1.2 Cosmological Argument

• What question does Leibniz pose regarding existence?

  “Why is there something rather than nothing?”
• What do cosmological arguments claim about God's existence?

  They claim that God's existence can be established as the required explanation of what exists.
• What is the typical nature of the cosmological argument?

  It is a posteriori, beginning with observations of the world.
• How can cosmological arguments be broadly categorized?

  Into those that focus on causation and those that focus on contingency.
• What does Aquinas mean by motion in his first way?

  By motion, Aquinas means any kind of change.
• What is the first premise (P1) of Aquinas' first way from motion?

  We observe motion.
• What does P2 of Aquinas' first way state about motion?

  Motion is the actualization of a thing’s potential to be in motion.
• According to P3 of Aquinas' first way, how can a thing come to be in motion?

  A thing can only come to be in motion by being moved.
• What does P4 of Aquinas' first way assert about a mover?

  A mover must be something that is actual.
• What conclusion (C1) does Aquinas reach regarding things in motion?

  All things in motion must have been moved by something else.
• What is the conclusion (C2) of Aquinas' first way?

  There must be a first mover which must itself be unmoved (pure actuality).
• What does P1 of Aquinas' second way state about efficient causation?

  We observe efficient causation.
• What does P6 of Aquinas' first way imply about the existence of a first mover?

  If there were no first mover, there would be no motion now.
• What is the focus of Aquinas' second way from atemporal causation?

  It focuses on efficient causation.
• What conclusion (C1) does Aquinas reach regarding sustaining causes?

  There must be a first sustaining cause, otherwise P1 would be false.
• What does P2 of Aquinas' second way assert about causes?

  Nothing can cause itself.
• What does P3 of Aquinas' second way describe about the order of causes?

  There is a logical order to sustaining causes: the first cause, then intermediate causes, then an ultimate effect.
• What does C2 of Aquinas' second way state about the nature of causes?

  As there is a first cause, there cannot be an infinite regress of causes.
• What does C3 of Aquinas' second way conclude about the first cause?

  The first cause must itself be uncaused.
• What type of causation does Aquinas employ in his first two ways?

  Aquinas employs Aristotelian efficient causation.
• What are the two types of efficient causation mentioned by Aquinas?

  Sustaining and temporal causation.
• How does temporal causation differ from sustaining causation?

  Temporal causation is a 'horizontal' sequence where effects are independent of the cause.
• What is the example Aquinas uses to illustrate temporal causation?

  A father can create a son independently of his own father.
• What is sustaining causation described as?

  A 'vertical' hierarchy where effects are brought about continually by the sustained activity of higher causes.
• What does Aquinas' example of a hand and stick illustrate?

  A hand (primary first cause) moves a stick (secondary intermediate cause) which moves a stone (effect).
• Why is the hand analogy not perfect according to Aquinas?

  Ultimately there can only be one first sustaining cause of all things; God.
• What does Aquinas mean by 'ontologically first'?

  It means that all subsequent motion and causation ontologically depend on it.
• What does Copleston say about Aquinas' order of efficient causes?

  He is thinking of a hierarchy of causes, not a series stretching back into the past.
• What does Aquinas believe about the possibility of a temporal series having no first cause?

  He thought it was possible, but a sustaining series must have a primary cause.
• What does Edward Feser explain about sustaining series?

  A primary cause would still be required to explain the causal power in the series.
• What does Aquinas mean by the impossibility of an infinite regress of explanation?

  There cannot be an infinite derivation of the causal power we observe in secondary causes.
• What does Feser argue about circular or infinite chains of causes?

  There will have to be something outside the series which imparts to them their causal efficacy.
• What does Copleston argue about the necessity of a first member in a causal series?

  Unless there is a first member, it is not possible to explain the motion or causal activity of the lowest member.
• What does the Kalam cosmological argument focus on?

  It focuses on the coming into being of the universe.
• Who brought the Kalam cosmological argument to prominence?

  1. L. Craig in the late 20th century.
• What does P1 of the Kalam cosmological argument state?

  Everything that begins to exist has a cause of its existence.
• What does P2 of the Kalam cosmological argument assert?

  The universe began to exist (an infinite regress is not possible).
• What conclusion (C1) does the Kalam cosmological argument reach?

  So, the universe has a cause of its existence.
• What does Craig argue about scientific explanation in relation to the universe's creation?

  Scientific explanation applies within the universe and cannot apply to its actual creation.
• What qualities must the being that created the universe possess according to Craig?

  It must be omnipotent and timeless.