OCR A2 Religious Studies - Thursday 6th June 2013

OP

Original post by lordmackery

Is it just me that finds religious experience fascinating? I mean, I know a lot of it is made up bull, but I really enjoy the section :smile:

Who else has the OCR-Heinemann textbook?

Religious experience is alright.. It's very straight forward to learn. Topic wise my *favourite to worst* is
Life After Death
Miracles
Attributes of God
Religious Experience
Religious Language

Lanaguage is dull in my opinion!

Reply 22

JordanC55

16

Original post by Divergent

Yay another New Testament person!
I absolutely detest it also. I'm literally just going to learn the bible passages and hope I can magically get a B. I got a B on the AS paper in June (no idea how...). I don't go to a Catholic School, but we did Mark's Gospel for GCSE, so they figured it would be "easy" for us at AS knowing a lot of the passages... I find it extremely difficult! Especially as there is literally no textbook at all!

I'm dreading June as well :frown:

I'd like an A overall (a B would be okay.. but would mean I need an A in chemistry, which probably won't happen).

I think the coke incident is definately a cause for the C! I'm surprised you was allowed it in the exam room! :P

When do you think you'll start revision for NT? x

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do! I only need a B in it for Uni, ideally I'll get an A. I'm thinking of doing the same, I've never once bothered to actually read the gospel yet; I know all the parables now though! No I only did Religious because I got a B as GCSE lol so it was (sadly) one of my strongest subjects. I think my main issue is I hate my NT teacher; he's a right Neanderthal. Yeah, that's another thing I struggle with is the lack of a textbook...

ahhhhh you'll be fine haha! Keep the faith! :biggrin:

Yeah I know, it was a nightmare! And I don't think I was allowed; but no one said anything! I just stood there getting saturated in coke and watching as it coated the examiner in front of me.... Honestly it was a nightmare, it was funny though as the teacher took me outside and just kept saying "forget about it, keep focused! It's your future here." Lol. The main problem was I'd had no sleep the night before as I had stayed up all night revising...

i honestly don't know, probz in a couple of weeks; you? X

Reply 23

I feel as though I've only just learnt the Philosophy side, nevermind revising it...

Reply 24

OP

I'm trying to cover Hick and his replica theory, Dawkins on the soul and maybe Gilbert Ryle on the soul today.

Weird question but have you guys been taught the diffences in materialism (e.g hard materialists and soft materialists?)
I'm wondering whether or not we might need to know the difference. I'd much rather just learn about straight materialism rather than specialising for each scholar.?

Reply 25

oconnell95

Hey people,

I'm doing Philosophy of religion and Religious Ethics. Just started making notes on Tuesday and I have just finished today Religious Language! 14 pages of written notes for just Religious Language?! Such a killer of a subject and I'm using the 'Understanding Philosophy of Religion' textbook by Libby Ahluwalia. Just looking at the Religious Experience topic in the book, and it mentions 'A modern study of religious experience' by David Hay and 'Swinburne's Principles of Credulity and Testimony' Do we need to know these? I looked at the OCR specification and it mentions nothing on those :s-smilie:

Baffled indeed /:

Btw, I got in AS level 89/100 in Philosophy (A) and 94/100 in Ethics 84/100 (A) So I need two mid B's apparently to get an A overall which is what I need for the Uni I want to go to!

Reply 26

Original post by Divergent

I'm trying to cover Hick and his replica theory, Dawkins on the soul and maybe Gilbert Ryle on the soul today.

Weird question but have you guys been taught the diffences in materialism (e.g hard materialists and soft materialists?)
I'm wondering whether or not we might need to know the difference. I'd much rather just learn about straight materialism rather than specialising for each scholar.?

I think it's helpful to know the differences, it'll seem more impressive in an answer, it'll show you've done wider reading and have a better connection with the topic. It's also interesting I think :wink:

worth your while

Reply 27

OP

Original post by oconnell95

Hey people,

I'm doing Philosophy of religion and Religious Ethics. Just started making notes on Tuesday and I have just finished today Religious Language! 14 pages of written notes for just Religious Language?! Such a killer of a subject and I'm using the 'Understanding Philosophy of Religion' textbook by Libby Ahluwalia. Just looking at the Religious Experience topic in the book, and it mentions 'A modern study of religious experience' by David Hay and 'Swinburne's Principles of Credulity and Testimony' Do we need to know these? I looked at the OCR specification and it mentions nothing on those :s-smilie:

Baffled indeed /:

Btw, I got in AS level 89/100 in Philosophy (A) and 94/100 in Ethics 84/100 (A) So I need two mid B's apparently to get an A overall which is what I need for the Uni I want to go to!

