Cosmological Argument Flashcards
3 terms (strengths)
a posteriori- known after experience
Empirical- via 5 senses
Inductive argument- if the premises are true the conclusion is likely
Aquinas’ first way (motion)
There are some things in motion or change e.g. wood burning in a fire
Nothing can move or change itself in platos terms everything is a second mover
Imagine everything were a secondary mover then there would be an infinite regress of moverd
(Reductio ad absurdum) If this were true then there would be no prime mover and hence no subsequent movers. But this is false.
Therefore there must be an unmoved mover the source of all motion whom we call God
Aquinas’ second way causation
In the universe we find things which are caused to exist
Nothing can cause itself to exist
Imagine everything were caused to exist then there would be an infinite regress of causes
(Reductio ad absurdum) If 3 were true then there would be no first cause and hence no subsequent causes. But this is false.
There must be an uncaused first cause whom we call Godq
Aquinas’ third way from contingency
In the universe there are beings which are contingent
If everything were contingent then there was a time when everything ceased to exist and there was nothing
Since nothing can come from nothing there would not be anything now
This is not the case so there must be a necessary being which continued to exist
Either this necessary being has its cause in itself or out of itself
If it has its cause out of itself the caude of that necessary being may be in or out itself
This cannot go back for infinity
Therefore there must be one necessary being which sustains existence of all other beings whom we call God
William Lane Craig’s kalam form
Whatever begins to exist has a cause of its existence
The universe began to exist
Therefore the universe has a cause
Also this cause must be personal because scientific explanations cannot provide a causal account. This personal cause is God.
Weakness- Aquinas misunderstands infinite regress
Infinite regress has a sequence which goes back to infinity so while there are no first causes there is no need as the chain continues forever. Aquinas is wrong in rejecting infinite regress because cause and effect can still be maintained
Weakness- Aquinas’ 2nd way contradicts itself
Initially there is a claim that ‘nothing can be the cause of itself’ to using God as the first cause, ultimately having no cause for his own existence.
Weakness Humes fallacy of composition
There is an assumption that since everything in the universe has a cause the universe also must. This is like saying everyone in the human race has a mother and therefore the universe has a mother. This is not necessarily true so we can stop the chain of cause and effect and say the universe would be the first cause.
Weakneds Hume causation is a habit of the mind
Cause and efffect is not an actual thiny because we do not actually see causation but infer it from two events happening successively. For example, if i were to hit a white snooker ball and it hits a green ball i would assume that the white snooker ball caused the green ball to move but this would look different if magnets were beneath the table directing the balls. If causation is not real there is no chain of effects and no first cause
Weakness Mackie overlapping series of contingent things
Aquinas said every contingent thing will cease to exist but that does not mean at one point everything will cease to exist. When one contingent thing ends another could begin infinitely. For example, imagine a series of interlocking hooks, is there a need for one to be attached to a wall? Contingent beings do not require a necessary being because they are self sustaining.
Bertrand Russell Quantum fluctuations
everything that exists does not need a cause. For example quantum fluctuations describe particles disappearing and appearing in space without any cause.
Weakness Hume universe as the first cause
God is a metaphysical concept that should not be selected as the first cause as all the same things could be said about the universe which has physical evidence.
