CA

Question 1

CA

Answer 1

arguments based on observation to prove God’s existence by looking the universe
a-posterior
inductive

Question 2

Aquinas’ cosmological arguments

Answer 2

• the universe contains things which are in motion / caused and contingent
• these things require something else to move cause and create them, they cannot do this themselves
• this chain of movement causation and contingency cannot infinitely regress
• there must be an unmoved mover, uncaused causer and necessary being…God -

Question 3

assumptions aquinas makes

Answer 3

his theory is based on universe cannot have existed infinitely so it must of had a beginning

Question 4

supports for CA

Answer 4

plato - everything must have creator

Kalam -> William Lane Craig
islamic version of CA: universe had to have nine physical reason from the physical time and space…
‘whatever beings I=to exist has a cause is ‘intuitively obvious’ - existence = causer of existence, must of had beginning - God must transcend time and space as timelessness = changelessness implying immateriality. can’t be in ti and created it

Gottfried Leibniz - ‘principle of sufficient reason’ - everything which exists must have reason or cause. needs greater being to have been before universe for it to exist. sufficient reason = total explanation. God is sufficient reason for universes existence

Richard Swinburne - reasonable and logical assumption - ‘A may be explained by B and B by C buy in there end there will need to be one object on whom all other objects depend

inductive and a-posteriori strengths

Question 5

Hume criticism of CA

Answer 5

• inaccuracy of cause and effect - by observing two events following from one anther = events cause and effect. this is assumption - cannot apply faulty understanding to the whole universe
• inductive leap - accept cause why is it God, attributes are defined of necessary being
• oscillating universe theory - universe had always existed = don’t need cause. our universe is made of infinite no of expanding and contraction universe
• fallacy of composition - just because everything in the universe has a cause doesn’t mean the universe has a cause.

Question 6

other critics of CA

Answer 6

Bertrand Russell - ‘just because every human being has a mother, it doesn’t mean that the human race as a whole has a mother’

Elizabeth Burn - ‘it is by no means clear that the CA proves existence of a deity with all the attributes which the theists God is usually said to possess’ - attributes missing: imminent, caring, loving, intelligent and omnipotent