Theme 1 - Arguments for the existence of God

Question 1

A posteriori

Answer 1

on the basis of experience, used for an argument, such as the cosmological argument, that is based on experience or empirical evidence

Question 2

a priori

Answer 2

without, or prior to, experience. very similar to deductive reasoning. The truth can be established by logic alone, there is no need for empirical evidence.

e. g
- bachelors are unmarried men
- john is a bachelor
- therefore, John is an unmarried man

Question 3

aesthetic

Answer 3

relating to beauty

Question 4

St Anselm

Answer 4

11th-century Archbishop of Canterbury who fomulated the ontological argument to demonstrate that Gods existence can be proved on the basis of reason alone

Question 5

Anthropic argument

Answer 5

a teleological argument that claims that nature has been carefully designed for the needs of humans

Question 6

St Thomas Aquinas

Answer 6

13th Century Catholic Theologian. Developed ‘five ways’ which prove the existence of God.

Question 7

Classical Theism

Answer 7

the belief in a personal deity, creator of everything that exists but who is distinct from that creation.

Question 8

contingent beings

Answer 8

beings that depend upon something else for their existence

Question 9

cosmological argument

Answer 9

the argument for the existence of God based on the existence of the Universe

Question 10

William Lane Craig

Answer 10

A Christian apologist who is a proponent of the modern day Kalam argument

Question 11

cumulative arguments

Answer 11

a collection of arguments which, when clumped together, provide a stronger case than they do alone

Question 12

deductive arguments

Answer 12

an argument in which, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true. Similar to a priori

Question 13

Rene Descartes,

Answer 13

a proponent of the ontological argument who draws upin ideas of contingency and necessity as well as the perfection of existence

Question 14

efficient cause

Answer 14

that which causes change and motion to start and to stop - in many cases this is simply the thing that brings something about

Question 15

empiricism

Answer 15

the view that the dominant foundation of knowledge is experience

Question 16

essence

Answer 16

the essential nature of something

Question 17

existential

Answer 17

relating to existence

Question 18

ex nihilo

Answer 18

a Latin phrase meaning “out of nothing”. Refers to the belief that God did not use any previously existing material during creation.

Question 19

Gaunilo

Answer 19

criticised Anselm with the ‘perfect island’ analogy

Question 20

inductive argument

Answer 20

an argument constructed on possibly true premises reaching a logically possible and persuasive conclusion - similar to a posteriori

Question 21

infinite regression

Answer 21

a chain of causes that can never come to an end

Question 22

intelligent design

Answer 22

the view that an intelligent cause accounts for certain features of the Universe.

Question 23

Kalam Argument

Answer 23

a form of the Cosmological argument that rests of the idea that the Universe had a beginning in time

Question 24

Immanuel Kant,

Answer 24

German Philosopher and critic of the ontological argument

Question 25

Norman Malcolm

Answer 25

argued for a form of the ontological argument where God exists as an unlimited being and concluded that God exists necessarily.

Question 26

motion

Answer 26

In Aquinas’s first way of motion it refers to the process by which an object acquires a new form

Question 27

natural selection

Answer 27

with each slight variation, if proved useful, it is preserved and the trait passed on to the next generation.

Question 28

necessary beings

Answer 28

beings which, if they exist, cannot not exist. Not dependent on anything else for their existence.

Question 29

omnipotence

Answer 29

the characteristic of being all powerful

Question 30

omniscience

Answer 30

the characteristic of being all knowing

Question 31

ontological argument

Answer 31

an argument for the existence of God based on the concept of the nature of being

Question 32

order and regularity

Answer 32

features in the teleological argument; the view that both order and regularity are observable phenomena within the universe from which the inference is made that this is a deliberate feature and proof of a designer.

Question 33

predicate

Answer 33

something that adds to our concept of the subject

Question 34

principle of sufficient reason

Answer 34

there is some sort of explanation, known or unknow, for everything

Question 35

probability

Answer 35

the likelihood of something happening or being true

Question 36

purpose

Answer 36

the reason why something is in existence or being done

Question 37

qua

Answer 37

a Latin word meaning ‘according to’ or ‘relating to’

Question 38

supremely perfect being

Answer 38

relates to Anselm’s concept of the necessary existence of the most perfect conceivable being.

Question 39

teleological argument

Answer 39

an argument for the existence of God based upon observation of design and purpose in the world