Philosophy - Cosmological Argument
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- Created on: 27-04-14 16:14
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- Philosophy - The Cosmological Argument
- What The Cosmological Argument Is
- A Posteriori argument - based on empirical evidence
- 'Cosmos' meaning 'universe' it is the argument that seeks to prove the existence of God through the beginning of the universe
- Based on the claim that everything existing in the universe exists because it was caused by something else - that 'something' is considered to be God
- St Thomas Aquinas' Version
- Summa Theologica - Aquinas' 3 Ways
- 2. From Cause
- Aquinas believed that the chain of cause and effect in the universe could not go on forever, there had to be an ultimate start, an uncaused cause - God
- E.g. Dominoes falling - each domino knocks the next in the line down but something had to set off the chain of cause and effect
- Aquinas believed that the chain of cause and effect in the universe could not go on forever, there had to be an ultimate start, an uncaused cause - God
- 1. From Motion
- proposed that all objects had the potential to change and become something different. for this change to occur a third party had to be involved.
- Aquinas expanded on this to prove God's existence by saying that this chain of actualization cannot go on forever, there must have been a first unmoved mover - God
- E.g. a piece of marble has the potential to become a statue with the help of a sculptor
- Inspired by Aristotle's ideas on potential and change
- Greek philosopher - famously a student of Plato
- proposed that all objects had the potential to change and become something different. for this change to occur a third party had to be involved.
- 3. From Contigency
- Based on the fact that everything around us exists contingently (is reliant upon something else)
- Aquinas expanded upon this by saying that if everything around us is contingent then there must have been a time when none of these things existed but they cannot cause themselves to come into existence so something else must have caused this.
- Aquinas however, argued that God could not be contingent because then God would have needed something to bring him into existence - thus God is of necessary existence
- Aquinas expanded upon this by saying that if everything around us is contingent then there must have been a time when none of these things existed but they cannot cause themselves to come into existence so something else must have caused this.
- Based on the fact that everything around us exists contingently (is reliant upon something else)
- 2. From Cause
- 13th Century Italian Philosopher
- Scholar, monk and teacher
- Summa Theologica - Aquinas' 3 Ways
- Kalam Version
- William Lane Craig (1979)
- Chronological events and history prove that there must be a beginning to the universe
- Al-Kindi and Al-Ghazali
- the possibility and impossibility of potential and actual infinities
- God as a personal creator
- If the universe began to exist, and is caused, then the cause of the universe must be a personal being who freely chose to create the world.
- E.L. Miller
- Time began when the universe began and the beginning was an event so something must havecaused it - God
- William Lane Craig (1979)
- Gottfried Leibniz's Version
- 17th Century philosopher and mathematician
- Accepted the cosmological argument simply because he felt there had to be sufficient reason for the universe's existence
- Interpretation of History
- avoided the problem of infinite regression by interpreting history as an endless series of explanations not events.
- Support For The Arguments
- Richard Swinburne
- Frederick R. Copleston
- Criticisms Of The Argument
- Criticisms of Aquinas' Version
- Anthony Kenny
- Criticisms of the Kalam version
- Edward Tyron and modern physics
- Criticisms of the whole argument
- The Big Bang Theory
- Support For The Arguments
- Richard Swinburne
- Frederick R. Copleston
- Support For The Arguments
- Brian Davies
- Immanuel Kant
- Bertrand Russell
- David Hume
- The Big Bang Theory
- Criticisms of Aquinas' Version
- What The Cosmological Argument Is
- E.L. Miller
- Time began when the universe began and the beginning was an event so something must havecaused it - God
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