Key Terms: The Cosmological Argument

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Izzy Noone
Flashcards by Izzy Noone, updated more than 1 year ago
Izzy Noone
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Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) Proposed the most well-known version of the Cosmological argument.
Summa Theologiae Aquinas’ book, in which he sets forth the Cosmological argument.
Premiss/premise The starting point, or statement, of a philosophical argument.
The Five Ways Aquinas’ five arguments for the existence of God, the first 3 of which are Cosmological arguments.
Prime Mover Arguably, all change (ie, motion) must have an ultimate cause. This cause is the Prime Mover (ie, God).
First Cause All things are caused by something prior. The “First Cause” is the ultimate thing to every cause can supposedly be traced (ie, God)
Contingent Something whose explanation lies outside itself. It therefore might have existed differently, or not at all.
Necessary Something self-explanatory: it has to exist, and cannot be conceived not to.
Tertia Via Aquinas’ “third way” (of his Five Ways). The Cosmological argument proper.
Infinite Regress When you can keep going back in a series, for ever. If there is an infinite regress of causes, the Cosmological argument must be false.
Frederick C. Copleston (1907-1994) A Jesuit priest and a historian of philosophy who formulated a new version of Aquinas’s Five ways.
An in fieri cause A cause that brings about things that may have full existence long after the cause has disappeared.
An in esse cause A cause that is permanently linked to the thing it is causing.
“Brute Fact” The universe might just be there, and require no explanation. In this case, it would be a “brute fact”.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) Argued against the Cosmological argument in a famous radio debate with FC Copleston.
Fallacy A mistaken argument, based on a logical error.
Big Bang An “explosion”, believed to have occurred 13 billion years ago, in which time and space, and the universe, came into being.
Singularity A point of infinite mass and gravity, where time does not exist. The Big Bang is believed to have started from an unstable singularity.
David Hume (1711-1776) Came up with seven rebuttals of the Cosmological argument.
The Kalam An Islamic version of the Cosmological argument, it starts argument from the idea that ‘everything that begins to exist must have a cause’.
Al-Kindi (9th C CE) One of the two proponents of the Kalam argument.
Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) One of the two proponents of the Kalam argument.
William Craig Davies (20th C) A Christian philosopher who supports the Kalam argument. Argues that it shows the universe must have a personal cause.
Bill 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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