Philosophy- The Existence of God Flashcards
Teleological
Explanation by reference to end, goal or purpose , derived from the Greek “telos” meaning end , purpose or goal and “logos” meaning reason
Aesthetic
Appreciation of beauty
Anthropic argument
The argument that nature is planning in advance for the needs of humans
Analogy
A comparison of two or more things to show how they are similar
Contingent existence
. A contingent thing is one which does not exist necessarily and so could have failed to exist
Deductively valid argument
An argument in which the premises entail the conclusion. If the premises are true, the conclusion is true.
Inductive argument
An argument which is probabilistic , because the truth of its conclusion cannot be guaranteed by the truth of its premises
Necessary existence
A necessary thing is something that could not possibly have failed to exist
Predicate
A word that refers to the properties of things
Sound argument
An argument which is valid and in which all the premises are true
Valid argument
An argument in which the conclusion follows from the premises
Premise
A proposition that supports , or helps to support , a conclusion
Conclusion
A statement that purports to be drawn from a set of premises
Deduction
If the premises are true , then the conclusion must be true
Truth value
Whether a statement is actually true or false
A priori
Relies on logical deduction and not on sense experience . It is before a sense experience
A posteriori
After experience , derived from observed facts
Design qua purpose
The basis of the argument is that there is evidence of design in the universe around us. Everything appears to have been designed to fulfil a function
Design qua regularity
The basis of the argument that the Universe appears to behave according to some order or rule
Sceptic
Someone who is inclined to doubt what he or she is told or wishes to suspend judgement unless there is certainty; someone who is keen to point out the limitations of knowledge
Epistemic distance
A distance in knowledge or awareness
Cosmology
The study of the origins and structure of the universe
Quote for Anselm
“A being than which nothing greater can be conceived “
Quote for Kant
“Existence is not a predicate “
Quotes supporting Aquinas’ 3rd Way
“That which does not exist begins to exist only through something already existing”
Quotes supporting Russell
” I should say that the universe is just there , and that is all “
Hume summary
- Against the Cosmological argument
- Empiricist
- Atheist
Subject
Refers to who or what the sentence is about
Analytical
Statements/propositions that are true by the meaning of the words used
Ontological argument summary
Based on the claim that God’s existence can be deduced from his definition
Anselm’s argument summary
P1: God is the greatest conceivable being
P2:It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind
C:Therefore as the greatest conceivable being , God must exist in reality
Guanilo’s criticism summary
P1:It is possible to conceive the greatest island
P2:It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind
C:Therefore the most perfect island must exist
Anselm’s response to Guanilo
God alone has the predicate of being necessary because he is the greatest conceivable being
Who is Anselm?
•1033-1109
•Benedictine monk and an Archbishop of Canterbury
Wrote Proslogium and Responsio
Who is Kant ?
- 1724-1804
- Lived and died in Prussia
- One of the most influential modern philosophers
Who is Guanilo?
- French Benedictine monk and contemporary of Anselm
- First to criticise Anselm
- Wrote ‘On Behalf Of A Fool’
Who is Barth ?
- Swiss Protestant theologian
- Wrote ‘Faith Seeking Understanding’
- 1886-1968
Paley’s argument summary
- A posteriori, inductive as probability not a proof
- Based on the observations of the biological world, regularity of the orbits, purpose of the designer
- Analogy of the watch and the universe
Hume’s critique of Design Arguments
- The cause of design in the universe needs only to be proportional to its effect
- The existence of evil and imperfection suggests a limited designer
- An analogy is just anthropomorphism
- The universe could have developed into a comparatively ordered state by chance
Weaknesses of Paley’s Design Argument
- The level of evil in the world
- If nature can order itself then the universe might be able to
- Our ideas about the universe making are anthropomorphic and limited
- An omnipotent God is a greater cause than is needed to account for the appearance of design in the universe
Strengths of Paley’s Design Argument
- God is the simplest explanation of the appearance of design in the universe
- Paley argued that evil may be unavoidable
- Based on induction
- The conclusion that the designer is metaphysical and transcendent still seems reasonable
The status of Paley’s argument as a proof
- Proof can mean “sufficient evidence for a proposition”
- Reasonable inductive probability
- Best explanation of the order we see in the universe
The relationship between reason and faith
- The belief that God exists is a reasonable hypothesis based on evidence
- For others , only faith gives certainty
- However, fideism itself can be seen as justifying absurd beliefs
- Pope John Paul 2 argues that truth can be known only through a combination of faith and reason
The value of Paley’s Design Argument for religious faith
- Supports faith by reasoning
- Forms a reasonable defence of religious faith against atheism
- However , some claim that fideists faith does not depend on reason or proof so the argument offers no support
The basis of the argument in thought
- The Ontological Argument claims that the proposition ‘God exists’ is a priori / deductive
- The subject ‘God’ contains the predicate ‘exists’ , so God must exist
- God’s existence is a necessary truth , not a contingent one
