PHIL 201 Response Paper Instructions Having completed the unit of philosophy of religion, you are now ready to respond to an article written by an actual atheist. This article titled “On Being an Atheist,” was written by H. J. McCloskey in 1968 for the journal Question. McCloskey is an Australian philosopher who wrote a number of atheistic works in the 1960s and 70s including the book God and Evil (Nijhoff, 1974). In this article, McCloskey is both critical of the classical arguments for God’s existence and offers the problem of evil as a reason why one should not believe in God. Please note the following parameters for this paper: 1. Your assignment is to read McCloskey’s short article found in the Reading & Study folder in Module/Week 7 and respond to each of the questions below. Your instructor is looking for a detailed response to each question. 2. The response paper is to be a minimum of 1,500 words (not including quotes) and should be written as a single essay and not just a list of answers to questions. 3. The basis for your answers should primarily come from the resources provided in the lessons covering the philosophy of religion unit of the course (Evans and Manis, Craig, and the presentation) and these sources should be mentioned in your paper. You are not merely to quote these sources as an answer to the question—answer them in your own words. 4. You may use other outside sources as well, as long as you properly document them. However, outside sources are not necessary. Each of the questions can be answered from the sources provided in the lessons. 5. While the use of the Bible is not restricted, its use is not necessary and is discouraged unless you intend to explain the context of the passage and how that context applies to the issue at hand in accordance with the guidelines provided earlier in the course. You are not to merely quote scripture passages as answers to the questions. Remember this is a philosophical essay not a biblical or theological essay. 6. While you may quote from sources, all quotations should be properly cited and quotes from sources will not count towards the 1,500 word count of the paper. 7. You may be critical of McCloskey, but should remain respectful. Any disparaging comment(s) about McCloskey will result in a significant reduction in grade. 8. Please note that all papers are to be submitted through SafeAssign, which is a plagiarism detection program. The program is a database of previously submitted papers including copies of papers that have been located on the Internet. Once submitted, your paper will become part of the database as well. The program detects not only exact wording but similar wording. This means that if you plagiarize, it is very likely that it will be discovered. Plagiarism will result in a 0 for the paper and the likelihood of you being dropped from the course. Specifically, you should address the following questions in your paper: 1. McCloskey refers to the argument.

1. PHIL 201
Response Paper Instructions
Having completed the unit of philosophy of religion, you are
now ready to respond to an article written by an actual atheist.
This article titled “On Being an Atheist,” was written by H. J.
McCloskey in 1968 for the journal Question. McCloskey is an
Australian philosopher who wrote a number of atheistic works
in the 1960s and 70s including the book God and Evil (Nijhoff,
1974). In this article, McCloskey is both critical of the classical
arguments for God’s existence and offers the problem of evil as
a reason why one should not believe in God. Please note the
following parameters for this paper:
1. Your assignment is to read McCloskey’s short article found
in the Reading & Study folder in Module/Week 7 and respond to
each of the questions below. Your instructor is looking for a
detailed response to each question.
2. The response paper is to be a minimum of 1,500 words (not
including quotes) and should be written as a single essay and
not just a list of answers to questions.
3. The basis for your answers should primarily come from the
resources provided in the lessons covering the philosophy of
religion unit of the course (Evans and Manis, Craig, and the
presentation) and these sources should be mentioned in your
paper. You are not merely to quote these sources as an answer
to the question—answer them in your own words.
4. You may use other outside sources as well, as long as you
properly document them. However, outside sources are not
necessary. Each of the questions can be answered from the

