Arguments for the existence of God

The Design Argument
1. William Paley
  1. Posteriori
  2. Watch Analogy
    1. Something organic to something machine like
    2. Qua Purpose and Qua Regularity
      1. Regularity in the seasons and in the world
      2. Purpose - built for a purpose
        Eye
      3. The world shows evidence that it has been designed
  3. "And one of his signs is the creation of heaven and Earth
  4. Pre-empts criticism
    1. Blind
      1. Even if we cant see it being designed we know it has been designed because the evidence is there.
    2. Breaks
      1. Why would he have designed it if it has problems
    3. Understanding
      1. We cant understand it but we still know it has been designed .
2. Gave Christians evidence on which to base their faith
3. Criticisms
  1. David Hume
    1. Cant compare something organic to something machine like
    2. Even if it was designed how do we know it was by one God could be lots of lesser beings
      1. How do we know God is still here
    3. Epicurean Hypothesis
      1. Given an infinite amount of time with an infinite amount of atoms, eventually you could create the universe
    4. Science is telling us more about the world than religion
    5. Anthropomorphism- we give God human characteristics
  2. Kant
    1. Human perception
      1. "Our minds impose order"
      2. We see design and a designer because we want to see a design and designer
4. Support
  1. Aquinas
    1. "The arrow is directed by the archer."
  2. F.R. Tennant
    1. Aesthetic argument
      1. Have the ability to appreciate art, music and nature
    2. Anthropic argument
      1. Probability is higher to being designed than by chance alone
        Analyse the world around us
        Intelligent
5. Strengths and Weaknesses
  1. Strengths
    1. Kant- Appeals to our common sense
      1. Everyone can understand the argument
        Because we are arguing from an analogy
    2. Leads to a highly probable conclusion
      1. Inductive
  2. Weaknesses
    1. Kant - Failed to prove Gods existence - goes too far
      1. Unable to grasp God
    2. Theory of evolution offers a better explanation
    3. Hume- we cannot experience God
    4. Comparing something man made to something organic
Cosmolgical Argument
1. Aquinas
  1. 3 Ways
    1. Way 1
      1. Everything is in motion so needs an unmoved mover
    2. Way 2
      1. Everything has a cause so you need an un-caused causer
    3. Way 3
      1. Everything is contingent so there must be an necessary being that is also Ex Nihilo
2. Against
  1. Russel
    1. Way 3 commits fallacy of composition
      1. Inferring is something is true for the small part of the thing then it must be true for the whole thing
    2. It is a brute fact
    3. Cant keep going back in time to try and find an explanation
    4. " I should say that the universe is just there and that is all"
  2. Hume
    1. There is no necessary being
      1. Any being that can exist can also not exist
    2. No way of knowing what qualities a necessary being would have
      1. No reason to say that only God has them
        Why does it have to be an un-observable God
      2. Beyond our comprehension
    3. "Just because i have a Mother"
3. Support
  1. Leibinz
    1. Principle of sufficient reason
      1. Everything must have a reason or a cause
    2. God must exist as a necessary being
  2. Copleston
    1. Things in the world are contingent
      1. Must be a cause of everything
        That exists outside the universe
        Must be a necessary being
        Contains the reason for itself inside itself
    2. Reformulated Aquinas' argument
    3. "If one refuses to even sit down at the chess board and make a move one cannot of course be checkmated."
Ontological Argument
1. Anselm
  1. Gods existence can be deduced from his definition
  2. "God exists"
    1. Priori/deductive
      1. True by definition
        Necessary existence is true by definition
  3. Gods existence is necessary
  4. Not written to prove anything to anyone
    1. Written in Prayers
      1. Proslogian and monologian
  5. Painter and painting
    1. It is greater to exist both in the mind and in reality than in the mind alone
      1. If God exists in the mind alone you could think of something greater
  6. Response to Guanillio
    1. An island is contingent so using the example of the island does not relate to God as he is necessary .
    2. If he is the greates concievable being and he cannot be concieved not to exist then he must exist
2. "That than nothing greater can be concieved"
3. Guanillio
  1. Uses an island to argue against "that than nothing greater can be conceived
  2. We know that our perfect island does not exist in reality
    1. Uses the method of Reductio Ad Absurdum
4. Kant
  1. Directed at Descartes
  2. Existence is not a predicate
    1. Adds nothing to the concept
    2. uses coins
  3. We have no experience of God so leaves room for "if" he exists
5. Descartes
  1. Existence is a predicate the same way that a triangle has three sides
6. Strengths and Weaknesses
  1. Strengths
    1. Deductive argument so it logically leads us to the conclusion that God exists
    2. It leads us to believe in a perfect God
      1. However it doesn't explain evil and suffering
  2. Weaknesses
    1. God is beyond our understanding
    2. We all have different concepts of God
    3. It uses existence as a predicate

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Arguments for the existence of God

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