Criticism from Kant
- God must possess all the perfect predicates as a supremely perfect being
- Existence is not a real predicate so we are not adding anything to the concept of God
- God exists necessarily is logically true because that it how we define God but it does not follow that there really is a God
Strengths of Anselm’s Ontological Argument
- It is deductive so if it works , it is a proof
- It is not meant to be a logical proof : it’s a confession of faith . For those with faith , the Ontological argument is clear to their faith
Weaknesses of Anselm’s Ontological Argument
- Kant’s two objections defeat all Ontological Arguments
* Christians would reject any attempt to define God
The status of Anselm’s Ontological Argument
- The deductive Ontological Argument is a proof if we agree that the argument works
- If the Ontological Argument was really a proof , there would be no argument about it
The value of Anselm’s argument for religious faith
- It is cast in the form of prayer rather than a logical proof
- Based on a religious experience where God spoke to Anselm
Brute fact
A fact that has no explanation
Contingent
Dependent for their existence on other beings or things
Cosmos
The cosmos usually refers to this space-time universe. The study of the universe is called cosmology
Fallacy
A fallacy is a failure in reasoning which makes an argument invalid
Fallacy of composition
This is the fallacy of inferring that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of part of the whole , or of every part of the whole. Russell argues that Aquinas’ third way commits the fallacy composition
Grace
The Christian doctrine of God’s grace is that God shows humanity an undeserved love and mercy. Roughly speaking , grace is what bridges the gap between the moral standards that God requires and what humans can achieve by their own unaided efforts
Infinite regress
In the Cosmological Argument , this is an indefinite sequence of causes or beings which does not have a first member of the series
Metaphysical necessity
A form of necessity that derives from the nature or essence of things . Aquinas’ third way in effect holds that God has metaphysical necessity
Occam’s Razor
(Attributed to William of Ockham, c. 1287-1347) Given in various forms : if there are competing hypotheses , choose the one that makes the fewest assumptions / entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily / if there are two competing theories that make the same predictions , the simpler one is the better
Principle of Sufficient Reason
The doctrine that everything must have a reason or cause : very contingent fact about the universe must have an explanation. Leibniz used the principal in connection with his Cosmological Argument to ask ‘Why is there a universe at all , and why is it the way that it is ? ‘, from which he concluded that God must exist as a necessary being
Quark
An elementary particle assumed to be one of the building blocks of matter
The basis of the argument in observation
Way 3 is a posteriori and inductive, so is based on observation. The observation is that all things we see in the universe are contingent . From this , Aquinas concluded that something must exist necessarily
The argument from contingency and necessity : Way 3
- There must have been a time where nothing existed if everything is existed
- If this time existed then there would be nothing now
- There must be an ‘uncaused’ necessary being who sustains all caused necessary beings and all contingent beings
- This is God
Criticism 1 of the Cosmological Argument :(Russell)- Way3 commits the fallacy of composition
It is fallacious to say that everything in the universe is contingent and so is the universe because we can claim that the universe as a whole is necessary
Criticism 2 of the Cosmological Argument :(Hume and Russell) -the words , necessary being , are meaningless
Hume thinks that the claims in the Ontological Argument that ‘God exists ‘ is the same as the one in the Cosmological Argument that is ‘God is necessary’ so rejects it. But this is not a valid criticism of Aquinas because he means that God has a metaphysical necessity not a logical necessity
Criticism 3 of the Cosmological Argument -(Hume and Russell) - the universe itself may exist necessarily
Aquinas accepts this but argued that the universe could only exist necessarily if it was brought into existence by and ‘uncaused’ necessary being
Criticism 4 of the Cosmological Argument : (Russell)
The universe exists as an unexplainable brute fact . Against Russell , if the universe is unexplainable , it seems very odd that science works on the opposite principle
The Status of the Cosmological Argument as proof
- It cannot be proof in the logical sense , because inductive arguments deal in probabilities rather than proofs
- The argument does not convince atheist
- Supports the idea that God exists as a metaphysically necessary being
Aquinas on God cresting the universe
«Therefore we cannot help but postulate the existence of some being having itself its own necessity , and not receiving it from another , but rather causing in others their necessity . This all men speak of as God»
What does Anselm say at the end of Chapter 1 of Proslogium ?
“For this too I believe : that unless I believe I shall not understand”
What does Anselm describe God as ?
“God is … a being than which no greater can be conceived”
What does Anselm say about God’s existence ?
“God cannot be conceived not to exist - God is that , than which nothing can be conceived not to exist”
Quote for belief in and belief that
“Surely belief ‘in’ is an attitude to a person , whether human or divine while belief ‘that’ is just an attitude to a proposition”
Criticism from Hume on God
“Is he both able and willing ? When then is evil?”
Fideism
The view that faith does not depend on reason
