Arguments for the existence of God

Arguments for the existence of God

1. The Design Argument

   • William Paley
     • Posteriori
     • Watch Analogy
       • Something organic to something machine like
       • Qua Purpose and Qua Regularity
         • Regularity in the seasons and in the world
         • Purpose - built for a purpose
           • Eye
         • The world shows evidence that it has been designed
     • "And one of his signs is the creation of heaven and Earth
     • Pre-empts criticism
       • Blind
         • Even if we cant see it being designed we know it has been designed because the evidence is there.
       • Breaks
         • Why would he have designed it if it has problems
       • Understanding
         • We cant understand it but we still know it has been designed .
   • Gave Christians evidence on which to base their faith
   • Criticisms
     • David Hume
       • Cant compare something organic to something machine like
       • Even if it was designed how do we know it was by one God could be lots of lesser beings
         • How do we know God is still here
       • Epicurean Hypothesis
         • Given an infinite amount of time with an infinite amount of atoms, eventually you could create the universe
       • Science is telling us more about the world than religion
       • Anthropomorphism- we give God human characteristics
     • Kant
       • Human perception
         • "Our minds impose order"
         • We see design and a designer because we want to see a design and designer
   • Support
     • Aquinas
       • "The arrow is directed by the archer."
     • F.R. Tennant
       • Aesthetic argument
         • Have the ability to appreciate art, music and nature
       • Anthropic argument
         • Probability is higher to being designed than by chance alone
           • Analyse the world around us
           • Intelligent
   • Strengths and Weaknesses
     • Strengths
       • Kant- Appeals to our common sense
         • Everyone can understand the argument
           • Because we are arguing from an analogy
       • Leads to a highly probable conclusion
         • Inductive
     • Weaknesses
       • Kant - Failed to prove Gods existence - goes too far
         • Unable to grasp God
       • Theory of evolution offers a better explanation
       • Hume- we cannot experience God
       • Comparing something man made to something organic

2. Cosmolgical Argument

   • Aquinas
     • 3 Ways
       • Way 1
         • Everything is in motion so needs an unmoved mover
       • Way 2
         • Everything has a cause so you need an un-caused causer
       • Way 3
         • Everything is contingent so there must be an necessary being that is also Ex Nihilo
   • Against
     • Russel
       • Way 3 commits fallacy of composition
         • Inferring is something is true for the small part of the thing then it must be true for the whole thing
       • It is a brute fact
       • Cant keep going back in time to try and find an explanation
       • " I should say that the universe is just there and that is all"
     • Hume
       • There is no necessary being
         • Any being that can exist can also not exist
       • No way of knowing what qualities a necessary being would have
         • No reason to say that only God has them
           • Why does it have to be an un-observable God
         • Beyond our comprehension
       • "Just because i have a Mother"
   • Support
     • Leibinz
       • Principle of sufficient reason
         • Everything must have a reason or a cause
       • God must exist as a necessary being
     • Copleston
       • Things in the world are contingent
         • Must be a cause of everything
           • That exists outside the universe
           • Must be a necessary being
             • Contains the reason for itself inside itself
       • Reformulated Aquinas' argument
       • "If one refuses to even sit down at the chess board and make a move one cannot of course be checkmated."

3. Ontological Argument

   • Anselm
     • Gods existence can be deduced from his definition
     • "God exists"
       • Priori/deductive
         • True by definition
           • Necessary existence is true by definition
     • Gods existence is necessary
     • Not written to prove anything to anyone
       • Written in Prayers
         • Proslogian and monologian
     • Painter and painting
       • It is greater to exist both in the mind and in reality than in the mind alone
         • If God exists in the mind alone you could think of something greater
     • Response to Guanillio
       • An island is contingent so using the example of the island does not relate to God as he is necessary .
       • If he is the greates concievable being and he cannot be concieved not to exist then he must exist
   • "That than nothing greater can be concieved"
   • Guanillio
     • Uses an island to argue against "that than nothing greater can be conceived
     • We know that our perfect island does not exist in reality
       • Uses the method of Reductio Ad Absurdum
   • Kant
     • Directed at Descartes
     • Existence is not a predicate
       • Adds nothing to the concept
       • uses coins
     • We have no experience of God so leaves room for "if" he exists
   • Descartes
     • Existence is a predicate the same way that a triangle has three sides
   • Strengths and Weaknesses
     • Strengths
       • Deductive argument so it logically leads us to the conclusion that God exists
       • It leads us to believe in a perfect God
         • However it doesn't explain evil and suffering
     • Weaknesses
       • God is beyond our understanding
       • We all have different concepts of God
       • It uses existence as a predicate