Flashcards
Key Terms: The Cosmological Argument
Cards in this deck (24)
- 1Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274)Proposed the most well-known version of the Cosmological argument.
- 2Summa TheologiaeAquinas’ book, in which he sets forth the Cosmological argument.
- 3Premiss/premiseThe starting point, or statement, of a philosophical argument.
- 4The Five WaysAquinas’ five arguments for the existence of God, the first 3 of which are Cosmological arguments.
- 5Prime MoverArguably, all change (ie, motion) must have an ultimate cause. This cause is the Prime Mover (ie, God).
- 6First CauseAll things are caused by something prior. The “First Cause” is the ultimate thing to every cause can supposedly be traced (ie, God)
- 7ContingentSomething whose explanation lies outside itself. It therefore might have existed differently, or not at all.
- 8NecessarySomething self-explanatory: it has to exist, and cannot be conceived not to.
- 9Tertia ViaAquinas’ “third way” (of his Five Ways). The Cosmological argument proper.
- 10Infinite RegressWhen you can keep going back in a series, for ever. If there is an infinite regress of causes, the Cosmological argument must be false.
- 11Frederick C. Copleston (1907-1994)A Jesuit priest and a historian of philosophy who formulated a new version of Aquinas’s Five ways.
- 12An in fieri causeA cause that brings about things that may have full existence long after the cause has disappeared.
- 13An in esse causeA cause that is permanently linked to the thing it is causing.
- 14“Brute Fact”The universe might just be there, and require no explanation. In this case, it would be a “brute fact”.
- 15Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)Argued against the Cosmological argument in a famous radio debate with FC Copleston.
- 16FallacyA mistaken argument, based on a logical error.
- 17Big BangAn “explosion”, believed to have occurred 13 billion years ago, in which time and space, and the universe, came into being.
- 18SingularityA point of infinite mass and gravity, where time does not exist. The Big Bang is believed to have started from an unstable singularity.
- 19David Hume (1711-1776)Came up with seven rebuttals of the Cosmological argument.
- 20The KalamAn Islamic version of the Cosmological argument, it starts argument from the idea that ‘everything that begins to exist must have a cause’.
- 21Al-Kindi (9th C CE)One of the two proponents of the Kalam argument.
- 22Al-Ghazali (1058-1111)One of the two proponents of the Kalam argument.
- 23William Craig Davies (20th C)A Christian philosopher who supports the Kalam argument. Argues that it shows the universe must have a personal cause.
- 24Bill Ramey (20th C)A philosopher who agrees with William Craig Davies, and uses the analogy of someone striking a match to support his argument.
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- Deleted user · Jan 2018
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- Jan 17, 2018
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- Created by Izzy Noone · Jan 16, 2018
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