which 3 of the 5 ways make up Aquinas' cosmological argument?
1) from motion, 2) from efficient causes, 3) from contingency and necessity
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what is Aquinas' first way?
motion in the universe is observable, and we cannot have infinite regress. something must have started motion - and that something is god
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how can we criticise the first way?
there is a clear leap in assumption that the unmoved mover is God. does not prove the Christian God as polytheism is not ruled out, neither is a non sentient being
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what is Aquinas' 2nd way?
there are efficient causes in the world, nothing can be the efficient cause of itself. the first cause must be uncaused and responsible for efficient causality in the world. the cause is god
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how can we criticise the second way?
feels far removed from the christian god we see in the bible. untrue that infinite regress is impossible
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what is Aquinas' 3rd way?
we are contingent beings, as we are caused by other things. Aquinas believed there must a necessary being (not contingent) to prevent the issue of infinite regress and start motion. this is god
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how can we criticise the 3rd way?
if god can be exempt from the rule of contingency, then why can't the universe? why can't we call this a necessary being?
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who popularises Aquinas' teleological argument?
william paley
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what is the watchmaker analogy?
man is waling upon heath and sees a watch. he examines and notes its complexity, reasonable to believe it has a designer. observes the world, he sees complexity, suggests it is reasonable to believe in the universe's design
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what is JS Mill's criticism of paley's argument?
problem of evil: "nature kills at random and inflicts torture ... in no way can the controller of the universe ... [be] a god both good and omnipotent"
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what is Richard Dawkin's criticism of paley?
the blind watchmaker (book) -natural selection and mutation causes what looks like design. too many flaws in world, evolution a better explanation for complexity
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how does Hume criticise paley?
watch analogy does not work as we know the watch's purpose, but no the universes. epicurean thesis: infinite time and particles would combine and make universe at some point. flaws in world suggest flawed designer
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what is the anthropic principle?
the universe has been specifically designed for our purpose
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which philosopher can we tie to this theory?
F.R Tennant
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what evidence is the theory based on?
1 in 100,000,000,000,124 chance of universe existing. conditions cannot be attributed to random chance, and are designed by God
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what is Tennant's aesthetic principle?
darwinism cannot explain why humans have emotions and respond to things such as beauty. feelings don't aid us in natural selection
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1st response to Tennant -
there is a chance the universe can occur. in infinite time, it was definitely going to happen. we are just lucky to be living in that possibility
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2nd response to Tennant -
the universe is vast, our solar system is a tiny part of it. lifeless galaxies exist, if there is a designer, what is the point of other galaxies?
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what does William Lane Craig say?
"its all a coincidence. because the the fact we are here, that proves that the improbable did happen"
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what does Joseph Silk say?
view that the universe is made for us is arrogant. makes the comparison of a flea assuming the dog is made for its existence
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what is the ontological argument?
Anselm's attempt to deductively reason the existence of God through rational thought
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Anselm's famous quote found in prosologian chapter 2?
"god is that than which no greater can be conceived"
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how did Anselm reason the existence of God?
god is the greatest possible being. things that exist irl are better than in our imaginations. therefore, for god to be the greatest possible being he must exist
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Gaunilo's criticism
this logic can be applied to anything. he uses the example of a tropical island and applies same logic - must exist for it to be the perfect island
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what was Anselm's response to Gaunilo?
Gaunilo misses the point- islands can exist contingently, whereas God is a necessary being - Anselm becomes guilty of begging the question by making god's existence part of his definition
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how does Kant criticise Anselm?
argues existence is not a real predicate. whether something exists makes no difference to the thing. found in 'the critique of pure reason'
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how does descartes support anselm?
god must be perfect, and perfection implies existence meaning god must exist. believes not believing in god is as absurd as believing in a triangle without 3 sides
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
what is Aquinas' first way?
Back
motion in the universe is observable, and we cannot have infinite regress. something must have started motion - and that something is god
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