mini-narratives
1.3.1.2 A Move to Question the Transparency of Language
1.3.1.3 A Move to Question the Objectivity
1.3.2 Religion in the Postmodern Philosophy
1.4 Challenges Offered by Postmodernism
2. POSTMODERN ETHICS: A NEW VISION OF MORALITY
2.1 A Perusal of Modern Ethics
2.1.1 Universalism and its Discontents
2.1.2 Wittgenstein’s Denial of Ethical Propositions
2.2 Progression to Postmodern Ethics
2.2.1 Virtue Ethics: Focusing on Human Life Rather than Human Rules.
2.2.2 The ‘Will to Power’ of Nietzsche
2.3 Ethics of Postmodern Philosophers
2.3.1 Levinas: “An Ethics before Ethics”
2.3.1.1 A Move from Totalization
2.3.1.2 Recovery of Autonomy of Subjectivity
2.3.1.3 Levinas’ Ethics as a Foundation for Radical Pluralism
2.3.2 Ethics of Jean-Francois Lyotard
2.3.2.1 Demise of Grand Narrative
2.3.2.2 The Differend
2.4 Characteristics of Postmodern Ethics
2.4.1 Postmodern Ethics: An Ethics without Ethical Code
2.4.2 Postmodern Ethics: An Ethics of Relativism
2.5 Postmodern Ethics: A Buddhist Response
2.5.1 Buddhist Ethics as Emotion
2.5.2 Buddhist Ethics on Basis of Motivations
2.5.3 Buddhist Ethics as Naturalistic
3. POSTMODERN THEODICY: A NEW VISION OF GOD
3.1 God in the Philosophical History
3.2.1 Greek Philosophy and Reason
3.2.2 Medieval Philosophy: A

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In William L. Rowe 's paper "The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism" he sets out to accomplish two main goals. The first goal is directed toward theists, while the second attempts to reach the very wellspring of an atheist 's heart. Foremost, Rowe sets out to show that there is "an argument for atheism based on the existence of evil that may rationally justify someone in being an atheist" (335). After he has effectively addressed this first issue he moves on to try and convince the atheist that in light of all the evidence that theists are rationally justified (just as much as the atheist) and therefore that atheists should subscribe to what Rowe calls "friendly atheism."…

    • 1206 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post Modernism, on the other hand, is ‘after modernism’, and in many ways postmodernism constitutes an attack on modernist claims about the existence of truth and value, claims that come from the European enlightenment of the 18th century. In disputing past assumptions postmodernists generally display a preoccupation with the inadequacy of language as a mode of communication. One such famous postmodernist theorist is French philosopher Jacques…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Christopher Hitchens’ New Atheist novel, “God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” written in 2007, highlights everything that is wrong with religion, and how its effects are detrimental to society. Hitchens critiques Christianity, Judaism, and even Hinduism and Buddhism, for their atrocities and blasphemous beliefs and makes a very valid point as to why many individuals have turned away from religion. Though quite persuasive in some cases, other times the novel makes points that seem weak or trivial in regards to the “evilness” of religion. Each chapter of Hitchens’ book emphasizes a certain wrongdoing religion has committed, or how religion has poisoned society.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theology 202 Essay 1

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The question of evil is a common hot button topic among atheists and non-Christians who attempt to disprove Christianity. They argue that an omnipotent and omniscient God cannot exist in a world with so much evil. The argument is used by them to try to prove that Christianity is “internally self-contradictory and thereby to be rejected.” Many claim that a benevolent and caring God would certainly not create evil or allow it to flourish in the world that He created. So, the problem of evil is how to explain that there can be a perfect, all-powerful, and all-loving God that exists in a world with so much moral and natural evil.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, change was always constant, and two different movements that were brought about by this change were the Enlightenment and the Romantic movements. These two different schools of thought had both things in common as well as differing opinions. An example of how this is applied is when the matter of God and religion is discussed. These two different views encompass a lot of similarities with regards to theological matters, but the main difference between the Enlightened and Romantic views of God is that Enlightenment does not put as much focus and emphasis on such matters as Romantic thinking does.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Evaluate the view that religion is an important source of moral values in contemporary societies. (33 marks)…

