3.3.2 Arguments relating to the existence of God: 5 markers Flashcards
Outline Aquinas’ first way from motion
P1: There are some things in motion in the sense of moving from a state of potential to actual.
P2: Nothing can move by itself but needs something else to actualise its potential.
P3: If we imagine everything was moved by something else there would be an infinite regress of movers.
P4: There cannot be an infinite regress as there would be nothing to start the chain and hence no motion.
C1: Therefore, there must be an unmoved prime mover (something purely actual, without unrealised potential), which is God.
Outline Descartes’ cosmological argument
P1: The cause of my existence as a thinking thing with a perfect idea of God could be a) myself, b) I have always existed, c) my parents (or a being less than God) or d) God
P2: I cannot have caused myself to exist for then I would have created myself perfect.
P3: Neither have I always existed with no cause, for then I would be aware of this and require the powers of God to sustain myself in existence.
P4: My parents (or a being less than God) cannot be the cause of my existence with a perfect idea of God, as to have implanted of God, the cause needs to have as much reality or perfection as the perfect idea of God (the causal adequacy principle).
P5: The cause of my existence could itself be caused, or there would be no chain.
P6: There cannot be an infinite chain of causes, or there would be no chain.
C1: Therefore, only God, an uncaused first cause, could be the cause of my existence.
Outline Leibniz’s cosmological argument from sufficient reason
P1: Every true fact has an explanation that provides a sufficient reason for why things are as they are and not otherwise.
P2: Contingent things exist
P3: The series of contingent facts cannot be sufficiently explained by any further contingent fact, as this would itself demand explanation
P4: So, the explanation of the series of contingent facts lies outside of that series of contingent facts
C1: Therefore, only God, a necessary being, can ultimately explain the existence of contingent things
