A cosmological argument, in natural theology and natural philosophy not cosmology, is an argument in which the existence of god is inferred from alleged facts. New support for the cosmological argument catholic answers. Cosmological argument, form of argument used in natural theology to prove the existence of god. Aquinas then proposed 5 ways to prove the existence of god, and the first 3 ways formed the cosmological argument. Swinburne does not defend gods existence on the basis of the cosmological argument. I the other philosophical argument o ered in defense of premise 2 is that there cannot be an actual in nite in the world, merely a potential in nite. The cosmological argument is an attempt to prove the existence of god by the fact that things exist.
This evidence is then used to draw a probable conclusion. The argument seeks to establish that there must be some ultimate being that is the explanation of other beings, but does not have the explanation of its existence in any other being. Classically, the argument seeks to establish roughly the existence of god as either the creative cause of the worlds coming into. Plato, aristotle, ibn sina, alghazali, maimonides, anselm, aquinas, scotus, descartes, spinoza. Versions of the cosmological argument flashcards quizlet.
If the universe is not eternal, then it could fail to exist and so does not exist by a necessity of its own nature. Similarly, michael martin reasons t hat no current version of the. The kalam cosmological argument is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of god. An inductive argument for gods existence needs to take into account all the evidence, both for and against. The cosmological argument for the existence of god 2. Aquinas cosmological argument appears in the first three of his five. Although the argument is fundamentally islamic, and. A cosmological argument for the nonexistence of god atheism. The cosmological argument for the existence of god. Cosmological argument simple english wikipedia, the free.
Learning objectives topic to understand how far the cosmological argument seeks to prove that god exists to understand why religious believers argue that the cosmological argument demonstrates that it is reasonable to believe in god to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the. Consult the cited works of craig for a more thorough statement and defense of the argument. Cosmological argument page 2 of 5 the kalem is a version of the cosmological argument coming from the islamic tradition. Epistemological foundations for the cosmological argument. St thomas aquinas,12241274, summa theologica it is certain and evident to our senses that in the world some things are in motion. The cosmological argument for the existence of god by w. It was popularized by william lane craig in his book, the kalam cosmological argument 1979 the arguments key underpinning idea is the metaphysical impossibility of actual infinities and. Thomas aquinas 1225 march 7, 1274 is the idea that philosophy can help us come to a better understanding of theology the study of god. Cosmological argument scott macdonald insumma theologiae st 1. I include the disjunct cause or explanation because not all versions of the cosmological argument invoke the principle of sufficient reason expressed in the enlightenment sense.
Epistemological foundations for the cosmological argument 3 price of theism has seemed to many to be too high a price to pay for the admitted virtues of theistic epistemology. Thomas aquinas, in his summa theologiae, presented two versions of the cosmological argument. Leibniz 16461716 used a different form of the cosmological argument. The cosmological argument is an an argument which tries to prove gods existence in relation to the start or the universe. Problems with the cosmological argument a man after god. So i think that the first premise of the kalam cosmological argument is surely true. There are many arguments that can he presented to prove the existence of god. Part one the cosmological argument the cosmological argument for gods existence is an ancient philosophy that has been contemplated for centuries. The cosmological argument therefore argues for the existence of god a posteriori based on the apparent order in the universe. This cosmological argument is deceptively simple, but in its modern form as developed by philosopher william lane. The kalam argument popular writings reasonable faith.
The famous philosopher from the middle ages, thomas aquinas, is generally given credit for articulating what is known as the cosmological argument for the existence of god, although the bible described the essence of the argument hundreds of years before he was on the scene e. Theists frequently make the assertion that it is just as impossible to prove that there is no such thing as god as it is to prove that there is such a thing as god. My paper will present the cosmological argument for gods existence, and show that its underlying principle, the principle of sufficient reason, fails to establish it as a sound argument for the existence of god. The dominican priest, thomas aquinas 12251724, used it as one of his five proofs for the existence of god in his magisterial summa theologica. Tim lays out a classic argument for the existence of god, called the cosmological argument roughly, the idea that something has to explain why the world is the way it is, and that something is god. Cosmological argument stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. But in light of the cosmological argument, it becomes more probable, because gods existence is the best explanation for why the universe exists. William lane craig, the kalam cosmological argument, the macmillan press ltd, 1979, p.
The kalam cosmological argument focusses on things coming into being. The kalam cosmological argument and the hypothesis of a. We will give a new cosmological argument for the existence of a being who, although not proved to be the absolutely perfect god of the great medieval theists, also is capable of playing the role in the lives of working theists of a being that is a suitable object of worship, adoration, love, respect, and obedience. This attempts to avoid the criticism that god must have been caused by something.
