Metaphysics Of God Flashcards
Define a cosmological argument
Deductive a posteriori arguments for the existence of God concerning causation, Change , motion, contingency or finitude in respect of the universe as a whole or process within it
Outline Aquinas’s first way ( cosmological )
1 ) some thins in the world undergo change
2) whatever changes is moved by something other than itself
3) if A is changed by B and and B is changed, then B must have been changed and to remove somethings moved is to remove the change itself
4) if this goes on to infinity then there is no first mover of change and to remove something’s mover is to remove the change itself
C1) therefore if there is no first cause of change then there are no other causes and so nothing changes
C2) therefore there must be a first mover of change and we call this God
Outline Descartes Cosmological arguement
part1
1. IF I cause my own existence I would give myself all perfections
2. I do not have all perfections
C1.Therefore I am not the cause of my existence
3. A lifespan is composed of independent parts, such that my existing at one time does not entail or cause my existing later ( temporal existence does not provide a explanation of a sustaining existence)
4. My existence is caused
C2.Therefore some cause is needed to keep me in existence
5. I do not have the power to cause my continued existence through time
C3. Therefore I depend on something else to exist
part 2
1. I am a thinking thing and I have the idea of God
2. There must be as much reality in the cause as in the effect
3. Therefore, what causes my existence must be a thinking thing and have the idea of God
4. Either what caused me is the cause of its own exeistence or its exeistence is caused by another cause
5. If it existence is caused by another cause, then the point repeats
6. There cannot be an infinite sequence of cause
7. Therefore some cause must be the cause of its own existence
8. What is the cause of its own existence ( and so directly or indirectly is the cause of my existence ) is God
9. Therefore, God exists
what are the three possible objections to Descartes cosmological arguements
objection to the causal Principle , Argument from a unique case, argument from possible infinity
how does the rejection of the causal principle challenge Descartes cosmological arguement
Hume argues that causation is not an analytic truth and so we can only obtain knowledge of causation a posterior. We observe that one event follows another repeatedly, but there is nothing logically contradictory about an event occurring without a cause and so we cannot state that it is an analytical truth that everything must have a cause. Thus, causation does not hold the necessity of an analytic truth, as its truth isn’t evident from reason alone.
outline Malcolms ontologiacl arguement
P1. Either God exists or God does not exist
P2. God cannot come into existence or go out of existence
P3. If God exists, God cannot cease to exist
C1. therefore if God exists, Gods existence is necessary
P4. If God does not exist, God cannot come into existence
C2. therefore is God does not exis, Gods existence is impossible
C3. therefore God’s existence is either necessary or impossible
P5. Gods existenceis only impossible if the concept of of God is self contradictory
P6. the concept of God is not self-contradictory
C4.therefore Gods exietnce is not impossible
C5. therefore God exists necessarily
define an ontological arguement
ontological arguments are arguments for the existence of God based on the nature of reality or being and are a priori deductive arguments (if the premises are true, conclusion must be the case) for the existence of God.
explain the objection of a false dichotomy to malcolms arguement
his argument seems to commit a false dichotomy fallacy. By claiming that either God’s existence is impossible, or it is necessary, Malcolm overlooks the possibility that God’s existence could be necessary in theory but not actual. In other words, it could be argued that God necessarily exists in concept but does not exist in reality.
what is the stronger objection to Malcolms ontological arguement ( Gaunilo) and explain
Gaunilo’s critique: just because we can conceive of a necessary being does not mean that such a being exists in reality.
Gaunilo’s criticism is that conceiving of a necessarily existing God only makes it true if God exists; it does not establish that God exists in the first place. Malcolm still seems to make a leap from “God’s existence is not impossible” to “God exists necessarily.” Gaunilo’s objection points out that if God does not exist, then the claim that He exists necessarily only holds in conception, not in reality.
What does it mean to claim that God is everlasting?
To describe God as everlasting is to say He exists within time , meaning He experiences events sequentially, but has no beginning or end. ( temporal)
What does it mean to claim that God is eternal?
He exists outside of time entirely, without beginning, end, or temporal change. Unlike beings that exist within time and experience events sequentially, an eternal God would perceive all points in time simultaneously and is not affected by the passage of time ( eternal immediacy)—-> exists at-temporaly
State the definitions of God used by a) Anselm b) Descartes in their ontological arguments
Anselm: A being than which no greater can be conceived
Descartes: A supremely perfect being
Outline the Kalam cosmological argument ( lane Criag )
P1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause of it’s existence
P2. the universe began to exist
C1.Therefore, the universe has a cause of its existence
P3. No scientific explanation ( in terms of physical laws and initial conditions of the universe) can provide a causal account of the origin ( very beginning ) of the universe, since such are part of the universe
C2. Therefore, the cause must be personal ( personal is space less, timeless, immaterial and therefore God)
Outline Aquinas’ Second Way (his causal argument).—> Cosmological arguement
P1. We find in the wolrd ( sustaining )causes and effects
P2. nothing can be the ( sustaining ) cause of itself
P3. Sustaining causes follow in order: the first causally sustains the secound, whihc causally sustains the third.
P4. If you remove a cause, you remove its effect
P5. If teher is an infinite regress of causes there is no first cause
C1. therefore given that there are susteoaning causes there cannot be an infinite regress of causes
C2. therefore there must be a first uncaused cause, we call this being God
Outline Aquinas’ 1st Way (the argument from motion)—> cosmological arguement
P1. Things in the world undergo change
P2. Things that change are chnaged by things other than themslevs
C1. So one thing that is acused by another must itself be caused by another thing if it is changed
P4. there cannot be an infinite regress of change otherwise there would be no first change
C2. therefore if there was no first chnage nothing else would be changed
C3. Therefore there is a first cause of chnage, and we call this first cause God
