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A Critique of Recent Criticisms of Freud on Religious Belief
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Open Journal of Philosophy·Volume 01 (2011)·Pages 11–15·Published 17 August 2011·DOI10.4236/ojpp.2011.11002
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Abstract
The paper is a critique of recent criticisms of Sigmund Freud’s theory that religion is based on wishful thinking. The criticisms made by authors such as Alvin Plantinga, John Hick, William P. Alston, William Rowe, and Merol Westphal are critically examined. I defend Freud’s critique of religion as a satisfaction of our deepest desires for a heavenly father showing inductively that those desires render religious belief as unlikely to be true.
KeywordsWish FulfillmentUnconscious DesiresPsychoanalysisIllusion
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