Cosmological Arguments (God) Flashcards
Arguments from Causation vs Contingence
Causation:
- 1.Everything in the universe has a cause
- 2.The universe itself must have a cause
- 3.The cause is God (itself uncaused)
Contingency:
- 1.Everything in the universe is dependent on something else
- 2.The universe itself must be dependent on something else
- 3.This is God (itself necessary)
The Kalām Argument (Causation)
P1. Everything with a beginning must have a cause
P2. The universe has a beginning
C. Therefore the universe must have a cause.
The Kalām argument (Planets+Craig)
P1. Jupiter has a 12-year orbit. Saturn has a 30-year orbit. Therefore Jupiter does twice as many orbits as Saturn.
P2. If time is infinite then Jupiter does exactly the same amount of orbits as Saturn.
P3. This is absurd (P2 contradicts P1, but Al-Ghazali knows P1 to be true).
C1. Therefore time cannot be infinite and the universe must have a beginning.
Craig then explains that all scientific explanations of the cause of the universe (Big bang theory) need explaining themselves, leaving the only alternative to be a personal explanation. So..
C2. The universe must be a personal cause, and this is God.
Aquinas’ first way (argument from motion)
Argument from Causation
- Things change, as a result of other things undergoing change
- This chain cannot go back infinitely (otherwise there would be no chain at all).
- Therefore there must be a first mover which started the chain off
C. This is God
Aquinas’ Second Way (Argument from atemporal causation)
Argument from Causation
P1. Every event has a cause (Causal principle)
P2. Nothing can be the cause of itself (as it would have to be prior to itself, which is impossible)
P3. This order of efficient causes of events can’t go back infinitely, meaning there must be a first efficient cause.
C1. Therefore there must be a first efficient cause, which is not itself caused.
C2. This first cause is God
Efficient cause def
refers to what we ordinarily thing of as ’the cause’ - the primary explanation for what occurred prior to the event to cause the event.
Aquinas’ Third Way (Argument from Contingency)
P1. Things in the world are contingent (they have a start and end in existence)
P2. If everything is contingent, then it’s possible there was a time when everything had passed out of existence
P3. If there was nothing there’d be nothing now, but this is false.
C1. Therefore not everything has contingent existence - there is one thing with necessary existence
C2. This is God
Basically saying that for things to exist now, at least one thing must have always existed to allow things to keep being created. This is God.
Descartes’ cosmological argument (From Causation)
He investigates where his own existence comes from
P1. The cause of my existence as a thinking thing Could either be a) myself, b) i have always existed c) my parents d) a being less than God, or e) God
P2. I cannot have caused myself to exist, as i would have made myself perfect
P3. I haven’t always existed, i would be aware of this
P4. My parents may be the cause of my physical existence, but not of me as a thinking mind - nor so they sustain my existence.
P5. i cannot be created my a being less than God, as i have the idea of God and there must be as much reality in the cause as in the effect.
C. By elimination, only God could have created me
Contingent vs Necessary facts + Principle of Sufficient Reasoning
PSR = No fact/event can be true or exist unless there is a sufficient reason for why things are the way they are and not otherwise.
Necessary: Facts true by definition (2+2=4). You don’t need to go beyond the concepts involved to understand the truth. The truth is self-contained.
Contingent: Facts can only be partially explained in terms of other contingent facts.
(eg the tree fell. Why? The tree fell because of a gust of wind) - Only partial as the reason for the gust isn’t explained.
