Aquinas' Cosmological Argument Evaluation Flashcards
A continuously expanding universe implies that it was at some point smaller, even atom sized. This is the origin of the _ where this “tiny universe” exploded and is constantly expanding into the universe as we know it. you could equally argue that the big bang was the first efficient cause which began the universe.
big bang theory
With the development of quantum theory, the _ demonstrated that the smallest components of matter are subject to unpredictable fluctuations which appear to be spontaneous events.
uncertainty principle
The idea of _ in physics states that an object can move itself without an external force, which undermines Aquinas’ 2nd way
inertia
it is a _ to state that just because something happens to one thing, it happens to everything else. Just because I have a mother does not mean the human race has a mother.
Fallacy of composition
Stephen Hawking pointed out the _ of asking what came before the big bang as if the big bang was the beginning of all things, there could be no “before”, it is like asking what is south of the south pole
illogicality
Darwin states through natural selection that within species there are struggles for things like food and those who survive the struggle pass on their favourable traits to their offspring, and thus the species gradually becomes smarter and stronger. This is the theory of _ and means there’s no need for a designer as we could slowly become what we are now
evolution
the _ states that anything is possible, for example a monkey hitting random keys on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will surely result in any given texts, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. In the same way, given the immensity of time and space, anything is possible, even the complex creation of a world like ours, which emerged not from design but from random chance.
infinite monkey theorem
Richard Dawnkins claims that Aquinas’ assumption that God is _ to the infinite regress is unwarranted.
immune
God being more reasonable than infinite regress is unreasonable, they are both equally _
mythical
John Polkinghorne argues that science asks how and religion asks _, religion doesnt prove how the universe exists but instead justifies it.
why
Brian Davies states the cosmological arguments does a reasonable job for establishing a first cause for existence, but it does not establish the existence of God and all his _ attributes.
omni