Actually you need 2 high C's to get an A overall. Around 68/69 on each paper. I need 2 mid/high B's to get an A, and got slightly less UMS total than you, that's how I know :smile:

Reply 28

OP

Original post by lordmackery

I think it's helpful to know the differences, it'll seem more impressive in an answer, it'll show you've done wider reading and have a better connection with the topic. It's also interesting I think :wink:

worth your while

Cool. Thanks. I've put it all in my notes.

Another weird question - reading all the textbooks, my teachers handwritten 25 page booklet on Dawkins.. I thought I'd learnt everything about him.

But looking at the June 2012 mark scheme, it talks almost entirely about a "soul one" and "soul two", which I've learnt nothing about, nor can I find anything about it in my notes.
Have you guys learnt about it?

Because I'm worrying I don't have enough on him.
I didn't realise Dawkins would have "soul one and two" :/

Any views? x

Reply 29

Original post by Divergent

Cool. Thanks. I've put it all in my notes.

Another weird question - reading all the textbooks, my teachers handwritten 25 page booklet on Dawkins.. I thought I'd learnt everything about him.

But looking at the June 2012 mark scheme, it talks almost entirely about a "soul one" and "soul two", which I've learnt nothing about, nor can I find anything about it in my notes.
Have you guys learnt about it?

Because I'm worrying I don't have enough on him.
I didn't realise Dawkins would have "soul one and two" :/

Any views? x

Yeah basically Dawkins defined two different types of soul, soul one being the platonic or religious soul that he described as dying out due to science and soul two which the idea of intellectual power and high development of one's mental faculties...

So you can use Dawkins to reject concept of soul but then suggest a different way of thinking about soul in your essay

Reply 30

Kousar

12

Hey. I've done my Philosophy module (thank goodness) and have got my Ethics to do in June. I'm in A2.

I hate applying theories, it's really wierd, everyone says Philosophy is harder than Ethics. I find Ethics harder for a different reason, it's tedious, not interesting and straightforward (in a hard way).

I know. Lots of contradicitons!

Plus my teacher is awful. Boring and unhelpful (for the most part).

I hate applying theories like Kantian ethics to the idea of Conscience etc.

Anyone else doing what i'm doing?

Reply 31

Kousar

12

Original post by Divergent

Religious experience is alright.. It's very straight forward to learn. Topic wise my *favourite to worst* is
Life After Death
Miracles
Attributes of God
Religious Experience
Religious Language

Lanaguage is dull in my opinion!

I quite liked Religious Language, I felt it was the only topic I learnt something massively 'different' and 'new' on :smile:

Reply 32

OP

Epiphenomenalism?
Dualist or Monist view?

I'm not seeing how it links to the soul in my notes... but then my notes follow saying "support for dualism has come from the work of Sir Popper and Sir Eccles.. etc etc.

And I want to put dualism. But it's a very alternative dualistic model.

Then again, my notes also say "both epiphenomenalism and the double aspect theory hold that ultimately everything dervies from the brain. Monist and materialist"

Confused ^ O.o??

Reply 33

Original post by Divergent

Epiphenomenalism?
Dualist or Monist view?

I'm not seeing how it links to the soul in my notes... but then my notes follow saying "support for dualism has come from the work of Sir Popper and Sir Eccles.. etc etc.

And I want to put dualism. But it's a very alternative dualistic model.

Then again, my notes also say "both epiphenomenalism and the double aspect theory hold that ultimately everything dervies from the brain. Monist and materialist"

Confused ^ O.o??

I've never come across epiphenomalism in any of my lessons, textbooks, other books or internet reading O.o

Reply 34

OP

Original post by lordmackery

I've never come across epiphenomalism in any of my lessons, textbooks, other books or internet reading O.o

Really?
Its in one of my text books i'm reading now.
& my teacher always talks about sticking it into essays

e.g.
Dualism - Interactionism (descartes), Epiphenomenalism (huxley)& Parallelism (leibniz)
Materialism - Behaviourism (ryle), Identity Theory (peacocke) & Funcationalism.(no idea on the philospher for this one).

I'm guessing its not going to be that important to learn then if its not in every text book.

Have you done H.H. Price's nature of disembodied existence?

Reply 35

Original post by Divergent

Really?
Its in one of my text books i'm reading now.
& my teacher always talks about sticking it into essays

e.g.
Dualism - Interactionism (descartes), Epiphenomenalism (huxley)& Parallelism (leibniz)
Materialism - Behaviourism (ryle), Identity Theory (peacocke) & Funcationalism.(no idea on the philospher for this one).

I'm guessing its not going to be that important to learn then if its not in every text book.

Have you done H.H. Price's nature of disembodied existence?

Hmm might read about some of these.

Yes I have, why?

Reply 36

OP

Original post by lordmackery

Hmm might read about some of these.

Yes I have, why?

Just wondering :smile:

I find his arguments very strange :P

Reply 37