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The Philosophy of Religion
Proofs for the Existence of God
The Cosmological Argument The Teleological Argument The Ontological Argument
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Concepts
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A Posteriori
After experience
Based upon experience
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A Priori
Before experience
Not based upon experience
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The Cosmological Argument
A set of interrelated arguments that claim to prove the existence of God from
generalized facts about the world
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Argument based upon 3 facts
• 1. Motion / Change
• 2. Causation
• 3. Contingency
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History of Argument
• Earliest formulation by Plato (427-347 BC)
Aristotle further developed this argument
(384-322 BC)
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Thomas Aquinas
• The best known formulation is by Thomas Aquinas
(1225-1274)
The Five Ways
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The Five Ways
• 1st Way: The Way of Change or Motion • 2nd Way: The Way of Causation
• 3rd Way: The Way of Contingency
• 4th Way: The Way of Excellence • 5th Way: The Way of Harmony
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The 1st Way: The Way of Change or Motion
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Change or Motion
• The actualization of potential
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Linear Motion
Motion is a straight line
(Dominions falling)
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Non-Linear Motion
Change in form
Caterpillar to butterfly Acorn to Oak tree
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The Argument
• 1. All things in the world are in the process of change
• Do you agree with this?
• 2. Anything in a process of change is changed by something else which must be actual
• Do you agree with this?
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Example
• What are the potential uses of a piece of wood?
Chair Table Fuel
Paper
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All these “uses” are potential that is “inside / embedded” in the piece of
wood
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How is this potential realized?
Something actual must act upon the piece of wood
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• 3. If the thing causing change in another is itself also in the process of change,
• then it must be changed by yet
another actual thing
• Do you agree with this?
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• 4. A infinite regression cannot occur because there would be no FIRST CAUSE of change
• Do you agree with this?
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Example
• How can you tell the difference between a planet and a star in the night
sky?
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Conclusion
• Therefore, there must be a FIRST CAUSE of change which itself is:
1. Unchanged 2. Purely Actual
3. Has no Potential
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What we learn about God from the 1st Way
• God is:
• 1. The First Cause for all motion and change
• 2. Purely Actual, has no potential
• 3. Eternal
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The 2nd Way: The Way of Causation
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Aristotle 4 Causes
• 1. Material Cause
• 2. Formal Cause
• 3. Efficient Cause
• 4. Final Cause
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Golden Statue Example
Material Cause:
Tells us what the cause is made of:
GOLD
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Formal Cause:
Tells us the form of the cause:
STATUE
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Efficient Cause:
Tells what brought about the existence of the thing:
ARTIST
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Final Cause:
Tells us what the purpose of the thing is:
WORSHIP
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The Argument
• 1. In the world, we observe a regular order of efficient causes
• Do you agree with this?
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• 2. Something cannot be the efficient cause of itself
Because a cause must exist before its
effect Do you agree with this?
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For something to be the cause of its own existence
it would have to exist (the cause)
before it comes into being (the effect)
• This is impossible
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• 3. An endless series of efficient causes is not possible Because an infinite regression would occur Do you agree with this?
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Conclusion
• Therefore, there must be a FIRST CAUSE:
• 1. Which caused everything else in the world to exist
• 2. Is Eternal
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What we learn about God from the 2nd Way
• God is:
• 1. The First Cause of all that Exists
• Eternal
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The 3rd Way: The Way of Contingency
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What does contingent mean?
That something does not have to exist necessarily
• It may or may not exist
• It is dependent upon something else for
its existence
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The Argument
• 1. Everything in the world is contingent
• Do you agree with this?
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• 2. If all things that exist in the world are contingent then they must be dependent upon something that exists necessarily
• How else would things actually exist today?
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Conclusion
4. Therefore, there must be a cause that: exists NECESSARILY
(Not dependent upon anything else for its
existence) That caused things to exists rather
than not exist
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What we learn about God from the 3rd Way:
• God:
• 1. Exists Necessarily God is not dependent upon anything else for
existence
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Conclusions from Cosmological Argument
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God is: • 1. The First Cause for all motion and change
• 2. Purely Actual (has no Potential)
• 3. Is Eternal (Has always Existed) • 4. Exists Necessarily (not dependent upon
anything for existence)
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4th Way: The Way of Excellence
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• 1. There are different levels of quality in all things
• 2. “Higher Level” indicates some
ultimate standard by which the comparison is made
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• 3. Therefore there must be something which has “being / existence” in the highest level
• 4. That which has “being / existence” in the highest level we call God
• Doesn’t “God” refer to the greatest possible being?
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5th Way: The Way of Harmony
• The Argument from Design
• 1. We see purpose in the natural world (Ecological Systems) 2. Purpose can only arise from
intelligence
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Conclusion
• Therefore, there must be an intelligence behind the natural world
• We call that God!
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Criticisms of the Cosmological Argument
• David Hume • (1711-1776)
• Scottish Philosopher • Skeptic
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
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1. Matters of Fact
• The Problem of Induction
• No absolute certainty
• Analytic v. Synthetic Truths
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Analytic Truths
• Can have absolute Certainty
• True by definition
• “All bachelors are unmarried men”
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Synthetic Truths
• We learn from experience
• No absolute certainty
• “The sun will rise tomorrow”
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• Cosmological Argument by definition is based upon experience
• It is a synthetic argument
• Cannot have absolute certainty
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2. Contingency Problem
• Can’t get necessary from contingent
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3. Infinite Regression
• Intellectually Satisfying
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4. Material World is Eternal • Appeal to Occam’s Razor
• Why say God is eternal and he created the world?
• Why not just say the world itself is eternal?
• Its Simpler
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The Cosmological Argument Revisited
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Origin of the Universe?
Our choices are: 1. The Universe is Eternal 2. Infinite Regression 3. God created it
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Inference to the Best Explanation
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Inference to the Best Explanation
• 1. Do any of the competing explanation conflict with established background knowledge?
• 2. Is there more evidence supporting one explanation than the others?
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• 3. Is there less evidence against one than the others?
• 4. Which explanation is simpler?
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Established Background Knowledge
• According to the prevailing Theory of Cosmology
• (Study of the Origin of the Universe)
• The Universe began to exist approximately 15 Billion years ago
• “The Big Bang”
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The Big Bang Theory
• Approximately 15 Billion years ago everything in the universe was condensed into a mass-less point which exploded
• The Big Bang Theory does not provide a explanation as to why this explosion occurred
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The Claim That:
• The universe is eternal or the result of an infinite regression
• Is not Supported by current cosmology
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Conclusion
Therefore the explanation that the
universe is eternal or the result of an infinite regression
does not provide the best explanation
for the origin of the universe
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Quantum Mechanics
• According to quantum mechanics,
• for every event to become actualized the quantum wave function must collapse
(an observation must take place)
Wave Function
• A mathematical equation that describes a physical system and how it will evolve over time
• Wave Functions can only describe what will happen in terms of probability
The Collapse of the Wave Function
• Only when a measurement is taken is the wave function said to collapse
• to become a reality, not a probability
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Question
• What caused the Universal Wave Function to collapse which resulted in the Big Bang?
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Conclusion
• Cause of the UWF collapse must be: • Necessary
• Non-physical • Not part of the universe
• A temporal • Eternal
• Uncaused
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Sounds like God!