The Cosmological Argument for God

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The Cosmological Argument for Gods Existenceor
how come we all exist?

• Is there a rational basis for belief in God?

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Brief History of the Argument

• Plato (427-347 BCE) and Aristotle(384-322 BCE)
  both developed first cause arguments saying the
  universe required some kind of self originated
  motion to set it in motion and to maintain that
  motion. Plato came up with the idea of a
  demiurge a being of supreme wisdom and
  intelligence but which lacked the ability to
  create something out of nothing. Aristotle
  proposed the idea of a first cause or Prime
  Mover. This follows Parmenidess famous
  statement nothing can come from nothing.
• Make up your own paragraph using the words
  highlighted.
• What did Parmenides mean by nothing can come
  from nothing? Do you agree? Give reasons

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St Thomas Aquinas (1225 1274)
Main proponent of the argument in his Five
Ways. He defined God as the First Cause, or
Uncaused Causer and then using motion in a
variant of the argument saw God as the Prime
Mover.
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Summary of the argument

• Everything that exists must have a cause.
• The universe exists, therefore it must have a
  cause.
• 3.Causal chains cannot go back to infinity
• 4.There must be a first cause.
• 5. his first cause is God.
• The argument is motivated by evidence of
  causation in the world. Therefore it is an
  empirical argument based on observations of the
  world
• Task Write out the argument formally what do
  you notice about it?

Be aware of some key terms and their links with
other aspects of the course Empiricism
knowledge based on experience or through the
senses. Think back to the Critical Thinking
module. What kind of arguments would be
empirical?
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The Cosmological Argument

• (p1) Everything has a cause
• (p2) Nothing is its own cause
• (p3) A chain of causes cannot be infinite
• ______________________________________
• (c) There must be first cause to the universe
• (c) The first cause is God

Go through the argument line by line and try to
be critical of each step. Provide counter
arguments if you can.
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Causation in the world

• The Cosmological Argument uses a defining feature
  of the world- causation to question what was the
  first cause. It then conflates this first cause
  with God.
• Write a causal chain explaining your existence

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What does the argument imply about God?

• Note the traditional theistic view of God
• Omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient
  (all-knowing) and all-loving. God is said to be
  eternal to have always existed necessarily.
• Question To what extent does the Cosmological
  argument support this view of God? Think
  carefully about the conclusions of the
  Cosmological Argument

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Implications of the argument for Gods nature

• Argument uses Gods special nature to account for
  a first cause. A first cause cannot itself be
  caused by anything else. It must be uncaused and
  necessary as opposed to contingent.
• God fits the description of an uncaused necessary
  being.

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Objections to the argument

• it is conceivable that the chain of cause
  effect extends back into infinity (rebuts premise
  4) By way of contrast, consider the future do
  you suppose the future has a specific ending
  point?
• the argument seems inherently self-contradictory.
  It is based on the assumption that everything
  has a cause. This then begs the question if
  this first cause is God, what caused God?
  (note this objection misunderstands Gods
  special nature as a necessary being)

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More objections

• if one accepts the idea of a first cause (ie.
  something that has always existed), it can be
  argued that the universe may always have existed.
  The regress could end with the necessary
  existence of the universe. It need not end with
  the positing of God as a first cause.
• The argument commits the fallacy of composition
  by assuming that the parts of the universe are
  the same as the whole.

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Objections to the Cosmological Argument

• Hume claims that that to posit God as a necessary
  being in the same way as 224 is to make a
  mistake. God is not like mathematics. It is
  possible to conceive of God not as the creator of
  the universe. Therefore, we simply cannot know
  what brought the universe into existence. It is
  mere speculation.
• In the Cosmological Argument God is simply being
  used to explain a gap in our knowledge. We do not
  know what caused our universe to exist it is a
  God-shaped hole in our knowledge but it does
  not mean it is God.

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More objections

• Quantum physics provides a objection to a
  universe which needs a direct cause.
• Quantum theory is the set of physical laws that
  apply primarily on a very small scale for
  entities the size of atoms. At the heart of
  quantum theory lie the linked concepts of
  uncertainty and wave-particle duality. In quantum
  every entity has a mixture of properties we are
  used to thinking of as distinctly different
  waves and particles. Heisenburgs uncertainty
  principle demonstrated that the smallest parts
  of matter are subject to unpredictable
  fluctuations. These appear to be spontaneous
  events. Quantum theory raises the following
  question Was the origin of the universe a
  spontaneous quantum event or does it prove that
  there was a divine being responsible for it?
• Quentin Smith argues that quantum physics provide
  a possibility that the universe may have come
  into existence without a direct cause. The
  universe may have had a beginning but there is no
  reason to think that it is God.

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Summary of objections

• School boys objection criticise
• Fallacy of composition
• Limitations on conclusion no traditional
  theism
• Hume Gods existence is not necessary
• Universe could be infinite
• Universe could be its own cause
• God shaped hole does not equal God
• Quantum physics could mean there is uncaused
  matter in the universe

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Things to think about

• Brian Davies takes the position that the
  Cosmological Argument cannot stand alone as a
  proof for the existence of God and it would have
  to be supported by other evidence.
• As an argument for a first cause of all existing
  things the Cosmological Argument seems a
  reasonable one. But it does not by itself
  establish the existence of God with all the
  properties sometimes ascribed to him.
• Brian Davies The Introduction to the Philosophy
  of Religion (OUP 1990)