Cosmological Argument (important views)

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Aquinas
The Cosmological Argument is based on Aquinas' First Three Ways. 1) Motion, 2) Cause, 3) Contingency and Necessity.
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Leibniz
Principle of Sufficient Reason - for something to exist, there must be a sufficient reason.
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Al-Ghazali
Muslim scholar. Developed the Kalam Argument in support of the Cosmological Argument. 1) Whatever comes into being must have a cause. 2) The universe came into being. 3) The universe must have a cause.
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William Lane Craig
Supported the Kalam Argument. We cannot have infinite regress because you cannot add to an infinite amount. He uses the example of an infinite amount of books to show this wouldn't work. Calls the first cause a ''personal agent''.
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Occam's Razor
The simple solution is often best. Do not multiply causes beyond necessity.
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Swinburne
The universe must have started in someway or other because it could not have started itself. Believes in two types of casual explanation - scientific and personal explanation.
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Bertrand Russell
The universe is ''brute fact''. It's just there and that's it. Quantifier Shift Fallacy/Fallacy of Composition: just because all men have a mother, does not mean there is a mother of all men. If you state that God exists - can't be analytic: a priori
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Copleston
Argument based on Aquinas' 3rd Way and Principle of Sufficient Reason. Uses example of depending on his parents for food. Cause infieri: leads to things becoming what they are. Cause in esse: brings something into being but must also exist.
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Ed Miller
Adapted the Kalam Argument: 1) An infinite universe would have an infinite no. of days. 2) Which means we would never reach today. 3) Time started at the beginning of the universe. 4) That must have been an event, therefore a cause. 5) God 1st cause.
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Hume
Argues against a first cause. Just because everything in the universe has a cause doesn't mean the universe does. Argued we cannot speak meaningfully about the universe - no experience of it being made.Accuses Aquinas of inductive leap too far.
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J.L Mackie
Defended the idea that you cannot have an infinite chain of causes. Used the example of a train - it cannot have an infinite number of carriages, there must be a driver.
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Anthony Kenny
Bases his observations on Newton's Laws of Motion. He says ''an objects velocity would remain unchanged unless another force acted upon it''. Aquinas' statement that nothing moves itself = incorrect.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Principle of Sufficient Reason - for something to exist, there must be a sufficient reason.

Back

Leibniz

Card 3

Front

Muslim scholar. Developed the Kalam Argument in support of the Cosmological Argument. 1) Whatever comes into being must have a cause. 2) The universe came into being. 3) The universe must have a cause.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Supported the Kalam Argument. We cannot have infinite regress because you cannot add to an infinite amount. He uses the example of an infinite amount of books to show this wouldn't work. Calls the first cause a ''personal agent''.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The simple solution is often best. Do not multiply causes beyond necessity.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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