as philosophy - cosmological argument notes (compatible)
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Yamina Hamadache
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The Cosmological argument:
The world consists ofcontingent things
(things which rely on things external to them
for existence) Everything is a result of a cause, in a long
causal chain (chain of causes)
Infinite regression the chain of causes going
back forever cannot happen. So something MUST have set this chain into
motion. This thing must be external to the
causal chain (uncaused) and is known as God.
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Three of his five ways (published in his SummaTheologica) outline versions of the CosmologicalArgument.
First Way: Change/Movement change in an object is
always caused by an external movement nothingcan change itself. These movements go back in acausal chain, but Aquinas said this chain cannot beinfinite so there must be something which set offthis chain of movements, an unmoved mover PrimeMover (God).
Things change to fulfil their potential. If things couldchange themselves they would be both actual andpotential. Aquinas believed this to be contradictory.God has no potentiality, just actuality as he is all hecan be.
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All effects can be accounted for by causes
to cause itself something must pre-exist
itself which is impossible. Each cause has a
cause, which has a cause, and so on. Thiscausal chain cannot regress infinitely, so
there must have been an uncaused cause,
i.e. God.
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The third way addresses the CosmologicalArgument from the point of contingency:
All things are contingent; they rely onexternal things for their existence.Contingent things come in, then out, ofexistence whereas time is infinite (which is asupposition made by Aquinas) therefore theremust have been a time when there was
nothing. Nothing comes from nothing, sothere must have been something to bring allcontingent things into existence Anecessary being, known as God.
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Coplestone: Nothing has within itself a sufficientreason to explain its existence the sufficientreason is always external to the object. So, theUniverse must have an external sufficient reasontoo.
Russell: Just because an object within the worldneeds a sufficient reason, doesnt mean theUniverse should as well. That is like saying we allhave a mother so the Universe must have amother. Some things dont need a reason, they
just are and require no explanation. Coplestone: Famously replied one cannot be
checkmated if one refuses to sit at thechessboard
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Originally developed by Muslim scholars inthe 9th century, William Lane Craig developed
a modern version of this argument in his
book, The Kalam Cosmological Argument.
It seeks to prove that God was creator of the
Universe, and is therefore Cosmological.
This argument has two parts.
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In an actual infinite universe there can exist
no present, as successive events cannot be
added to an actual infinite.
The present does exist due to a series of
successive events in history. Therefore the Universe is not infinite, but
finite.
A finite Universe must have a beginning (as
all finite things do) Things cannot cause themselves.
The Universe had a first cause.
God caused (created) the Universe
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If there was a beginning to the Universe, itwas either caused (brought into existence byan external being) or uncaused (a naturaloccurrence). Supporters of the Kalam
argument reason that it cannot be a naturaloccurrence, as the laws of nature only cameinto existence with the Universe.
The Kalam argument relies heavily on belief
in ex nihilo. If the Universe came fromnothing, then the beginning of the Universemust have been the beginning of time. So,the creator of the universe must be outsidetime (God)
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It is logical to assert, from our life
experience, that things do not bring
themselves into existence.
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Both Aquinas and Craig reject the possibility of an infinite
in regards to the universe, yet postulate that an infinitebeing can exist.
Anthony Kenny argued that in Aquinas First Way hisassertion that nothing moves itself is wrong, as a) animalsand humans move themselves, and b) Newtons law ofmotion states that movement can be explained by a bodys
own inertia from previous movement. Russell and Hume argued that the Universe need not have
a cause at all (see R&C radio debate)
Recently, Quentin Smith used quantum mechanics to arguethe idea of something needing a cause. He said that justbecause the Universe has a beginning, doesnt mean it
needs a cause. Kant believed it impossible to extend the knowledge we do
have to make assumptions about that beyond ourexperience (God). He argued that the idea that everythinghas a first cause applies only to the world of sense-experience.
It implies existence of the Classical Theistic God, but whynot many gods or some other being?
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Actual infinite - A mathematical concept
referring to numbers of things with an
infinite number. It is not growing, as it is
infinite already. A part within an actualinfinite is equal to the whole set...as it is
infinite. (Craig argued that the universe
cannot be an actual infinite, because that
would mean there are as many wars as
events in time)
Ex nihilo The belief that the world/universe
was created from nothing.