Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

REP - Philosophy > Theme 1A: Inductive arguments - cosmological > Flashcards

Theme 1A: Inductive arguments - cosmological Flashcards

1
Q

What does the cosmological argument attempt to prove?

A

That God is the cause of the universe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What type of argument is the cosmological argument?

A

Inductive
Posteriori

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What does inductive argument mean?

A

Probability not proof, even if the premises are true the conclusion can still be false

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what does posteriori mean?

A

Based on experience not logic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the cosmological argument based on?

A

It is based on our experience that everything has a cause - posteriori

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What does the cosmological argument presume?

A

That the universe must have a first cause - priori

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Why is the cause of the universe a external cause?

A

As it must be located outside of the universe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the key facts about the external cause in the cosmological argument?

A
  • Not itself cause
  • Doesn’t need an explanation
  • The external cause is God
  • God’s existence is necessary
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Who came up with the 5 ways of the cosmological argument?

A

Thomas Aquinas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the name of the book that Aquinas wrote the cosmological argument in?

A

Summa Theologica

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is Aquinas first way referred to as?

A

‘Motion and change’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the first way?

A
  • Everything in the world is in a state of change or motion
  • When we look down the changes we would have to come to something that started the sequence off
  • At the start of the sequence there must be an unmoved mover
  • Aquinas called this God
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Who was Aquinas influenced by for the first way?

A
  • Aristotle’s idea of a prime mover
  • He used Aristotle’s examples and explanations
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What was Aristotle’s idea of a prime mover (first way)?

A
  • Aristotle uses things moving from a state of potentiality to a state of an actuality
  • There must be an efficient cause that moves potentiality to actuality
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What did Aquinas believe about infinite regress?

A
  • He rejected it
  • He believed we would not find the first cause of things by simply going further and further back in time
  • He said there must be a beginning point
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is infinite regress?

A

Finding the first cause of things by simply going further and further back in time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What was Aristotle’s analogy that can be used to illustrate the first way?

A
  • The example of a block of marble
  • The block has the potentiality to become a statue (actuality) but only when acted on by the sculptor (efficient cause)
  • The universe is the same
18
Q

What was Aquinas analogy that can be used to illustrate the first way?

A
  • The example of wood
  • Wood has the potential to become hot but it needs actual heat to do so
  • An efficient cause (fire) must cause the wood to become hot.
  • The universe is the same
19
Q

What concept does the second way deal with?

A

Cause and effect

20
Q

According to Aquinas, what is controlled by the law of cause and effect?

A

Everything observable in nature

21
Q

What is the second way based on?

A

efficient causality

22
Q

How do we see efficient causality in the world around us?

A

As there is an order of efficient causes and it is impossible that something is its own efficient cause

23
Q

What can the order of efficient causes not do (second way)?

A

Cannot proceed to infinity

24
Q

What is the second way?

A
  • Everything has a cause as nothing can cause itself
  • There can’t be an infinite number of causes as with an infinite chain there can be no first cause
  • Therefore there must be a first cause on which all other things depend on
  • Aquinas called this God
25
Q

Why does Aquinas reject the idea of an infinite series of cause and effect?

A

As if it was infinite, what would have caused all the cause and effect now

26
Q

What are the key terms in the second way?

A

Efficient cause: What causes all other causes
Intermediate cause: The thing that causes the efficient cause
- Ultimate cause: The thing that is caused by the intermediate cause

27
Q

What concept does Aquinas’s third way deal with?

A

Contingency and necessity

28
Q

What did Aquinas’s state about the world in the third way?

A

That everything in the world is dependent on something else - contingent

29
Q

What is the third way?

A
  • Everything in the world is contingent
  • If everything is dependant on something else nothing would exist
  • So there must be a necessary being
  • This necessary being must not be dependant on anything else and brought everything else into existence
  • Aquinas’s stated this was God
30
Q

Who created an analogy for the third way?

A

Copleston

31
Q

What was Copleston analogy for the third way?

A
  • Using the relationship between a parent and a child
  • Without the existence of a parent, the child cannot come into existence
  • The child is contingent on the parent for its existence
  • Its the same way as God
32
Q

Why is the Kalam argument cosmological?

A

It seeks to prove that God was the temporal (relating to time) first cause of the universe

33
Q

What is Kalam arabic for?

A

‘Argue’ or ‘Discuss’

34
Q

Who first developed the Kalam argument?

A

Al Kinda and Al Ghazali - An Islamic group of thinkers influenced by Aristotle

35
Q

When was the Kalam argument first developed?

A

850 CE

36
Q

Who later developed a modern version of the Kalam argument?

A

William lane Craig

37
Q

What century did William lane Craig create a modern version of the Kalam argument?

A

20th Century

38
Q

What view is the Kalam argument based on?

A

The view that infinity cannot exist in actuality so the universe must of had a beginning

39
Q

What is the Kalam argument?

A
  • Whatever comes into being must have a cause
  • The universe came into being
  • Therefore the universe must have a cause of its existence
  • Since no scientific evidence can provide a causal account of the origins of the universe, the cause must be personal
  • This personal agent can be seen as God
40
Q

What are the two arguments in the Kalam argument?

A
  • Actual infinite can’t exist
  • Actual infinite can’t be formed
41
Q

What is the Actual infinite can’t exist argument in the Kalam argument?

A
  • If you had an infinite number of red and black balls, you would have an infinite number of black and red balls
  • In reality this is not possible
  • It is the same with the universe
  • Could also use the library example
42
Q

What is the actual infinite can’t be formed argument in the Kalam argument?

A
  • Successive addition
  • You can always add more to a number
  • Dates, times and numerical sequences are evidence against actual infiite due to this
  • Therefore it is illogical to think of actual infinity
  • If something does not contain its own reason for existing, then it must have been caused by something else. Only when we arrive at a self causing, necessary being can we say we have reached the end of the chain of cause and effect

REP - Philosophy (9 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions