The Cosmological Argument Flashcards
What type of argument is the Cosmological Argument?
Posteriori
Synthetic
Deductive
Who wrote the Cosmological Argument?
Aquinas
developed on Aristotle’s argument
Who is the Aristotle?
Greek Philosopher
Scientist
What does Aristotle argue?
That behind the series of cause and effect in the world there must be an unmoved mover.
What is Cosmology?
The study of nature and the order of the universe.
What are the four causes?
- Material
- Efficient
- Formal
- Final
Define Material Cause.
The things out of which an object is created.
Define Efficient Cause.
The way in which an object is created.
Define Formal Cause.
The expression, idea or plan that led to the creation of an object.
Its characteristics.
Define Final Cause.
The aim for which an object is created.
Who made the chain effect?
The Prime Mover.
What is The Prime Mover?
Aristotle argued there must have been a thing that started itself without being caused.
An Uncaused Cause/The Prime Mover.
Where is The Prime Mover?
What started the chain must be out of time and space because everything in the universe has a cause.
Who is Aquinas?
An Italian Theologian and Philosopher.
What are Aquinas’ Five Ways and where are they found?
Found in the Summa Theologica and wrote to prove the existence of God.
- The Unmoved Mover
- The Uncaused Causer
- Possibility and Necessity
- Goodness, Truth and Nobility
- Teleological
Define Way One - The Unmoved Mover.
There must be an Unmoved Mover producing movement in everything else, but not being moved itself.
People understand this to be God.
What is Way One?
Aquinas’ argument from motion and change.
What is Way Two?
Aquinas’ argument from causation.
What is Way Three?
Aquinas’ argument from contingency and necessity.
Nothing stays the same, everything is contingent.
Define Contingent.
Things are dependent for their existence on other beings or things.
God.
What is the Cosmological Argument based on?
Some claimed common feature of the whole universe, such as movement or cause and effect.
Define Way Two - The Uncaused Causer.
Similar to The Unmoved mover but instead of motion, cause is considered.
Define necessary.
Something which cannot exist.
Define Way Three - Contingency and Necessity.
There must be a necessary being that created all contingent things.
This necessary being = God
Define fallacy.
A failure in reasoning in which makes an argument invalid.
Who critiques the Cosmological Argument?
Russell
Hume
What does Russell say about a “necessary being”?
- God would have to be in a special category of his own to be a necessary being.
- Where does this category come from?
- A “necessary being” has no meaning.
What does Hume say about a “necessary being”?
- Any being that exists can also not exist.
- This is not a contradiction.
- Also no contradiction in saying “God does not exist”.
- Aquinas’ Way 3 requires God to be a necessary being = false logic.
