Cosmological Argument Flashcards
What is the key question asked by the cosmological argument?
Why is there something rather than nothing?
What does the cosmological argument seek to explain?
The existence of the universe
What does the cosmological argument suggest is needed to explain the existence of the universe?
A cause or explanation that transcends the natural world
What is the basic premise of the cosmological argument?
Everything that exists has a cause or explanation for its existence
What is the principle that states that everything must have a reason or cause for its existence?
The principle of sufficient reason
Who was the philosopher associated with the cosmological argument?
Thomas Aquinas
What are the five ways of the cosmological argument put forward by Aquinas?
1) The argument from motion
2) The argument from causation
3) The argument from contingency
4) The argument from degree
5) The argument from finality
The argument from motion
– Objects are in motion
– Everything in motion was put in motion by something else
– There cannot be an infinite regress of movers
– There must be a first mover itself unmoved
– This is God
What does the argument from motion suggest?
It argues that everything in motion must have been set in motion by something else, leading to a first mover or unmoved mover
The argument from causation
– Some things are caused
– Anything that is caused must be caused by something else
– There cannot be an infinite regress of causes
– There must be a first causer itself uncaused
– This is God
What does the argument from causation propose?
It claims that everything in existence is caused by something else, necessitating an uncaused cause
Argument from contingency
– There are contingent things
– Contingent things can cause other contingent things but there cannot only be contingent things
– Because that would mean that there is an infinite regress of contingency and a possibility that nothing might have existed
– An infinite regress is impossible so there must be at least one necessary thing
– This is God
What does the argument from contingency argue?
It posits that contingent beings (things that could have not existed) require a necessary being (a being that exists by its own nature)
Argument from degree
– Properties come in degrees
– In order for there to be degrees of perfections there must be something perfect against which everything else in measured
– God is the pinnacle of perfection
What does the argument from degree state?
It asserts that things in the universe possess different levels of perfection and there must be a being of maximum perfection (God) for these degrees to be meaningful
What does the argument from finality propose?
It suggests that natural objects display purpose and order – indicating the existence of an intelligent being (God) who directs them towards their goals
What is an infinite regress?
An endless series of causes or explanations with no ultimate or original cause
Hume’s Criticisms of the Cosmological Argument (quote)
“If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on without out. It were better therefore never to look beyond the present material world.”
(Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion)
What does Hume say the cosmological argument commits?
The cosmological argument commits the fallacy of composition
What is the fallacy of composition?
The fallacy of composition is an informal fallacy that arises when one infers that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole
What did Hume reject?
The idea of necessary existence - every being according to Hume is contingent
What does Hume question?
Why motion needs to have a starting point - in other words why infinite regression is impossible
Surely if there can be an understanding of a prime mover there can be an understanding of perpetual motion?
What did Bertrand Russel famously state?
That the universe is “just there, and that’s all”
What is a brute fact?
A brute fact is a fact or reality that exists without any further explanation or cause
Russell concludes that the universe is “just there, and that’s all” – it could exist without reason or cause or explanation. This has often referred to as…
the universe being a “brute fact”
Hume points out that in order for something to be impossible it must be…
self-contradictory
Give an example of something being self-contradictory
A four sided triangle is impossible because a triangle having four sides is contradicts the definition of a triangle as a three sided shape
The possibility of an infinite series (Hume)
There doesn’t appear to be anything self-contradictory about the infinite regress
Therefore it is possible and so the cosmological argument rests on an assumption that the infinite regress is false when it could possibly be true
Modern science’s rejection of the cosmological argument
The steady state theory
What is the steady state theory?
A cosmological model suggesting that the universe is constantly expanding but maintains a constant average density with new matter continuously created to replace the expansion
