cosmological argument

Question 1

is the cosmological argument a-posteriori or a-priori

Answer 1

a posteriori - knowledge based on sense experience

Question 2

What is the cosmological argument?

Answer 2

an argument for the existence of God that claims that all things in nature depend on something else for their existence (i.e., are contingent), and that the whole cosmos must therefore itself depend on a being that exists independently or necessarily.

Question 3

explain Aquinas’ 1st way

Answer 3

motion
- everything in process of motion
- has to be caused by something else
- cannot be infinite regression
- unmoved mover

Question 4

What were Aquinas’ Five Ways?

Answer 4

Motion, Causation, Contingency, Degrees of Value, Evidence of Purpose

Question 5

What was Aristotle’s Cosmological Argument?

Answer 5

the Prime Mover

Question 6

What did Aristotle reject?

Answer 6

nothing comes from nothing

Question 7

The Prime Mover is which cause?

Answer 7

Final

Question 8

What was the Kalam Cosmological argument?

Answer 8

Whatever begins has a cause. The universe began to exist therefore it has a cause.

Question 9

state aquinas’ first way

Answer 9

motion

Question 10

state aquinas second way

Answer 10

cause

Question 11

state aquinas third way

Answer 11

contingency and necessity

Question 12

explain aquinas’ second way

Answer 12

Everything has a cause, the cause of everything must be God because there cannot be endless cause and effects

Question 13

what was the argument behind aquinas’ third way

Answer 13

• everything’s contingent - relies on something else eg. parents to exist
• pattern cannot go on infinitely
• must be a necessary being - self caused and created

Question 14

what does Bertrand Russel argue aquinas 3rd way commits

Answer 14

commits the fallacy of composition - every man has a mother it doesn’t mean the human race has a mother

Question 15

what does the fallacy of composition refer to

Answer 15

the idea that because something is true to it’s parts it must be true to its whole

Question 16

who said the universe is a brute fact

Answer 16

bertrand russel

Question 17

Humes criticisms of the cosmological argument (4)

Answer 17

• fallacy of composition - just because universe can be explained thru causes doesn’t mean it needs a cause
• no experience of the universe being created so cannot speak meaningfully on it
• rejected necessary beings - everything is contingent
• if there can be an understanding of prime mover surely there can be an understanding of perpetual motion

Question 18

Mackie on aquinas’ ways

Answer 18

why would god be the necessary being and not a formation of matter

why the implicit assumption

Question 19

russel on why aquinas cannot prove god is the necessary being with synthetic and analytical statements

Answer 19

• analytical statements are necessary (self- explanatory) (true in meaning eg all bachelors are unmarried)
• but a being is a synthetic statement - there has to be proof so god cannot be a necessary being
  (snow is white - it has to be proved)

Question 20

explain Leibniz’ principle of sufficient reason

Answer 20

p1 - everything that exists has an explanation - either in necessity of nature or in an external explanation

p2- universe has an explanation for its existence - that explanation has to be a necessary being because it cannot fail to exist

p3- the universe exists

p4- universe has explanation of its existence (p3)

p5- explanation grounded in it being a necessary being

c - god exists