Cosmological Argument Flashcards
(20 cards)
Is the cosmological argument a posteriori or a priori?
A posteriori - meaning that it is from observation/ experience.
Where does Aquinas write about his first three ways?
In Summa Theolgiae
What are Aquinas’ three ways?
1) Motion
2) Causation
3) Contingency and necessity
What does the cosmological argument explain?
It explains how the universe provides evidence for the existence of God.
What is his reasoning that there must be an Unmoved Mover?
There cannot be an infinite regression - things can’t go back in time forever.
Explain his 1st and 2nd ways:
He said that everything is in motion and has a cause. There must be a first cause which is brought about by itself - this must be God.
What is the example given to explain how there cannot be an infinite regression?
Dominoes - there must be something that started them all falling.
Explain his 3rd way:
His third way links his previous ideas, claiming that there must be a necessary being that started everything off.
Why is everything we see contingent?
Because they are all caused by something else. Therefore, one necessary being must exist in order for everything else to be contingent.
“There must be something whose existence is necessary.”
Who supported Aquinas’ cosmological argument and how?
Leibniz: principle of sufficient reason.
He said that the argument stops an infinite regression, God makes logical sense to start everything off. He is “de re necessary God”. (Not contingent).
e.g. a book being copied from another book - there must be a first book to stop the infinite regression.
What is Aquinas’ God like?
- Eternal
- Perfect
- Doesn’t interact with the world
What is a weakness of Aquinas’ version of God?
Aquinas’ God does not interact with this world and therefore would not be liked by religious believers; most theists would argue that he has and does interact through prayer, miracles and religious experiences etc.
E.g. “Saul, why do you persecute me?”
What did Hume question?
He questioned why everything must have a cause. His fallacy of composition explains how we can not jump from the idea that everything in the universe has a cause, to then the entire universe must have a cause.
What type of reasoning has Aquinas used within his argument?
Inductive reasoning.
He has drawn conclusions from one experience, and assumed it is the same/ will happen somewhere else.
What is the Kalam argument? Does it support or criticise Aquinas’ cosmological argument?
It supports his argument.
He said that: whatever begins to exist has a cause of its existence, the universe began to exist, and therefore, the universe has a cause of its existence (this is God).
Why do Hume and Russel argue against the use of inductive reasoning?
It uses assumptions, which aren’t logical (Fallacy of Composition).
What is Russel’s criticism? (include a quote)
He argued that Russel made a mistake in the Fallacy of Composition, making too big a jump.
He argued that “just because every human has a mother, doesn’t mean the whole human race has a mother.”
What does Russel say about an infinite regression?
He said that an infinite regression is possible. Leibniz said that it is illogical for something to happen without a cause, agreeing with Aquinas. But Russel, like Hume, said that it can and that it “is just a brute fact.”
(Buddhist would follow this idea - as they believe that the universe has always been here).
How does evolution impact the cosmological argument (and what might theists say back)?
Evolution suggests there is no need for a God, the universe simple just came about naturally through the Big Bang.
However, many theists are happy to accept evolution as a tool used by God.
What is an example showing in infinite regression?
In mathematics, it is possible to have an infinite series of regression; numbers can keep increasing or decreasing in size infinitely.
