The Cosmological argument

• What do cosmological arguments attempt to show?

  That God exists as the required explanation of the existence of the universe.
• How many ways did Aquinas propose in his cosmological argument?


  Three ways.
• What type of argument is Aquinas' cosmological argument classified as?

  A posteriori and inductive argument.
• What are Aquinas' three ways in the cosmological argument?


  1. First way (from motion)
  2. Second way (from causation)
  3. Third way (from contingency)
• What does Aquinas' first way (from motion) state?


  That nothing moves itself and there must be a first mover that is itself unmoved.
• Why can't there be an infinite regress of movers according to Aquinas' first way?


  Because there must have been a first mover that was itself unmoved.
• What does Aquinas' second way (from causation) assert?


  That nothing can cause itself and there must be a first cause that is itself uncaused.
• What is Hume's objection to the causal principle?


  He casts doubt on the assumption that every event has a cause.
• What is the causal principle?


  The claim that every event has a cause.
• Why does Hume argue that the causal principle cannot be an analytic truth?


  Because denying it does not lead to a self-contradiction.
• What example does Hume use to illustrate his point about the causal principle?


  He imagines nothingness suddenly becoming something without a cause.
• What does Hume conclude about the universe and causation?

  That we cannot know for certain that the universe has a cause.
• How does modern science relate to Hume's point about causation?

  Quantum mechanics adds complexity to the idea of causation.
• What is the evaluation of Hume's claim regarding the causal principle?

  It can be argued that the causal principle is a synthetic truth justified by empirical evidence.
• What does accepting the causal principle as more reasonable imply for the cosmological argument?

  It makes the cosmological argument more reasonable to accept.
• What is Aquinas' third way (from contingency) about?

  It distinguishes between contingent beings that depend on something else and necessary beings that must exist.
• Why can't there be an infinite regress of contingent beings according to Aquinas' third way?

  Because if everything is contingent, there would have to be nothing before this series, which is impossible.
• What does Hume argue about the concept of a necessary being?

  He claims that the idea of a necessary being is meaningless because we can imagine it not existing.
• What is the masked man fallacy in relation to Hume's critique?

  It shows that we can conceive of impossible things, contradicting Hume's claim about necessary beings.
• What is the issue of infinite regress in cosmological arguments?

  It relies on the premise that an infinite regress is impossible for the universe to have a cause.
• How does Hume argue that an infinite regress is possible?

  He claims that the idea of events going back in time forever is not self-contradictory.
• What example does W. L. Craig use to defend the cosmological argument?

  'Hilbert’s Hotel' illustrates the absurdity of actual infinities.
• What is Craig's point about the impossibility of an infinite hotel?

  It defies logic regarding how physical reality could work.
• What does Craig's argument fail to address regarding infinite regress?


  It does not target the idea of a temporal infinite.
• What is Aquinas' argument regarding infinite time before the present moment?

  He argues that an infinite amount of time cannot pass, making infinite regress impossible.
• What does Aquinas' first way (from motion) conclude?

  There must have been a first mover that was unmoved, which is God.
• What does Aquinas' second way (from causation) conclude?

  There must be a first cause that is uncaused, which is God.
• What does Hume's critique of the cosmological argument focus on?


  It focuses on the causal principle and the possibility of the universe having no cause.
• What is the fallacy of composition as critiqued by Hume and Russell?


  It states that just because something is true of the parts, it doesn't mean it is true of the whole.
• What does Leibniz argue against the fallacy of composition?


  He argues that it is illogical for something to happen without a reason or cause.
• What does Hume argue about the possibility of an infinite series?


  He claims that an infinite regress is possible and not logically self-contradictory.
• What example does the dominoes analogy illustrate in relation to the cosmological argument?


  It shows that there must have been a first event that started the chain of causes.
• What is the conclusion of the dominoes analogy regarding causation?


  There must have been a first one which started the process off but was not caused.