2. sources provided in the lessons.
5. While the use of the Bible is not restricted, its use is not
necessary and is discouraged unless you intend to explain the
context of the passage and how that context applies to the issue
at hand in accordance with the guidelines provided earlier in the
course. You are not to merely quote scripture passages as
answers to the questions. Remember this is a philosophical
essay not a biblical or theological essay.
6. While you may quote from sources, all quotations should be
properly cited and quotes from sources will not count towards
the 1,500 word count of the paper.
7. You may be critical of McCloskey, but should remain
respectful. Any disparaging comment(s) about McCloskey will
result in a significant reduction in grade.
8. Please note that all papers are to be submitted through
SafeAssign, which is a plagiarism detection program. The
program is a database of previously submitted papers including
copies of papers that have been located on the Internet. Once
submitted, your paper will become part of the database as well.
The program detects not only exact wording but similar
wording. This means that if you plagiarize, it is very likely that
it will be discovered. Plagiarism will result in a 0 for the paper
and the likelihood of you being dropped from the course.
Specifically, you should address the following questions in your
paper:
1. McCloskey refers to the arguments as “proofs” and often
implies that they can’t definitively establish the case for God,
so therefore they should be abandoned. What would you say
about this in light of my comments on the approaches to the
arguments in the PointeCast presentation?

3. 2. On the Cosmological Argument:
a. McCloskey claims that the “mere existence of the world
constitutes no reason for believing in such a being [i.e., a
necessarily existing being].” Using Evans and Manis’ discussion
of the non-temporal form of the argument (on pp. 69–77),
explain why the cause of the universe must be necessary (and
therefore uncaused).
b. McCloskey also claims that the cosmological argument “does
not entitle us to postulate an all-powerful, all-perfect, uncaused
cause.” In light of Evans and Manis’ final paragraph on the
cosmological argument (p. 77), how might you respond to
McCloskey?
3. On the Teleological Argument:
a. McCloskey claims that “to get the proof going, genuine
indisputable examples of design and purpose are needed.”
Discuss this standard of “indisputability” which he calls a “very
conclusive objection.” Is it reasonable?
b. From your reading in Evans and Manis, can you offer an
example of design that, while not necessarily “indisputable,”
you believe provides strong evidence of a designer of the
universe?
c. McCloskey implies that evolution has displaced the need for
a designer. Assuming evolution is true, for argument’s sake,
how would you respond to McCloskey (see Evans and Manis pp.
82–83)?
d. McCloskey claims that the presence of imperfection and evil
in the world argues against “the perfection of the divine design
or divine purpose in the world.” Remembering Evans and
Manis’ comments about the limitations of the cosmological

4. argument, how might you respond to this charge by McCloskey?
4. On the Problem of Evil:
a. McCloskey’s main objection to theism is the presence of evil
in the world and he raises it several times: “No being who was
perfect could have created a world in which there was
unavoidable suffering or in which his creatures would (and in
fact could have been created so as not to) engage in morally evil
acts, acts which very often result in injury to innocent persons.”
The language of this claim seems to imply that it is an example
of the logical form of the problem. Given this implication and
using Evans and Manis’ discussion of the logical problem (pp.
159–168, noting especially his concluding paragraphs to this
section), how might you respond to McCloskey?
b. McCloskey specifically discusses the free will argument,
asking “might not God have very easily so have arranged the
world and biased man to virtue that men always freely chose
what is right?” From what you have already learned about free
will in the course, and what Evans and Manis says about the
free will theodicy, especially the section on Mackie and
Plantinga’s response (pp. 163–166) and what he says about the
evidential problem (pp. 168–172), how would you respond to
McCloskey’s question?
5. On Atheism as Comforting:
a.
In the final pages of McCloskey’s article, he claims that atheism
is more comforting than theism. Using the argument presented
by William Lane Craig in the article “The Absurdity of Life
without God,” (located in Reading & Study for Module/Week
6), respond to McCloskey’s claim.
The Response Paper is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of
Module/Week 7.

5. Page 1 of 3
Introduction
As we are all aware, one of the natural consequences of aging
and living a long life is the end of life and dying. Working in
the field of aging requires supporting older adults through end
of life issues and helping families deal with loss and
bereavement. The more we understand about the physical,
spiritual, cultural, emotional and health aspects of life and
death, the better we will be equipped to do our jobs well.
Understanding the options and resources available will help us
to better deal with the complex issues of end of life care.
Topics and Learning Objectives
Topics
The philosophy of palliative care and how it differs at home, in
a hospice, in a hospital, or in a day program
Issues of loss and bereavement for older adults and the people
who care about/for them
Societal and cultural approaches to the end of life
Self-care for the worker caring for older adults at the end of life
Learning Objectives
By the end of the module, you should be able to:
1. Examine the meaning and effectiveness of palliative care.
2. Understand your personal perspective and the impact of
caring for clients at the end of life.
3. Consider various cultural norms and traditions that influence
how clients cope with dying and death.
Death and Old Age
Death was common in all age groups within the past few
centuries. For example, 1 out of 3 women died by the age of 20,

