Arguments for the Existence of God | AQA A-Level Religious Studies (7062)
Arguments for the Existence of God
- 65 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Component 1 Section A: philosophy of religion
- Component 1
The design, ontological and cosmological arguments, and the criticisms of Hume, Gaunilo and Kant.
Sat by everyone as part of Component 1.
Sample questions from Arguments for the Existence of God
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Paley's Watch and the Design Argument
What conclusion does Paley draw from the watch's arrangement of parts?
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Such purposeful arrangement implies an intelligent designer, a watchmaker. -
Paley's Watch and the Design Argument
What conclusion does Paley reach by comparing natural organisms to the watch?
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By analogy with the watch requiring a watchmaker, organisms must also have a designer. -
Hume's Criticisms of Design
What alternative explanations does Hume offer for the apparent order in nature?
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Hume suggests order could result from chance or from matter's own inherent organising principles rather than external design. -
Hume's Criticisms of Design
Why is the design argument not considered a definitive proof of God's existence?
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It offers probabilistic support rather than logical certainty, making it an inductive rather than deductive argument. -
Anselm's Ontological Argument
According to Anselm, which is greater: existence in reality or existence in the understanding alone?
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Existence in reality is greater than existence in the understanding alone. -
Anselm's Ontological Argument
If God existed only in the understanding, what could we then conceive according to Anselm?
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We could conceive of something greater than God, namely, a God that also exists in reality. -
Gaunilo, Kant and Assessing the Ontological Argument
What was Kant's main criticism of the ontological argument?
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Kant argued that existence is not a predicate, it is not a property or perfection that can be added to a concept. -
Gaunilo, Kant and Assessing the Ontological Argument
What is a key strength of the ontological argument if it is valid?
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It provides a logically necessary proof of God's existence that cannot be refuted by empirical evidence.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Paley's Watch and the Design Argument | Recall questions on the kind of argument Paley makes, the watch found on a heath and what its arrangement of parts is taken to show. | 9 |
| Hume's Criticisms of Design | Recall questions on how Paley moves from the watch to God and on Hume's objections to the analogy and to what design can prove about the designer. | 12 |
| Anselm's Ontological Argument | Recall questions on the a priori character of the argument, Anselm's definition of God, the two modes of existence and the reductio ad absurdum from which he concludes that God must exist in reality. | 12 |
| Gaunilo, Kant and Assessing the Ontological Argument | Recall questions on Gaunilo's perfect island and a defender's reply, Kant's claim that existence adds nothing to a concept, and the strengths and weaknesses of the argument beside the design and cosmological arguments. | 9 |
| Aquinas's Third Way | Recall questions on contingent and necessary beings and on why the argument from contingency is a posteriori. | 9 |
| Hume, Russell and Assessing the Cosmological Argument | Recall questions on Hume's attack on a necessary being and the fallacy of composition, Russell's rejection of sufficient reason and his mother analogy, and the argument's strengths, weaknesses and value for faith. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Religious Studies Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 3,683 questions with their answers.