Cosmological argument Flashcards
what does it attempt to show
the logical rationality of believing in God
what does cosmos mean
universe
what does the argument start from
the existence of the universe and tries to prove that from this God exists
what does the argument depend on
the willingness to ask the question, “why is there a universe?” if we are not interested in the question we just assume the universe was always there and there is no need for a God: the argument wouldn’t get off the ground
who wrote the cosmological argument
Aquinas
what was the argument a fuse of
Aristotle and the theology of Christianity
why did he reject Anslem’s ontological argument
- the knowledge of the existence of God is inaccessible to human reason which relies instead on sense experience
- since we cannot know the essence of God we cannot know he exists
- it is a mistake to argue from the idea of God to his existence because it jumps from concept to existence from idea to fact
what does Aquinas advocate
a synthetic statement and If a statement is synthetic, its truth value can only be determined by relying on observation and experience. Its truth value cannot be determined by relying solely upon logic or examining the meaning of the words involved.
Examples include:
All men are arrogant.
The president is dishonest.
Unlike analytic statements, in the above examples the information in the predicates (arrogant, dishonest) are not contained already in the subjects (all men, the president). In addition, negating either of the above would not result in a contradiction.
what is the argument also known as
cause and effect
why is it a synthetic argument
because he observes the natural order of the world and uses empirical sense experience to draw conclusions about the existence of God
what is the Greek background to the cosmological argument
- Aristotle believed every living thing was created by fusion of four causes and there was a prime mover responsible for initiating creative process
- it is separate from sensible beings (things you can experience with your senses)
- Aquinas builds on this concept of an uncaused cause and links this idea with God’s existence
- demonstrations known as five ways
what ways are the cosmological argument
1-2-3
what is the first way
MOTION, POTENTIALITY AND ACTUALITY:
- state of change
- coffee is actually hot but can be potentially cold
- you cannot both potentially and actually at the same time as it doesn’t make sense
- efficient cause can be understood as Aquinas’ way of saying the cause is necessary
- it you want a hot coffee you necessarily have to heat it
- efficient cause gives heat
- Aquinas’ first way suggests there is a first efficient cause of everything
- things in world in motion, must have been moved by something else
- chain of movement can’t go on for infinity
- need a prime mover which can’t be moved - God
what does Aquinas mean by motion
the way or method in which some object or thing becomes something else
give some parts of Aqunias’ quote about the first way
- some things in the world are certainly in the process of change: this we can plainly see
- anything in the process of change is being changed by something else
- it is a characteristic of things in a process of change that they do not have the perfection towards which they move though able potentially to have it whereas it is characteristic of something causing change to have that potential already, actuality
- fire which is actually hot caused wood which has the potential to be hot to become actually hot and in this way causes change in the wood
what is the second way
CAUSE AND EFFECT:
- in the universe
- nothing can be the cause of itself as this would mean it would have had to exist before it existed which is a logical impossibility
- same true of universe, Aquinas argued must have been a first uncaused cause that began the chain of causation
what is the example to describe the second way
chain of dominoes falling
- if you imagined an infinite line what caused one to fall was the previous one until you have an infinite chain of regression
- in terms of the first way we see every domino in the chain is potentially the cause of the next one falling however clearly you need an initial domino
what did Aquinas reject in relation to the second way
- he rejected the idea of an infinite series of causes of the universe and believed that just as there has to be an initial cause to the dominos there has to be an initial cause to the universe
- there must be a first uncaused cause e.g. God
give some of Aquinas’ quote for the second way
- from the nature of efficient cause. In the world of sensible things we find there is an order of efficient causes.
- no case known neither is it possible in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself
- now in efficient causes it is not possible to go onto infinity
- therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause to which everyone gives the name God
what is the third way
ARGUMENT FROM CONTIGENCY:
- identifies the contingency of matter in the universe
- basis of things come into existence and later cease to exist
- Aquinas concluded that there must have been a time when nothing existed
- therefore the cause of the universe must have been external to it and always existed
- there must have been a necessary being to bring everything else into existence, God
- if God didn’t exist then nothing else would exist
what are the five premises of the third way
- things which exist in nature at one time did not exist and in the future will not exist. at any time they may or may not exist (contingent existence)
- if everything at one time did not exist there would have been nothing in existence
- If point 2 were true then there would still be nothing in existence because there would be nothing to bring anything into existence
- Interim conclusion - there must exist something the existence of which is necessary
- Final conclusion - there exists some being having of itself its own necessity, this all men speak of as God
what is Aquinas’ understanding of God in relation to the third way in comparison to Anselm’s understanding of God
Aquinas’ understanding of God as a necessary being who must necessarily exist
Anselm’s understanding is that God exists independently of everything else
give some of the third way quote
- the third way is taken from possibility and necessity
- things in nature it is possible for them to be and not to be
- therefore if everything cannot be then at one time there was nothing in existence
discuss critic David Hume growing up in the enlightenment period
- enlightenment is a period in European history characterised by the emphasis on experience and reason, mistrust of religion and traditional authority and associated with a materialistic view of human beings
- he was an empiricist who took the everyday world as his starting point for philosophical thinking
what did Hume, as a critic, question
- he questioned the idea that every event has a cause, we assume they do but we cannot prove this
- bus stop example
- we may make assumptions about cause and effect which can be mistaken
what did Hume, as a critic of the cosmological argument, argue
- he argued we assume there is a relationship between cause and effect because our minds have developed a habit of seeing causes and associating effects with them
- as a matter of logic we cannot always assume there is a relationship and if this is true it completely undermines way 1 and 2 which assume a relationship
- Hume is arguing that Aquinas’ proposition that the universe has a cause is not certain
- simply because we see cause and effect in the world doesn’t mean the universe needs a cause
- Aquinas’ proof for God’s existence argument takes us behind daily experience of cause/change/effect /contingent beings and leaps to conclusion that God exists
why is Hume limited a critic
because he doesn’t criticise the third way
what was Hume’s argument in one line
if I cannot experience God then God does not necessarily exist
why is what Aquinas’ said a fallacy of composition as pointed out by Bertrand Russel
because for example, saying that every man has a mother is not proof that the human race has a mother
obviously the human race hasn’t a mother, that’s a different logical sphere
you cannot deduce the universe has a cause just because you can identify the cause of contingent things within the universe
what did Hume believe about constructing ideas
- believed human beings had constructed ideas through a fusion of different experiences that were not related
- e.g. angel is humans and winged creatures fused
- Hume argued God is another example of a complex idea that consists of something infinitely intelligent wise and good and if we’d never known these things we wouldn’t have had such and idea of God
- believed attempts to prove existence through human reason was rationalistic nonsense
- how can you prove something without sense experience
what was Hume’s quote
does this idea contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence. no. commit it then to the flames for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion
what does Hume think about a prime mover
- Hume objects to the concept of a prime mover because that would require us to step outside of the universe to observe which is impossible. The universe has a unique effect and we cannot observe its cause
