Cosmological Argument

Question 1

Cosmological

Answer 1

everything that exists must have a cause. God must be the cause of the universe as it exists.

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

Question 2

Cosmological Argument - philosophers

Answer 2

For - Descartes, Kalam, Aquinas (way 1 + 2 = causation and way 3 = contingency)

Criticisms - Russell and Hume (response to Hume - Anscombe)

Question 3

Kalam

Answer 3

1. Everything the begins to exist has a cause
2. The universe began to exist
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause and we call this cause God

• defenders of Kalam Argument say that God - as a necessary being - always existed and has the status of an uncaused cause
• this argument focuses on coming into existence

Question 4

Aquinas Way One

Causation

Answer 4

1. It is certain and evident to our senses that things around us are in motion
2. Motion involves change
3. All changes in the world are due to some cause
4. Therefore there must be a first cause for this entire sequence of changes
5. We call this cause God

• causation - a cause is something without which another event would not follow
• things in motion include atoms, animals and geology etc
• the world is in a state of flux (constantly changing)

Question 5

Aquinas Way Two

Causation

Answer 5

1. The world is a sequence of events
2. Ever event in the world is the result of some cause
3. There must be a cause for the whole sequence
4. We call this cause God

• causation - a cause of something, without which another event would not follow

Question 6

Aquinas Way Three

Contingency

Answer 6

1. The world might not have existed (making it contingent)
2. Anything that (contingently) exists in the world depends on some other thing for its existence
3. Therefore the world must depend on some other thing for its existence
4. We call this thing god

• One can imagine the world not existing, which makes us question why there is something rather than nothing

Question 7

Descartes

Hallmark/Trademark argument

Answer 7

1. We have an idea of God.
2. Our idea of God is of an infinite being.
3. Nothing comes from nothing.
4. Everything must have a cause (the causal principle)
5. Our idea of God must have a cause.
6. The lesser cannot give rise to the greater (the causal adequacy principle)
7. The ideas of God cannot come from anything less than an infinite power
8. Therefore the idea of God must come from an infinite power
9. We call this infinite power ‘God’.

• believes the causal principle is established a priori

Question 8

Hume’s Objection

criticism for CA

Answer 8

explains why an uncaused universe doesn’t need to be puzzling

There is no necessary connection between ‘cause’ and ‘effect’; a cause can occur without an effect and an effect can occur without a cause.

Causes and effects are isolated happenings which just happen to occur together, they are constantly conjoined. For this reason, there is no need for the universe (an effect) to have any kind of cause.

Question 9

Russell’s Objection

criticism for CA

Answer 9

This objection is a direct challenge to the principle of sufficient reason.

Russell argues that while everything in the universe requires an explanation this doesn’t mean that the universe as a whole necessitates an explanation. This is known as the fallacy of composition - it is not true that the features of the parts are also features of the whole. Same kind of reason applies to causation, just because everything has a cause doesn’t mean the universe must.

Russell says the universe exists as a brute fact - ‘I should say that the universe is just there and that is all’