Revision Site for Synoptic Paper |
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Religious Studies at As and A level
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Some help...... In revision. Look very carefully at the question from the sample paper that you did for the mock exam. If you have it , also look at the marking scheme to see what the board expect. Remember it is 30/50 for knowledge and analysis and 20/50 for evaluation In the exam. Read the question very carefully and write down what you think it is asking you to do. Remember its is expected that you have lots of planning time and reading time so use it. You should write the main essay in about 1hour 10mins. Obviously I do not know the wording of the question you will get but it should ask you to analyse the beliefs (of Buddhism) and draw from this an evaluation of their effectiveness in Buddhism. What does this mean….. Analysis. What sort of belief in the afterlife is “rebirth”, how does Buddha maintain a belief in the afterlife and yet deny the soul. What does Karma really mean in this context and is this a form of dualism? Is the Buddhist belief basically a monist or dualist belief, where are its weaknesses philosophically. Who can you use to support your analysis. Some extended teaching on Karma can be found on http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm as well as clicking above. Evaluation. Does the belief in rebirth really manage to avoid dualism. Do the 12 states of conditioned generation satisfactorily explain the connection between one life and the next. What effect does this belief have upon the lives of Buddhist. The following site is a swift analysis of a book by Hoffman, it is not long and you could read it quickly but it might give you something to quote... http://sino-sv3.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/mary.htm This also might useful and is quoted from this site http://www.rep.routledge.com/philosophy/articles/entry-1.5/G/G100/G100SECT4.htm but it is about schools from Zen and Pure land. "These two schools differ radically in their philosophical anthropologies. As Buddhists, both Shinran and Dōgen accepted the general Buddhist analysis about the source of ignorance: egoism. Egoism defines the self as an independent agent that initiates actions and has experiences. The Buddhist view, on the other hand, maintains that ‘I’ is no more than a name for related actions and events, not something that lies behind them. This implies that the boundaries of the self are fuzzy rather than sharply delineated. For example, from a distance we can readily identify the general course of a river, but if we move up close enough, we cannot specify exactly where the river ends and the river bank begins. If the river were self-conscious and tried to specify for itself ‘my’ boundaries as opposed to ‘its’ boundaries, the river would lose sight of the very processes that bring it into being and help define it. Analogously, Buddhists generally maintain that egoism, by attempting to define, delineate and protect the self, ignores the self’s broader context. It overlooks the self’s dependence on what egoism considers to be outside and separate from it." Reading….(basically what I have given you)
One good version of each of these should be enough at this stage. Revision Plan. Work on the evaluation side of things….this is worth 20/50 and is by far the hardest bit. This means reading and thinking carefully about how Buddhist beliefs seem to be monist but Buddha seems to give ignorance a special status, is this a type of Dualist belief. In what ways is the belief in karma and rebirth consistent with Buddhist beliefs and practices. (IE does it assist in their understanding of the nature of life and the 3 marks of existence). Always remember the Wheel of life, this will help you if you can remember it. More Stuff..... I include for your information a section from the philosophy revision page to help you. All the blue bits will take you to useful sites The Belief in Life after Death This controversy in philosophy stems from the differing views upon human nature i.e. DUALISM and MONISM (the Mind Body Dabate). Obviously belief in life after death presents unique philosophical problems but it also incorporates those issues that are fundamental to a discussion upon dualism. Therefore it is important that you are informed of these. The most comprehensive guide to this debate is in:- Essay on Mind and Body By
R. Double. which you have as a photocopy. It is important that you familiarize yourself with this debate so that you can understand fully the issues of life after death. a) SUBJECTIVE BELIEFS i.e. beliefs where the soul that survives is personal and individual. 1.
Immortality. This belief is based entirely upon dualism and was
most influentially proposed by http://www.faithnet.freeserve.co.uk/immortality.htm 2.
Problems of disembodied soul existence. Identity,
desirability, difficulty with the concept of http://www.faithnet.freeserve.co.uk/immortalityproblems.htm 3. Monism and resurrection. Christian belief and specifically the work of John Hick. 4. Criticisms of Resurrection and especially of Hick
1. Reincarnation. The Popular concept and the Vedantic concept. (see Hick especially) 2. Criticisms of Reincarnation. The problem of continuity, the purpose of life after death, identity. 2. Karma and rebirth, the relation between this and reincarnation. Hindu and Buddhist concepts.
The best reading comes from 1.
Hick
Chapters 10 and 11 in his Philosophy of Religion.
Photocopied All these will provide you with excellent information and I think you should read them oin the order I have given.
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