Question 1
Gaunilo argues that Anselm's reasoning would prove a perfect lost island exists. Which reply could a defender of Anselm give?
Philosophy of religion, section by section
Six sections, one 2-hour paper: arguments for God, experience and evil, the nature of God and how religious language can mean anything at all.
| Paper | H573/01, 2 hours, 120 marks |
|---|---|
| Sections | Six, from Plato and Aristotle to twentieth-century religious language |
| Questions | Four essays set; you answer three |
| Any section | Can be set, and two questions can come from one section |
The six sections
- Philosophical language and thought: Plato and Aristotle; soul, mind and body.
- The existence of God: the teleological and cosmological arguments; the ontological argument.
- God and the world: religious experience; the problem of evil.
- The nature of God: omnipotence, omniscience, eternity and goodness.
- Religious language: negative, analogical or symbolic.
- Religious language: twentieth-century perspectives, from verification to language games.
What the essays ask
Questions ask you to evaluate an argument or a thinker's view, for example whether an argument succeeds or whether one response to a problem is more convincing than another. Knowing the objections and the replies to them is as important as knowing the arguments.
Try 3 questions
Question 2
Which criticism challenges Hick's soul-making theodicy most directly on the extent of evil?
Question 3
Which statement presents the evidential problem of evil?
The H573 specification, Version 2.0 (July 2026), is on the OCR website.
Next step
FAQ
What is on the OCR Philosophy of religion paper?
Six sections: ancient influences and the soul, arguments for God's existence, religious experience and evil, the nature of God, and two sections on religious language.
Can two questions come from the same section?
Yes. Questions can be set on any part of the component, so cover every section.