Cosmological and Teleological Flashcards
What is Aquinas’ cosmological argument?
a posteriori argument based on empirical evidence via observation of the world
Three ways, first of the five ways in Summa Theologica
what are aquinas’ 3 arguments for god’s existence?
FROM MOTION - nothing can move by itself and there can’t be infinite regress of change so must be Prime mover
FROM CAUSATION - everything has a cause and nothing can cause itself so must be a causer
FROM CONTINGENCY - everything can and cannot exist, so there must have been a time where nothing existed and thus must be a creator
what is leibnizs principle of sufficient reason?
important part of thought is that the universe is a harmonious whole, which is essentially good - God created this
Everything that exists must have sufficient reason to, else it would not exist - explanation which requires no further explanation
“even if the universe had been is existence, it would require an explanation”
what is david hume’s objections to cosmological argument?
starting point = why must the earth start, could be eternal
empirical world = we can’t find answers in metaphysical worlds as those answers are in other worlds, which will lead to infinite regress
necessity - we only know of contingent thins so we cannot talk meaningfully
what is william temples view on inline regression
“it is impossible to image infinite regress but it is not impossible to conceive it”
infine regress is logically possible and we shouldn’t assume our imaginaation determines what can be true.
what is coplestons argument for cosmological argument?
CONTINGENCY - Everything in the world is contingent
NO SELF-EXISTENCE - Nothing can be self evident
NECESSARY - the cause must be selfevident, necessary
what is russell’s argument against cosmological argument?
NO EXPLANATION - rejects the terminology of ‘contingent’ and ‘non-contingent’; the universe is instead a brute fact
FALLACY OF COMPOSITION - reductio ab absurdum - we all have a mother, so therefore the human race must have a mother… obviously the human race does not
what did dz phillips say on cosmological argument?
argued that to seek an explanation was a mistaken enterprise - to ask whether God exists is not a theoretical question but it is about wonder and praise
what is aquinas’ teleological argument?
purpose
aquinas takes from aristotle’s final cause, that everything in the universe has a purpose, part of his 5th way
ARROW IS WHAT MOVES FROM POTENTIALITY TO ACTUALITY
what is paley’s teleological argument?
extent of this regularity points to design and hence a designer
analogy of the watch - complexities of the watch = designer, watch is too complex to have just happened
what is hume’s argument against teleological?
why must there be a beginning
INTENTION OF DESIGN - humans for purpose when there is none, universe is a ‘brute fact’
More than one god - many point to design in a watch, why does it point to a single designer
what is mills argument against teleological?
evil
world is not set up for good of humans
nature is cruel, there is no justice - theists argue evil is necessary for good but why does an all powerful god need evil
what is FR Tennant’s modern version of the teleological argument?
the universe exists for the sake of humankind and is particularly adapted to that purpose
if the initial conditions of the universe had been otherwise, we humans would not have existed to observe and reflect
therefore we must have a designer intending to create this universe
what is swinburnes modern teleological argument?
simplicity
God is the most simple answer so must be the best explanation
e.g. Ockhams razor - the simplest argument with the least jumps is the one most likely to be correct
what is dawkins argument against teleological, aesthetic principle
AESTHETIC PRINCIPLE
what about the ugly things in the world
appreciation of beauty is due to social conditioning
what is richard dawkins argument against teleological, evolution?
natural selection
aka no single creator
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 1 - (aquinas fifth way, arrow archer)
P1 – PURPOSE VS. OTHER EXPLANATIONS
A: AQUINAS FIFTH WAY – ARROW ARCHER
• Fifth of Aquinas ‘Five Ways’ – takes over from Aristotle the theory of the four causes, in particular the final cause concerned with purpose/ telos. Aquinas maintained everything has a purpose, but cannot achieve the purpose (a move from actual to potential) without something making this happen – God.
Much like Aristotle’s Prime Mover, God is the guiding force that makes things achieve their purposes, just as the arrow needs an archer to hit the target
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 1 - counter argument (limited experience hume)
CA: LIMITED EXPERIENCE, PURPOSE
• Hume questions how one can look at effects and jump immediately to the cause – it is an inductive leap of logic to go from observation of this world (albeit ordered or not) to knowledge of an infinite, transcendent and immutable creator. This point can be illustrated by a pair of scales with one side hidden – all we know is that the object on the other side is heavier, we do not know what the object is.
• Cannot speak of the design/ purpose of the universe from our limited experience – how can know all things have a purpose, a cause
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 1 - counter response (simplicity, ockhams razor)
R: SIMPLICITY
• Ockham’s Razor – the simplest explanation is that God must be responsible for such regularity/ purpose.
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 1 - conclusive response (god not simple, descartes and epicures)
CR: GOD IS NOT SIMPLE – EPICUREAN
• Ockham’s Razor is a flawed philosophical argument with little justification. Moreover, the very fact that the idea of God is beyond human comprehension anyway (Descartes), makes it impossible to argue he could be a simple explanation. One may go further and argue there need not be a designer, a simpler explanation could be the Epicurean hypothesis (HUME IDEA THAT OUR UNIVERSE IS ONE OF JUST MANY POSSIBLE UNIVERSES)
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 2 (paley watch)
P2 – ORDER AND REGULARITY VS. APTNESS OF ANALOGY
A: PALEY WATCH
• William Paley in ‘Natural Theology’, like other enlightenment thinkers, used a mechanical model of a watch to explain his teleological argument – a watch, like the world, reveals an array of complexity and intricacy, “such design could not have come about by chance… there must be a watchmaker”
• If I were to come across a rock I could explain its origins referring to natural causes, whereas if I were to come across a watch there could be no natural explanation
• Due to the purpose, complexity, order and regularity of the world, Paley concludes that, by analogy, there must be a God
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 2 - counter argument (aptness of analogy, hume)
CA: APTNESS OF ANALOGY
• David Hume criticises the teleological arguments – “the world plainly resembles more an animal or vegetable than it does a watch” (‘Dialogues concerning Natural Religion’)
• The world seems more organic than mechanic – a cabbage is highly complex, but one does not infer a cabbage maker
• Humans arguably search for purpose/ design when perhaps “the universe is a brute fact”; by choosing a watch, Paley has predetermined his conclusion another leap in logic to claim supposed regularity points to an infinite deity
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 2 - counter response (anthropic principle, fr tennant)
R: ANTHROPIC
• F R Tennant suggests the universe exists for the sake of humankind, as if the initial conditions of the earth had been otherwise, we would not exist to observe these conditions. Can’t have just evolved, conditions are so right that it must have been designed, everything is for our benefit.
ESSAY PLAN - Teleological essay plan, “There is no design in the universe”
POINT 2 - conclusive argument (evil, mill, attenborough and kenny)
CR: EVIL
• J S Mill argues the world was clearly not set up for the good of humans – not only are human beings cruel, but nature is cruel; Stephen Fry echoes David Attenborough’s comment that the God who put the whale in the sea is the God who put the parasite in the eye of the starving child.
• From a flawed universe, the most we can infer is a flawed creator, “a God which is no more the source of good than evil” (Kenny) illogical to move from a cruel world to an omnipotent, omnibenevolent designer…