Possibly, then, the theist is entitled to claim that the cosmological argument is an acceptable argument for theistic belief, that it shows the reasonableness of belief in god, even though it does not demonstrate the existence of god rowe. Thomas aquinas central to thomism the life work of st. By the cosmological argument i mean to refer to samuel clarkes argument that there must be a necessarily existent being who is the cause of the existence of contingent beings. It tries to show that for this to be so there must exist something outside the universe which can cause or explain its existence. One of the most interesting and widely discussed arguments for the existence of god is the kalam cosmological argument, which attempts to prove that it is impossible for the universe to have an infinite past. An a posteriori argument because it begins with a premise, based on observation, that the universe exists, and is subject to change. Cosmological argument notes stanford encyclopedia of. On pages 120121 of his book, the cosmological argument which presents a more detailed discussion of the argument than does his philosophy of religion, rowe quotes. A cosmological argument for the nonexistence of god. It assumes that things must have a cause, and that the chain of causes can only end by a supernatural event.
The cosmological argument was first proposed by st thomas aquinas, a great christian thinker one his five proofs for the existence of god the universe exists. The more controversial premise in the argument is premise 2, that the universe began to exist. Aquinas wrote the summa theologica, in which he explained his famous five ways to prove the existence of god. Even if we grant the comological arguments advocate all the above, we end up in an uncaused cause. Cosmological arguments from contingency request pdf. Cosmological and anthropological arguments for the. Contrary to the ontological argument, it is, like the teleological argument, an a posterioriargument in the sense that the truth value of the premises should be known from our experience of the world 1.
The roll of the defenders of this argument reads like a whos who of western philosophy. What follows is a short presentation of the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of. The cosmological argument or first cause argument is a philosophical argument for the existence of god which explains that everything has a cause, that there must have been a first cause, and that this first cause was itself uncaused. This popular argument for the existence of god is most commonly known as the cosmological argument. Since an explanation is usually but not always given in. To view the content in your browser, please download adobe reader or, alternately, you may download the file to your hard drive. Proposed formulation of the argument in my opinion the cosmological argument which is most likely to be a sound and persuasive proof for the existence of god is the kalam cosmological. There is a reason x for thinking that there is a first cause of things of type t. It is traditionally known as an argument from universal causation, an argument from first. If the argument proves the universe had a beginning.
Clark thomas aquinas rejected the platonic cast of augustines theology and based his thought on aristotle. Cosmological arguments the kalam argument this brings us to another logical exercise in the lineage of cosmological arguments, the kalam argument. The cosmological argument is associated with the great catholic scholar st thomas aquinas, who lived in the middle ages, which was a time of great religious unrest. For this paper we will look at the cosmological and the anthropological arguments for gods existence, and how they explain the necessity of a greater being.
Most philosophers who have considered the matter, however, have dis agreed. I the argument is valid, so to defend it one need only defend the two premises, and that the conclusion implies the existence of god i 1 seems intuitive. Kant on the cosmological argument university of michigan. Third, one of kants actual historical opponents, christian wolff, turns out to be committed to thinking of an absolutely necessary being as an essentially unimodal being since. The sources used in this presentation are documented according to current modern language association standards. Aquinas cosmological argument is an a posteriori inductive argument which means that it is based on observation and experience of the world. Other names for the argument are argument from universal causation, argument from first cause, causal argument and argument from existence the universe exists, so there must be. To accomplish this, i will, first, define the cosmological argument and the principle. Therefore he had no time for the ontological argument, but reconstructed the cosmological argument. Aristotle aquinas leibniz kant hume russel coppleston antony kenny william lane craig 4.
Cosmological arguments from contingency attempt to show that there is a necessarily existing godlike being on the basis of the fact that any concrete things exist at all. An essential property of a being that exists by a necessity of its own nature is that it be eternal, that is to say, without beginning or end. Lets examine both philosophical arguments and scientific evidence in support of premise 2. Scientific evidence for the beginning of the universe. Cosmological arguments against the existence of god. Suppose you were strolling in the woods and, in addition to the sticks, stones, and other accustomed litter of the forest floor, you one day came upon some quite unaccustomed object, something not quite like what you had ever seen before and. The cosmological argument for the existence of god is one of the oldest of such arguments for gods existence, having inspired a rich tradition of philosophical thought that goes all the way back to aristotle. The socalled cosmological argument is a deductive argument for the existence of a cause, or a causal agent, of the universe. In defending the faith, however, it is useful to present a way of proving the existence of god that begins from the fact of the existence of the world. The cosmological argument and the principle of sufficient. Granting this for the moment, it follows from flews premises that the existence of this being will be ultimate but unexplained. What follows is a short presentation of the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of god. The cosmological argument has taken many forms, with variations arguing from different premises, but for our purposes, we will examine a version called the kalam cosmological argument, developed by contemporary philosopher and theologian william lane craig.
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