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A level edexcel synoptic implications

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Reply 60
i got the sample essay from school, can't find any online for ayer!
all i've got from the sample essay and the passage is that he doesn't reach a conclusion.. so all in all pretty pointless argument!

the sample essay for a) basically starts with one small summary paragraph on the two first paragraghs of the passage, then it launches into h.p.owen!

it mentions a bit of everysection of donovans passage! so shes written the philosophers main points that are stated in each section like martin buber and bertrand russel!

to be honest, shes not really refered to previous as and a2 knowledge except for mentioning william james in one sentence..'.. said that religious experiences inspire a range of emotions'

hope that helps... belive the sample essay just confuses me more!
Reply 61
Also, the thing with philosophers views is that there are going to be different ones for all the different sections. So is there a particular section you wanna look at? Tbh i dont know enough atm until i revise it tmoro, but i dont mind chatting about it for a bit?
Reply 62
does anyboyd have links for ayers sample essay! really hope he comes up!
Reply 63
So the sample essay does discuss the whole text? Only I thought we had to base our answer on the paragraph alone. This changes stuff...
Reply 64
No i didnt know he was a theist, makes sense though! Yep same here, have just began to re-read Donovan though and parts are coming back to me! He mentions a lot of philosophers in his argument e.g. Owen. Are we just meant to refer to them in more detail or bring completely new ones in?
Reply 65
We are meant to focus on the extract, but bring in ideas from the whole text that may be relevant - not a great deal though so dont worry too much!!
Reply 66
That's what we were told and from the practices ive done it seems to have been ok...
Reply 67
Ok, yeah thats what I thought. Tbh im not gonna change now coz itl just confuse stuff. I say we all just pray that Ayer comes up! Seriously!

As for philosophers, yes we should clarify the ones he uses, but definitely bring in wider knowledge. For instance, the first paragraph can be supported by Dawkins (one example) because of the links to extremism etc.
Reply 68
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QxfuCtPUFL8C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=peter+donovan+theist&source=web&ots=GnX_TUebKM&sig=QcEZtWwsOvwEluAkjkv2HZHV8WE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result

Check out this link, it is the view of Peter Donovan, but think we could use it as a philosopher in the Ayer extract? Anyone agree?
Reply 69
i think we're supposed to focus in detail on the extract, but link it to the rest of the passage

for example donovan first 2 paragraphs ... he states intuitionisim.. so you link that to h.p.owen who also talks about intuitionism! so your bringing the rest of the passage in

but yeah its mostly about the whole passage to be honest and not just the extract!
dya rekon that they'll give us an obvious extract.. ie first page.. or one which is right in the middle?
Reply 70
Also in Owen's 'similarities', you can use Aquinas' argument from analogy to support the idea of 'Just as a human person....so God is....'
Reply 71
Sorry may be sounding thick here but what part does Dawkins relate too? Could you explain a bit more please... thank you!!
Reply 72
Sure. In the very first paragraph Donovan says 'even the most irrational....blinded by prejudice'. This could be related to extremist terrorists. In the 'God Delusion' Dawkins warns of the dangers of fundamental religious beliefs that the believer will not allow to be challenged and he uses the example of the suicide bomber who straps explosives on his back in the name of his God and as a fast track to martyrdom. You can use this example as wider support for what Donovan is saying. It can actually be used in a variety of occasions in the essay...anything about the dangers of intuition and uncertainty.
Reply 73
That's great! Thank you soo much! Also just looked up Aquinas' argument from analogy, would you say this is along the right lines..
Both parties possess the same attribute and the similarity is based on the causal connection between them; the cause communicates itself to the effect. E.g., Hot water causes the vegetables in it to be hot. Being causes being to be. Since God communicates his likeness to his "effects" (the creation), the creation must be like him; i.e., there must be a real similarity. The similarity between Creator and creatures occurs in that God gives characteristics of himself to his creatures.
Thank you for helping here, was getting a bit worried!
Reply 74
marksykid...i HOPE TO GOD they give us a straightforward passage that we have gone over thoroughly...but c'mon...who knows?!!! As i said before, all we can do is pray!

But i really doubt they will give us anything too obscure. Or else lots of schools will just complain, or drop edexcel and move to another board. And they wont want that. Thus, I think they will be kind to us =]

(I myself am deluded!)
Urf you guys seem horribly prepared for this. =(

marksykid
...


Thanks for that mate. Which part of the text was this written on? I'm guessing it was the first 2 paras like the sample question on the edexcel website. If so, how the heck did she manage to bring in all the bits from Owen etc?

I'm guessing someone's asked already, but was this given to you on a sheet or was it taken from the internet? I'd really like to look at it if possible. Don't suppose you have a scanner? :biggrin:

Also a big question for me, how much has she written? Sounds like quite a lot if she's talked about all 8 pages of Donovan's work. I honestly think I'm only going to be able to write about 4 pages of decent work (with maybe 1-2 of desperate waffle). :frown:
Reply 76
Yes yes that is exactly it. If you want to be even more advanced you can quote the Bible in that we are made 'in the image' of God. Thus there must be a *relationship* between the qualities we possess and the qualities God possesses. Well, thats what Aquinas said...
Reply 77
Gary - dont panic!! Seriously you will write more than you think. For example, if you get a passage on religious experience, you should clarify what a R.E is, the types of R.E....etc...all the stuff you did for UNIT 3. So wherever there is something to clarify you just bung down all your knowledge. Im sure you will be able to write plenty.

Just think of it as a jumbled up version of UNIT 3!
Amzzzz
Sure. In the very first paragraph Donovan says 'even the most irrational....blinded by prejudice'. This could be related to extremist terrorists. In the 'God Delusion' Dawkins warns of the dangers of fundamental religious beliefs that the believer will not allow to be challenged and he uses the example of the suicide bomber who straps explosives on his back in the name of his God and as a fast track to martyrdom. You can use this example as wider support for what Donovan is saying. It can actually be used in a variety of occasions in the essay...anything about the dangers of intuition and uncertainty.


Sounds cool to me (though part of me is saying why are we revising this passage when it's the only example we've been given so far). :smile:

Actually when I looked at this part of the text about delusion I thought of Freud, who talked about the oceanic effect, which he said was when people got scared of the big lonely world and invented a god to make them feel loved. Basically it's saying that these people resort to creating an imaginary god in times of trouble which they then claim to be real. Now that I write it though it doesn't seem to fit in so well with what he's saying...

Also a handy quote for you all that should be easy to fit in somewhere - Hebrews 11: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." I don't really get this sentence, as it seems to say at first that faith is only wishful thinking, but then calls it evidence. :confused:
Oh and small point on analogy, talk about David Hume and anthropomorphism for a bit. Comparing intuitively knowing man through his actions and intuitively knowing God through His actions isn't the same, as this would suggest that God is like man, which would limit Him.

Something like that. ^^

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