5.1.2 Arguments for the existence of God Notes

Arguments for the Existence of God

Ontological Argument

Key Features:

1. A Priori: Based on logic and reason, not observation.
2. Analytic: Relies on the definition of God as a perfect being.
3. Deductive: If the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.

Anselm's Ontological Argument

1. Premise 1: God is a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.
2. Premise 2: It is greater to exist in reality than merely in the mind.
3. Conclusion: Therefore, God must exist in reality, not just in the mind.

Criticisms of the Ontological Argument

1. Gaunilo's Perfect Island: Gaunilo argued that Anselm's logic could be used to prove the existence of anything, like a perfect island, which is absurd.
2. Kant's Objection:
   1. Immanuel Kant argued that existence is not a predicate (a quality or attribute).
   2. You cannot define something into existence by adding existence as a property.

Cosmological Argument

Key Features:

1. A Posteriori: Based on empirical observation.
2. Causal: Focuses on the need for a first cause or unmoved mover.
3. Inductive: Draws probable conclusions from observations.

Aquinas' Five Ways

1. Motion: Everything in motion is moved by something else. There must be a first mover, which is God.
2. Causation: Every effect has a cause. There must be a first cause, which is God.
3. Contingency: Contingent beings exist, but there must be a necessary being that causes them, which is God.

Kalam Cosmological Argument

1. It is developed in Islamic philosophy and later popularized by William Lane Craig.
2. Key Premises:
   1. Premise 1: Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
   2. Premise 2: The universe began to exist.
   3. Conclusion: Therefore, the universe has a cause, which is God.

Criticisms of the Cosmological Argument

1. Infinite Regress: Some philosophers argue that an infinite regress of causes is possible, negating the need for a first cause.