‘The Allegory of The Cave’ by Plato: Summary and Meaning

Allegory of the Cave

The ‘Allegory Of The Cave’ is a theory put forward by Plato, concerning human perception. Plato claimed that knowledge gained through the senses is no more than opinion and that, in order to have real knowledge, we must gain it through philosophical reasoning. ‘The Allegory of the Cave’ by Plato  In the Allegory of the … Read more

Branches of Philosophy

We all know what philosophy is by definition; it’s a set of ideas that undergird a society or way of life. In the case of contemporary Western society, it might be liberalism, capitalism, feminism, etc. However, few people ever ponder over the question: “What are the branches of philosophy?” But that’s not to say there … Read more

Introduction to World Religions

Welcome to my introduction to world religions. If you are moving forward with Religious Studies or Philosophy of Religion at A-Level or university, having a basic understanding to the 6 main world religions is essential. Judaism Judaism was the first to teach the idea of monotheism. They believe in one G-d who not only created … Read more

Hume’s objections to the Teleological Argument for God

David Hume Objections to the teleological argument

Hume remains the key critique of the design argument or teleological argument for God. His critique of the design argument can be summarised in the following points… Hume’s objections to the Teleological Argument for God a) The disproportion of the parts to the whole. If an intelligent purpose is found within the world, is it … Read more

Teleological Argument for the existence of God

Teleological Argument for Existence of God

The teleological argument for the existence of God (also known as the Design argument) moves from the world which shows evidence of intelligible order to divine intelligence as the source of that order. The idea in some form goes back to the ancient world. Plato, for example, in ancient Greece, argued that the universe does … Read more

Criticism of the Religious Experience Argument – Anthony Flew: God and Philosophy

Happy New year, Philosophers. I know it’s always tough getting back into the swing of studying after a fortnight of Christmas drinks! We are kicking off the new year with a blog on Anthony Flew: God and Philosophy. Antony Flew’s position is summarised in his book God and Philosophy i) There is a crucial ambiguity … Read more

Marxist Theory on Poverty

Introduction to Marxist Theory on Poverty Reasons for Poverty Reasons for poverty and social exclusion can come from a variety of theoretical approaches including anti-racist, postmodern and religious approaches. In this article, I am going to analyse the key sociological perspective of Marxism and the Marxist Theory of poverty based on class. Marxist Theory of … Read more

Tillich: Dynamics of Faith

Tillich wrote many books. A short article by him on the subject of religious language and symbols follows these notes. To help you to understand this article, here is the summary of the six characteristics of symbols which he gave in a book called… The Dynamics of Faith i) Symbols point beyond themselves to something … Read more

Braithwaite – An Empiricists view on the Nature of Religion

The Non-cognitive view Taking up the challenges put down by Flew and earlier by A.J.Ayer, R.B. Braithwaite, a Cambridge professor, delivered a lecture in 1955 which became something of a classic. It was called ‘An Empiricist’s View of the Nature of Religious Belief‘. An Empiricists View of the Nature of Religious Belief In the lecture, … Read more