6. less than 50% died by the age of 44, and approximately 70%
died by the age of 65 years within the last 200 years. Longer
life expectancy now means death occurs in old age rather than
in mid-adulthood as it did in the past. Most theories and
research studies avoid death and/or dying issues despite these
enormous changes, because of the serious ethical hurdles
involved and the difficulties surrounding the measurement of
death and dying effects.Current Theories on Death and Dying
Disengagement Theory holds that death is less disruptive if
elderly people have become disengaged from social roles as
they age. Erikson’s Developmental Stage Theory contends that
the last stage of life leads to a life review. This stage is defined
as the ego integrity vs. despair stage. This stage leads to either
ego transcendence (a deep concern for others and culture) if you
reach integrity or ego despair (great turmoil as health declines)
if you reach despair, both of which nonetheless fuel the dying
process.Recent Research on Death and Dying
Koster and Prather (1999) found that people have 5 concerns at
the end of life:
1. Avoiding a drawn-out death
2. Getting pain relief
3. Having control of treatment options
4. Staying in touch with loved ones
5. Becoming a burden
They concluded that older people think about death more than
young people. As well, older people show less fear and more
acceptance of death than younger people. This may be because
they have had a longer period of life to wrap their minds around
the concept of death; they have had more experiences overall
and more opportunities to learn, reflect, and develop advanced
coping mechanisms. With decreased fear of death, hopelessness
is replaced by happiness in the elderly.
Interestingly, death-related feelings appear to be influenced by
a senior’s religion, but the findings are confusing. Some studies
indicate that people with mild or uncertain religious belief fear

7. death most, and religious people who believe in the afterlife are
more accepting of death. At the same time, other studies have
shown that very religious people are more fearful of death
because of the fear they will not do the things they want to do
before death.
Institutional Death
Where we reside when death is approaching influences the type
and frequency of death-related feelings. For example, people in
institutions think about death more often than those in other
housing situations. As aresult, the death rate is high in
institutions compared to hospitals and community dwellings.
Why? Seniors are surrounded by death within the nursing home.
Hospital staff are uncomfortable with death, which contributes
to the negative feelings. The hospital staff attaches more value
to elderly people when they are comfortable discussing and
recognizing their death, but most staff report being very
uncomfortable because they do not want to discuss dying-
related issues with the patient. Doctors do not feel comfortable
discussing the prognosis of death with seniors, which greatly
strains the exchange between doctors and patients. Staff, in
general, hold few discussions of death and dying among
themselves or their patients. The staff feel guilty and angry
about dying, and, subsequently, they avoid patients because
death is seen as a "failure": staff are trained to save lives,
despite the inevitable realization of death. Death and dying do
not fit the current model of health care, which supports acute
care and the goal of making the patient "well."
Stages of Dying
Two foundational researchers in this field are Kubler-Ross (who
wrote several books on death and dying) and
Saunders (who opened a hospice).
Kubler-Ross identified five stages of dying:
1. Denial
2. Anger

8. 3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
Researchers debate these stages. Many emotions are displayed
and may not fit this stage approach. It may be very individual
and several steps may be skipped or repeated on several
occasions, depending on how long the person lives. The profile
of a cancer patient who enters unexpected remission will
resemble that of a person who is dying and then dies, but at
some point, there will be a dissection of the stages as the cancer
patient departs from the recognition and acceptance of death.
Hospice Care
The history of hospice care began with the first hospice in 1967
in London. The goal was to meet the needs of dying people
because no service sector was currently doing this. The hospital
setting did not make dying comfortable for the family and the
individual, which was one of the large aims when the first
hospice centre was resurrected. Hospices offer many services
beyond the hospital setting. These are identified below.Current
Hospice ServicesThe following are a list of services offered by
hospices:
In- and out-patient services
Home visiting program
Day care for children of staff
Private rooms for elderly residents
Allow cooking by family members
Provide rooms for family to stay overnight
The hospice environment promotes comfort in the last stages of
dying. Staff try to achieve this through very good pain
management. A pain-control mixture called the Brompton mix
(made from heroin, cocaine, Stemetil syrup, and chloroform
water) and natural-death options are the major ways this is
achieved. The staff provide patient-specific relief and dose
seniors before symptoms reoccur rather than waiting for the

