The Cosmological argument Flashcards
What do ‘Cosmos’ and ‘logos’ mean?
Cosmos = Universe logos = study of
What is Infinite regretion?
It is an argument which states that for something to exist, it must have had a creator. However, for this creator to exist, it too much have had a creator, and this sequence goes back and back and has no end.
What does the Cosmological argument try to answer, and how?
It tries to answer the question “what determined that something ought to exist rather than nothing. It does this through the idea of cause and effect to infer that God must have started the chain reaction that set off the Universe.
Who are the two background scholars for the Cosmological argument, and what did they theorise?
The first was Plato:
Plato argues that there must be a prime mover who is capable of moving himself and all other things within the Universe - which count as second movers.
The second was Aristotle:
Aristotle argued that nothing can come from nothing, therefore, something must start the series of events. A first cause.
What is the Kalam cosmological argument, and what does it consist of?
Developed by Al Kindi, he took Plato and Aristotles ideas an put them into a philosophical argument to prove the existence of God.
What type of argument is the Cosmological argument?
It is inductive, a posteriori and synthetic
What is ‘motion’, referring to Thomas Aquinas’ three ways?
Motion - In the world, some things are in motion. For something to move, it must first be moved by something else. Movement can not go on forever. Therefore, there must be a first mover. This first mover is God.
What is ‘causation’, referring to Thomas Aquinas’ three ways?
Causation - in the world, events occur. Every event has a cause. It is impossible for a series of causes to be infinite. Therefore, there must be a first cause. In this case God.
What is ‘contingency’, referring to Thomas Aquinas’ three ways?
Since everything within the Universe is contingent, as it could have not existed, then it could not have caused it self. Therefore, it needs a necessary being in order to bring it into existence, in this case God.
What are Hume’s criticisms of the Cosmological argument?
Hume criticised that we do not have any experience of Universes being made, and it is simply not possible to argue from everything inside the Universe having a cause to the Universe itself having one. This is a logical jump that the argument fails to realise.
What is Immanuel Kant’s criticism of the Cosmological argument?
Immanuel Kant rejected the argument outright not only because the idea on a ‘necessary being’ was incoherent but also because our knowledge is limited to the phenomenal world of time and space and cannot speculate what can exist outside of time and space.
What are the strengths of the Cosmological argument?
- Comes in its inductive reasoning, as it relies on evidence that we can observe. Begins with evidence which can be Universal. Does not rely on fixed definitions that we must accept, which is present in the Ontological argument.
- The Cosmological argument fits in with the God of classical theism.
- It makes sense that we would believe that the Universe would have a cause. Fits in with everything we believe and can observe within the Universe. Fits in with scientific belief that the Universe has a cause.
