As you guys might have gathered, the key point on which Plantinga's argument rests is the idea of a basic belief. Recall that a belief is basic if you don't need to rely on other beliefs to justify it. Plantinga thinks that beliefs like 'God is speaking to me' are basic in the same way that 'I see a tree' is basic.
Do you think these examples are analogous? Why or why not?
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ReplyDeleteMy take is that these examples are analogous because they both seem basic enough so that it is not necessary to think about further beliefs to justify them.
ReplyDeleteFor example, there is a tree in front of me and I look at it.
At first glance, my initial reaction would not be me pondering about the chemical composition of the tree such as the H2O molecules it is made of, the amount of sunlight it had to absorb to get to its state, how far the sun's rays had to travel, etc.
As you can see, I CAN draw further beliefs to justify the tree's existence but it is unnecessary. Who thinks about a tree in such a complex manner?
It is a basic belief because when it is observed, it is simply accepted. I do not have to seek further justification to prove that the tree is there because I have already experienced it.
Let's say I am doing some work and my friend Jack calls out my name.
I automatically think to turn around and respond because Jack is talking to me.
Although I CAN, I do NOT think of Jack's vocal cords vibrating, the sound waves travelling out of his mouth into my ears and my brain processing the words he is speaking to me. I simply accept the fact that Jack is speaking to me because it is a basic belief. I do not have to prove that Jack is speaking to me because I have already experienced it.
The same principle applies to God.
One day I hear God call out my name. Therefore I say, "God is speaking to me". I alone experience God and accept that God is speaking to me. I can conclude that God exists and that I need not any proof because I alone have observed God.
Because I have observed/experienced the tree, I can incur that trees exist.
Because I have observed/experienced Jack's voice, I can incur that Jack exists.
Because I have observed/experienced God's voice, I can incur that God exists.
Because Plantinga is endorsing the existence of God I wonder how he responds to those of other religious denominations? Anyone else can easily say things like:
"Buddha is speaking to me"
"Shiva is speaking to me"
and also add that no evidence is needed to prove to you that my god exists because I alone have experienced it.
I don't think these examples are analogous. In order for us to believe that we see a tree, not only the tree needs to appear in front of us, the image of what a tree looks like should also have developed in our minds. In other words, we have this basic belief because at some point in our lives, we have physically exposed to a tree and have experienced it. The key lies on the words "physically experienced". Imagine you were born in moon and had never physically experienced - saw - a tree. One day, someone from the Earth landed on moon and showed you a picture of tree. Would you believe that you see a tree? You wouldn't because you have never experienced what seeing a tree means to you. Moreover, you are not physically experiencing it for the first time. Therefore, you wouldn't believe you see a tree.
ReplyDeleteSince trees are one of the objects that are physical, we are able to experienced by any of our five senses: eyes, ears, nose, month, and skin. God, however, has not been proved that He is 'physical'. Also, no one have physically experienced any interactions with God. When someone claims 'God is speaking to me', does he or she really physically experiencing the 'sound waves' coming into his or her ears?
Robin, I like the way you're going about analyzing the question at issue. The point on which one might press Plantinga relates to the limits of what someone might be justified in holding as a rational belief. So Plantinga considers whether it would be ok for somebody to believe that the Great Pumpkin comes every Halloween. Or take the case of a schizophrenic who might believe they're hearing voices. Do you think Plantinga's response to those kinds of objections is convincing?
ReplyDelete