9. patient to complain of symptoms, which reduces the amount of
drugs required and creates a comfortable feeling in the patient,
who does not have to anticipate the arrival of pain.
They also provide the option to die at home or return, if pain is
too much to bear. Special comfort and pampering is provided to
the patient and the family (when needed). Support programs are
available for the family as well as the individual.
Palliative Care
The palliative-care program promotes active, compassionate
care for elderly in the dying stages. The focus is again on
symptom control as well as spiritual support, bereavement
support, and education. They exist within the hospital but are
very similar to a hospice. There has been extensive growth in
the past 25 years, where palliative-care programs now mostly
support cancer patients. The programs need to be tailored to
individual seniors. We need to create more home-based
palliative-care programs. These are difficult for administering
services, though, because of the current structure of the health
care system.
What solutions are available? The government needs to make
changes to the current health care system to improve funding
for better palliative-care doctors and better funding for non-
patient-related services (e.g., bereavement counselling). Most
programs favour married women living with their husbands.
There is also a definite need for better education to increase
public awareness.

10. Ethical IssuesThe following are a some ethical issues for
consideration.
To Tell or Not to Tell the Patient that He or She is Dying
It may be beneficial not to tell the patient in some cases,
depending on the individual and the illness. It may provide
some people a sense of control to know death is approaching,
but it may remove all hope and will in others. Discussion or
open awareness may be beneficial as it reduces isolation and the
loneliness that accompanies the knowledge of death in many
individuals. Telling people what they want to know is often the
approach staff and doctors adopt.
When Should a Person be Allowed to Die?
An individual must be mentally competent to make a decision
about his or her care at or around the time of death. Decisions
made while competent do not have to be followed legally,
according to the law, when a person is no longer able to make
decisions about their care. We need clear laws to guide doctors
about what to do. A Natural Death Act should be available.
Health care directives have been used in many instances, but
greater clarification is required.
The Case for Euthanasia
Euthanasia, mercy killing, or assisted suicide is currently
prohibited in Canada (Manitoba, 1990). Both living wills and
advanced directives, which are more precise regarding how to
treat the patient around the time of death, are accepted. The
problem is that people may change their minds closer to death.

11. We need to allow people to die with dignity. Coercion may
underlie decisions made near or prior to illness. In many cases,
if a treatment is started, a doctor can’t terminate it despite an
advanced directive, which further complicates matters.
A durable power of attorney is necessary. Still, very often,
doctors may refuse the decision, be unavailable, or, even worse,
act too early according to a directive, which ends a life earlier
than would have been anticipated.
Mourning and Grief
Three stages have been identified and described about how a
person responds to the death of a loved one:1. Shock and
disbelief (lasts for several weeks)2. Review of what happened
(i.e., the death): The person may berate him or herself, search
formeaning, or search for the deceased person (lasts one year)3.
Recovery involves searching for social contacts and gaining
back strength and competence
Grief Counselling
Grief counselling is often suggested, particularly for elderly
widowers, because they have fewer social supports after the
death of their spouses. Such counselling aims to break the bonds
to the deceased in order to enable the growth of new bonds with
others. The survivor must readjust to the new environment
without the deceased, which requires help from others and the
recognition that it must happen. Forming new relationships can
be difficult and may require the direction of a counsellor to
make it possible. Research findings support the idea that older
spouses show less grief, higher denial, and various physical

12. symptoms following the death of their partners; they need
supports for much longer compared to younger people.