The Existence of God: Theistic Arguments

Question 1

Oppy says the debate over the existence of God is…

Answer 1

ultimately a matter of faith.

Question 2

Oppy’s thesis about the existence of God is…

Answer 2

there are no successful arguments for OR against God.

Question 3

Oppy defines a “successful argument” as…

Answer 3

one that is both sound and persuasive.

Question 4

For Oppy, an argument is persuasive if it…

Answer 4

is clear, easy to understand, and relevant to the issue at hand.

Question 5

Oppy argues that the cosmological argument…

Answer 5

begs the question by assuming God is the only possible cause of the universe. He contends that there could be other possible causes

Question 6

Oppy argues that the burden of proof lies…

Answer 6

With theists, and they must provide good reasons to believe in God. But atheists should be able to offer positive arguments too.

Question 7

Oppy’s fatal flaw in his definition of a “successful argument” is…

Answer 7

that the bar is so high that his own standard is self refuting since he doesn’t have a successful argument for his understanding of a successful argument.

Question 8

Oppy’s response to the moral argument is…

Answer 8

there’s no good reason to believe that there are objective moral values, and that even if there are, they need not be grounded in God.

Question 9

Oppy says that instead of God, moral values could be grounded in…

Answer 9

the laws of nature or the human mind.

Question 10

Oppy says that both the cosmological and moral argument…

Answer 10

beg the question.

Question 11

Oppy says the cosmological argument is not…

Answer 11

a deductive but an inductive argument. So, at best, it provides evidence for its conclusion but does not prove it with certainty.

Question 12

What is the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR)?

Answer 12

for every event or state of affairs, there is a reason why it exists.

Question 13

Davis argues that theistic proofs are…

Answer 13

not attempts to prove the existence of God in a mathematical or scientific sense. Instead, he argues that they are attempts to provide rational support for the belief in God.

Question 14

Davis defines a religious experience as…

Answer 14

“an experience of something that is both profoundly meaningful and beyond the natural world.”

Question 15

What are the two ways Davis says religious experiences can provide evidence of God?

Answer 15

1. Can indicate a transcendent reality.
2. Indicates a personal God.

Question 16

Critics say that religious experiences aren’t reliable sources of information about reality because…

Answer 16

they can be explained by psychological factors, such as wishful thinking or mental illness.

Question 17

What is Davis’s definition of a theistic proof?

Answer 17

“An attempt to prove, by argument, that God exists.”

Question 18

What is Davis’s definition of a successful proof?

Answer 18

“to demonstrate the existence of God and thus the rationality of belief in the existence of God.”

Question 19

What are Feser’s 5 proofs for the existence of God?

Answer 19

1. Aristotelian
2. Neo-Platonic
3. Augustinian
4. Thomistic
5. Rationalist

Question 20

What is Feser’s Aristotelian proof?

Answer 20

Argument from motion/change. Everything that moves is moved by something else. If this chain goes on forever, there is no ultimate cause of motion. This is impossible, so there must be an unmoved mover, which is God.

Question 21

What is Feser’s Neo-Platonic proof?

Answer 21

Argument from composition. The most perfect being must be absolutely simple, i.e., have no parts. Only God can be absolutely simple, because anything with parts depends on them for its existence.

Question 22

What is Feser’s Augustinian proof?

Answer 22

Argument from necessary truths. Necessary truths, such as the law of non-contradiction, exist in all possible worlds. The only way to explain the existence of necessary truths is to posit the existence of an eternal mind that knows all necessary truths. This eternal mind is God.

Question 23

What is Feser’s Thomistic proof?

Answer 23

Existential argument. Distinction between essence and existence. The essence of something is what makes it what it is, while its existence is the fact that it actually exists. There must be something that exists necessarily, meaning that it cannot not exist. This necessary being is God.

There must be something that exists necessarily.
The only thing that can exist necessarily is something whose essence and existence are identical.
God is the only thing whose essence and existence are identical.
Therefore, God exists.

Question 24

What is Feser’s Rationalist proof?

Answer 24

Argument from contingency. Everything that exists is contingent, i.e., could not exist. Therefore, something must exist necessarily, i.e., cannot not exist. This necessary being is God.

Feser argues that the PSR applies to everything, including the universe itself. This means that the universe must have a sufficient reason for its existence. However, the universe cannot be its own sufficient reason, because this would lead to an infinite regress. Therefore, the sufficient reason for the existence of the universe must be something outside of the universe. This is what Feser calls the “uncaused causer” or “God.”