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2. If you had to describe this article to a friend, what would be essential for them to
know?
There is value behind having the contextual knowledge and applicable understanding of a
discipline, in this case religion. Sometimes it can offer us insight into how people’s
opinions are influenced and evolve. In other words, it teaches us the theory of knowledge.
3. What would you argue is Smith’s motivation for writing it. Consider contextual
clues as well as what he was written in the essay.
From reading Smith’s other essay, “Playful Acts of Imagination”, we can reasonably
conclude that he believes it is important, especially from an academic point of view, to
consider things from different perspectives, and in order to do so, we must first
understand the context. Therefore, Smith may have applied this philosophy towards the
study and definition of religion.
e. Warrant: Warrants explain the relevance of your reasons and evidence to your
claim by claiming that if a generalization is true, the specific instances of it must
also be true.
5. Outline and write out Smith’s main argument, broken down by their 5 categories.
Smith’s argument can be broken down into these 5 categories.
a. Claim: There is no real definition of religion, it is merely a term created by
scholars and is theirs to define. Although there is no true definition, that does not
mean it is a hopeless task in studying it, rather it gives us more rein to explore and
investigate its evolution.
b. Reasons: Distillation of the historical evolution of religion.
c. Evidence: Accounts of philosophers, explorers, historians and their backgrounds,
which gives contextual reasons behind their statements.
d. Acknowledgement and Response: Some try to pigeon hole and categories
religion. However, the derivation of some religions is intrinsically with many
others, so if you include one, you must include others and so and on and so forth.
e. Warrant: Some of Smith’s evidence demonstrate how many disagree on the
importance, definition, origins and truth of different religions. Therefore, if even a
few people disagree on a specific definition, how can there be a correct one as
some religions state?