Cosmological

• What is it

  • attempts to infer the existence of God from the existence of the universe
  • argument asserts that the existence of the universe requires an explanation and the claim is that it cannot just account for its own existence
  • assumes that the universe has not always been in existence and for it to come into being, an external agent was necessary
• Supporters

  • Plato + Aristotle
  • Aquinas
  • Leibniz
  • Craig + Swinburne
  • Copelstone
• Opponents

  • Kant
  • Hume
  • Mill
  • Russel
• AO1

  • Inductive -- the conclusion does not necessarily follow the premises, could be more than one logical condition
  • Premise 1 - All events require a cause
  • Premise 2 - The universe is an event
  • Conclusion - God is the cause of the universe
  • It is only through our regular experience that we assert that most events have a cause
• A posteriori

  • argument is formulated from our experience of the fact that the universe exists and that things are caused to happen by other things
• Cause + Effect

  • argument centres on the principle that if something does not have its own reason for existing then it must have been caused by something else
  • 'Nothing comes out of nothing' - King Lear
• Aquinas & First Way from Motion - Summa Theologica

  • argued that 'whatever is moved is moved by another'
  • he referred to motion as 'the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality'
• First way from motion

  • eg. fire is hot, fire on wood is actually hot
  • nothing can be both potential and actual at the same time
  • Argued that the wood was in a process of change or motion and these changes are the result of prior changes
• Aquinas & Second way from cause

  • follows same line of reasoning as the first way
  • he argues that the world is a series of events that are caused by other events
  • its a logical impossibility that an event can cause itself because then it would have to have preceded itself
  • there must be a first cause upon which all other causes depend
  • first cause is uncaused
  • rejected idea of infinite regression of causes
• Kalam argument

  • Islamic version of the cosmological argument
  • recently this version has been revived by William Craig
  • this version asserts that everything that comes into existence must have a cause for its existence
  • therefore universe must also have a cause
  • no scientific explanation can provide sufficient reason for the origin of the universe --- also rejected infinite regress
• Richard Swinburne

  • distinguishes between inanimate causation and intentional causation
  • inanimate - when something has the power to act under certain conditions does so
  • intentional - provides the reason motivated by belief + purpose
• Contingency

  • the universe and all things within it are contingent
  • while they exist, their non existence is always possible
• Aquinas & Third Way from Necessity + Contingency

  • All things are contingent
  • 'Therefore if everything can not be then at one time there was nothing in existence'
  • He asserted that there must be a necessary being who does not depend on anything else for its existence - This is God
• Infinite Regress

  • Craig + Aquinas insist that there cannot be an infinite regress of causes
  • If an infinite regress is accepted then we would never have complete explanations
  • because the cosmological argument identifies the dependency between cause, movement and events
• Example of Infinite regress

  • imagine a train with an infinite number of carriages where each carriage is pulling the other
  • without an engine pulling the first carriage it would not be possible
  • therefore God is like the engine which has the power to be the cause without depending on anything else
• Craigs version of the Kalam Argument

  • actual infinite - refers to a collection of things with an infinite number of members
  • many philosophers believe that an actual infinite is illogical because no matter what, an actual infinite number can never change
  • a potential infinite exists if it possible to add to the series
  • eg. the future could be a possible potential infinite as more events are being added to history
• God is a necessary being

  • cosmological argument accepts a first cause but rejects an infinite series of causes
  • proposes that God is this necessary being who does not rely upon anything for his existence
• Principle of Sufficient Being

  • Leibniz's argument is that even if the universe had always been in existence
  • we would need to establish why there is something rather than nothing
  • Leibniz argued that there is nothing in the universe to show why it exists - it is not self explanatory - so reason for its existence must lie outside of it
• Weakness - Inductive Reasoning

  • With this proof it does not necessarily follow that God must be the cause of the universe
  • Tyler and Reid argue that it is significant that Aquinas concludes that God is the first mover, cause and necessary being
• Strength - Principle of Ockham's Razor

  • states that the most effective form of philosophical inquiry is the simplest
  • some may argue that there is no logical reason to assert that God is the cause of the universe but if he appears to be the best explanation then why criticise it
• Tyler & Reid state:

  • 'where God suffices as the simplest explanation, why postulate further explanations'
• Strength A Posteriori

  • we have evidence gained from our own experience to support the claim that things are generally caused by other things
  • the universe must have had a cause for it existence
• Weakness A Posteriori

  • we all interpret our own experiences differently and sometimes our senses can mislead us
  • Webber on Hume
  • we would have to experience the cause of other universes to make a justified claim that our own universe had a cause
  • Hume argues that the argument starts with a concept which is familiar to us, the universe
• Strength Causation

  • we can claim that it is probable that all events have a cause
  • the universe is an event - so what is its cause?
• Limitation Causation

  • reasoning is based on probability and not fact so it is less effective
  • Hume argues that it is possible to infer a casual connection between two events only after observing repeated circumstances which are similar
  • if this is true then it is justifiable to infer a cause of the universe only if other universes had also followed the same event
• Limitation Causation

  • Kant also supports this view
  • argues that since the concept of causation arises within the space - time world of experience its confined to the observable world
  • to talk of a cause outside of our experience, a necessary being like God is useless as we have no knowledge of what God created or God himself
• Strength - Time & Rejection of Infinite Regress

  • Aquinas and Craig reject the idea that the universe has always existed and that there is an infinity of causes
  • infinity is philosophically problematic as it cant be added to
  • Big Bang theory implies that the universe has a finite history
  • can God be the cause of the Big Bang?
  • was the world random rather than a divine intervention
• Limitation of Time & Rejection of Infinite Regress

  • Hawking proposes that the 4 dimensions of space and time are considered as together forming a 'surface'