Arguments for existence of God

Question 1

Strenghs of Aquinas’ fifth way?

Answer 1

Aquinas’ fifth way

Question 2

Strenghs of Aquinas’ fifth way?

Answer 2

• there are examples of non thinking beings acting to achieve a purpose e.g a sunflower who faces towards the sun
• arrow needs an archer and therefore is reasonable to assume that things are directed towards a purpose.

Question 3

Weaknesses of Aquinas’ fifth way?

Answer 3

• looks like design but has adapted to its environment and would have died out otherwise.
• Aquinas makes the assumption of purpose, purpose could be a human construct
• Aquinas can be accused of a logical fallacy as he makes a leap to a god of classical theism

Question 4

Paleys teleological arguement

Answer 4

Paleys watch analogy suggests purpose.
Design qua purpose - compares to the natural world that seem to be mechanical and have purpose. E.g eye which has the purpose of sight and the lateral system in mammals.
Design qua regularity - consistent order or pattern in the world. E.g rotation of planets.

Question 5

Strenghs of TA

Answer 5

• I designer would know what they wanted to create and why giving it purpose, from observation we can conclude a designer
• even if the watch was broken we can infer a purpose.

Question 6

Weaknesses of TA

Answer 6

• Hume leap from observing purpose in the world to assuming that this purpose was intentionally designed by God.
• Dawkins suggests natural selection is a blind process, no intentional purpose.
• some natural things have no purpose e.g a wasp
• too many faults in the world to suggest a designer.

Question 7

Homes criticisms

Answer 7

Analogy- can lead to mistaken conclusions. E.g blood circulation system cannot be applied to plants.
- human like God or young inferior God
Observation - a posteriori argument. We cannot apply this to the whole world, fallacy of composition.

Question 8

Strenghs of H

Answer 8

• just because human made things have a designer doesn’t mean the while world has a designer
• assumes the designer is a monotheistic god.
• fallacy of composition.

Question 9

Weaknesses of H

Answer 9

• universe was not made before our eye we can only assume.
• Hume is taking it too far even non religious people believe in a designer.
• paley only argues purpose inside the world not the whole world itself.

Question 10

Arguemnt of reason

Answer 10

Cosmological arguemnt from aquinas

Question 11

Cosmological arguements ways?

Answer 11

Way 1 - motion - motion means change from potentiality to actuality. Aquinas suggests that there cannot be movement or change by itself, there cannot be an infinite regress of movers. there must be an Unmoved Mover ( god).
Way 2 - cause - everything in the universe is the result of a succession of causes, there must be a first cause which itself is uncaused that began the chain e.g god.
Way 3 - Contingency- everything in the universe is contingent, can e it cannot exist. There must be a necessary being that brought everything into existence e.g god.

Question 12

Strenghs of CA

Answer 12

• way 1. Ball will not move unless I throw it
• way 2. Cat and door
• way 3. Relay on food air and parents to exist.

Question 13

Weaknesses of CA

Answer 13

• reasonable to assume an infinite number of movers or causes instead of Unmoved movers.
• just because things inside the universe is contingent doesn’t mean the uni ease is contingent