    • 1507 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    - Immortalization in Greek myths meant “infinite extension of existence, not the infinite projection of moral qualities”…

    • 1931 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Christian Moral Theology engages questions and issues that invite discussion and interpretation of convictions through lenses of theology, using The Bible as one of its chief sources. It involves examination of perspectives through sociology, history, religion, ethics, policy, politics, ecclesiology, ideology, law, culture, and societal expectations and standards. This paper will focus on answering the question if Christians should desire happiness or not, and if they should, what are the reasons for their doing. Furthermore, the paper will include class lectures and course readings.…

    • 2317 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Malloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the World 's Religions. Tradition, Challenge, and Change Fifth Edition. Retrieved from Malloy, M, REL134-World Religious Traditions II website.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brave New World: Religion

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel "Brave New World" civilized society lives in a world of science and…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Morality In Religion

    • 1738 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The definition of religion as taught to me in class is bind or to come together. There are many religions that are practiced worldwide. They have different histories, adherents, Gods, meanings of life, afterlife beliefs, practices, and books containing text that guides them through their spiritual journey. From Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, to Islamism, Judaism, and Rastafarianism, etc., religion offers diverse teachings. But they all have one thing in common, keeping the tradition.…

    • 1738 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The founding fathers believed that morality, knowledge and religion went hand in hand when it came to shaping our country. For example, Thomas Jefferson was a man known to be of moral character, of great knowledge, and a man of God, all of these attributes made him a great leader. The founding fathers felt that this nation could be built on honor, integrity, and freedom because those attributes are what meant something at that time. “Our founders strongly believed in the positive influence Christian principles had upon our nation’s governmental structure and institutions, and the overwhelming majority of them held a world view based on the Bible.” (Beliles, Anderson 2005) The Reverend Billy Graham speaks of what honesty means. “We are honest and trustworthy in all our dealings. People can trust our word, because we refuse to lie or shade the truth.” (Graham 2006).…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Advocates that describe letting someone die as being more moral than killing someone often cite the trolley case as support for their argument, and use modus tollens. Where a trolley is coming down the track towards a group of five unsuspecting individuals, and you are in a position to pull a lever. Pulling the lever switches the tracks to just kill one unsuspecting person. Their argument is that if you pull the lever to switch the track to kill the one individual; then, by deciding who dies, you are morally worse than if you had done nothing. You don’t pull the lever, there for you are not morally worse having done nothing. This uses the form of modus tollens; If p then q, ~p, therefore ~q. Implying that letting an individual die is more…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Morality is defined as the ability to know right from wrong, and good from bad in our society today and also the societies of the past. Morality is influenced by your family, your religion, and your society. We will be looking at Asia, Africa and the Americas and how their morality was affected by family, religion, and the society.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Father of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams, said that to change any age in which we live, "we must simply 'study and practice the exalted virtues of the Christian system.' While the people are virtuous,' he said, "they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader . . . If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great Security." (Contending for the Constitution, Beliles and Anderson, 2005, Providence Foundation).1 The group and caliber of the men, the delegates, who became the signers of the Constitution were extremely well-educated men. Twenty-nine of them were either graduates of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, or other prestigious universities. They were either lawyers, clergyman, and many were both attorneys and either clergy or heavily involved in the church. Some had fought in the War for Independence and about "three quarters of them had already served in the Continental Congress." (Id at 17). These were men for whom the love of God, the honor of country, and rule of law and principles of virtue were of utmost significance. They believed that morality, knowledge, and religion were essential to the formation of the colonies as "free and independent states." These were the tenets upon which they had built their lives, as soldiers, as barristers, as statesmen and clergymen. Descended from heavily Puritan roots, these were not liberal men; they harked back to their Puritanical roots in the way they dressed, acted, talked, and reasoned. Without the moral structure of spiritual law, the Founding Fathers knew that the newfound liberty afforded to Americans in the Constitution would be abused. That is why they repeatedly referenced religion in their letters. In 1776, the year the Declaration of…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays