STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

If God created the universe, who created God?
- REPLY: The universe is contingent. If the cosmological argument had something contingent as the first cause then this objetion would be valid. However, God is necessary - relying on himself for existence. Something necessary does not need a cause; this objection is not relevant.

STRENGTH: a posteriori, based on experience of the world
WEAKNESS; we have no experience of how the universe begun, so we cannot apply the same principles of cause and effect.

The cosmological argument relies on the notion that it is impossible to have a beginningless series of temporal events because actual infinity cannot exist - however, by stating that an actual infinite cannot exist they are also dismissing their own argument that the universe is finite but God is infinite. To deny the possibility of one infinity for one (the universe) but not the other (god) is a philosophical fallacy

HUME'S CRITICISMS - found in 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.'
1)Just beause we observe cause and effect IN the universe doesn't mean this applies to the universe itself. (fallacy of composition)
- He gives the example of twenty particles - if an explanation is found for each particle individually then it would be wrong to seek an explanation for the collection as a whole.
- Also supported by Russel who said that every man having a mother does not mean that we can coclude that the human race has a mother.
2) Challenges to the notion of causation: In his dialogues, a character puts forwards an analogy of 'a house needing an architect as its cause, likewise the existence of an ordered universe requires some divine architect'; this is soon refuted because while we experience houses being built, we have no parallel experience with regard to the unverse: since we have no experience of creating a universe,…

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