On this clip from the 1999 stand-up comedy particular You Are All Diseased, the late comic George Carlin presents a scathing assault on faith that may be helpful in inspiring debate and introducing college students to the subject of the philosophy of faith. Utilizing humor, Carlin presents a clearly atheistic view and engages with many basic objections to faith, particularly, organized faith.
Carlin touches on the issue of evil, the ineffectiveness of prayer, and contractions regarding perception in a divine plan.
As a warning, do notice that this clip accommodates express content material and is probably not applicable for younger college students.
(From 51:42 till the top)
I have to first stress that this video is just not for the meek, and have to be mixed with a scaffolding of belief constructed between the scholars and professor. When presenting the video, I supply college students a warning on express content material and the flexibility to disengage from class till the video is accomplished. That mentioned, in my a few years of instructing, I’ve discovered that nothing motivates college students to speak and debate faith fairly like this video.
I make the most of this video earlier than overlaying any readings in philosophy of faith and straight after explaining the distinction between an atheist and agnostic.
Whereas informing college students that Carlin is clearly giving an instance of an atheist place, the video is generally a catalyst for a gap dialogue.
After the video, college students are afforded the chance to specific their beliefs and contemplate Carlin’s place earlier than shifting on to basic arguments for the existence of God (Aquinas, Paley, and many others.).
Whereas the video serves primarily as a spark to ignite debate, I discover that many college students return to Carlin’s phrases whereas partaking with future readings. That is very true after I cowl the epistemic issues posed by evil. Regarding evil on the planet, Carlin says, ”one thing is fallacious right here. Battle, illness, dying, destruction, starvation, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades.” Whereas many college students have had the nice fortune of by no means being uncovered to the Ice Capades, they perceive the idea. The relation to evil turns into even stronger when Carlin claims: “One thing is certainly fallacious. This isn’t good work. If that is the perfect God can do, I’m not impressed. Outcomes like these don’t belong on the résumé of a Supreme Being. That is the sort of shit you’d anticipate from an workplace temp with a nasty perspective. And simply between you and me, in any decently-run universe, this man would’ve been out on his omnipotent ass a very long time in the past.”
Whereas it may very well be argued that that is harsh, college students don’t neglect it and produce it up in discussions regarding evil.
One other delicate space of philosophical and psychological significance that Carlin touches on is the ability of prayer and the existence of a divine plan. College students typically attraction to prayers “answered” as proof of the existence of God. Carlin conjures up in-depth thought on this space. The connection Carlin makes with the potential of a divine plan and contradiction with prayer is {powerful} for college students. A lot of them have by no means thought of the concept that prayer may very well be asking an omniscient God to alter a divine plan. The opportunity of a divinely constructed plan may also be referenced in discussions of evil. On the finish of the clip, Carlin even touches on a perception many college students maintain that faith is required for morality. In brief, lots is packed into this clip!
With out fail, after I current this video to my college students, I’m amazed on the dialogue that transpires.
That is, maybe, as a result of comedy makes the assaults Carlin presents extra palatable whereas nonetheless providing substance. In fact, some college students could also be offended by components of the clip. To reduce this, I by no means reveal my views on faith and construct an environment of acceptance and belief within the classroom. Due to the sensitivity of this matter, this video is not going to work for all lessons; nonetheless, when it does, pupil engagement might be excellent.
Sources: https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/george-carlin-religion-is-bullshit/
The Teaching and Learning Video Series is designed to share pedagogical approaches to utilizing humorous video clips for instructing philosophy. Humor, when used appropriately, has empirically been proven to correlate with greater retention charges. In case you are serious about contributing to this sequence, please e mail the Sequence Editor, William A. B. Parkhurst at parkhurw@gvsu.edu
