1.3 Cosmological Argument

Question 1

Cosmological argument

Answer 1

An argument for the existence of God which claims that all things in nature depend on something else for their existence and that the whole cosmos must therefore itself depend on a being which exists independently or necessarily

Question 2

Details of the cosmological argument

Answer 2

An inductive, a posteriori argument

Question 3

Prepositions of Aquinas’ cosmological argument

Answer 3

1) The universe exists.

2) There must be a reason why.

Question 4

The First Way

Answer 4

The Unmoved Mover: Change occurs in the universe. Change must be caused by something. This cannot be infinite regress because if there was no cause of motion there would be no motion. Therefore something must have created and be sustaining motion within the universe. A being that creates and sustains motion must be beyond it.

Question 5

The Second Way

Answer 5

The First Cause: Change occurs in the universe. Change requires cause and effect (a move from potentiality to actuality). This also cannot be infinite regress. If everything in the universe needs an efficient cause then so does the universe. There must be something greater than the universe to be the efficient cause.

Question 6

The Third Way

Answer 6

Necessity: The universe exists and contains contingent things. These depend on something to bring them into existence and sustain their existence. If everything in the universe is contingent then it cannot bring itself into existence. Something necessary must have caused and continue to sustain all of existence.

Question 7

Leibniz and Sufficient Reason

Answer 7

He felt that the universe was better explained through relationships rather than fixed rules.
He began by asking the question of why there was anything rather than nothing. He answered this using his ‘principle of sufficient reason’:
- If something exists, there must be a reason for it.
- If something is true, there must be a reason why that is.
- If something happens there must be a reason for it.
- This applies whether we know the reason or not.

Question 8

Leibniz: Example of geometry book

Answer 8

If a copy of a geometry book was always in existence, one copied from the one previous, we can explain its existence in relation to the one before. However, this means that we can never provide a full explanation for the existence of the book itself.

Question 9

Leibniz: Conclusion

Answer 9

It is obvious that things exist and so there must be a reason outside of this world that causes things to exist.

Question 10

Hume’s criticisms of the cosmological argument

Answer 10

• It is illogical to move from things in the universe having a reason for existing to saying the universe has a reason for existing.
• There is no reason why the universe itself can’t be necessary.
• It is not an inconceivable idea for something to be in existence without a cause, the same could be true for the universe.
• It is a logical fallacy to go from the universe having a cause to it being God.
• Just because we can see the effects around us doesn’t mean we can work backwards to the cause. The argument is an oversimplification of the process of cause and effect.

Question 11

Russell’s criticisms of the cosmological argument

Answer 11

Agrees with Hume’s idea that it oversteps the rules of logic.
“One cannot go from individual causes and effects to a single cause.”