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Philosophy > arguments for existence of God > Flashcards

arguments for existence of God Flashcards

1
Q

inductive

A

provides evidence to support a claim but doesn’t prove it

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2
Q

synthetic

A

adds to a claim that isn’t always true (must be tested)

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3
Q

teological argument

A
  1. the world contains order, regularity, purpose and beauty
  2. an object with these properties must be designed
  3. the world is an object with these properties
    C. the world must have been designed by God
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4
Q

analogical

A

attempt to make an argument based on analogy (comparison of 2 things)

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5
Q

natural theory

A

deriving knowledge of God from the use of natural human reason

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6
Q

revealed theory

A

deriving knowledge from contact with God through a vision or scripture

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7
Q

Saint Anselm

A
  • father of Scholasticism

- creator of ontological argument

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8
Q

ontological argument

A

apriori, reason, analytic and deductive

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9
Q

analytic propositions

A

statements that are true by definition

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10
Q

synthetic propositions

A

add something to our knowledge and are normally based on experience

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11
Q

Anselm’s definition of God

A

God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived

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12
Q

Ontological argument 1

A
  1. definition of God
  2. a being which exists in reality is greater than a being which exists only in intellect
    C1. the concept of God is surpassed by an existent God
    C2. so God must exist
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13
Q

Ontological argument 2

A
  1. God is the greatest conceivable being
  2. it’s greater to have necessary existence than to have contingent existence
    C. necessary existence must be a unique property of the greatest conceivable (God)
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14
Q

contigent

A

relies on other things to exist

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15
Q

Aquinas’ objection (ontological)

A
  • God’s true definition cannot be known to humans
  • we can only talk about him figuratively
  • “God exists is not self evident to us”
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16
Q

teleological argument properties

A

inductive, synthetic, aposterior (Aquinas)

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17
Q

Paleys argument

A
  • if we saw a watch we would assume it was created
  • just because we don’t know the purpose doesn’t mean there isn’t one
  • the complexity of the natural world couldn’t have been an accident
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18
Q

mechanistic argument

A
  1. we can infer a complex object with many parts was designed as it contains the qualities of regularity and purpose
  2. the world also contains these qualities and has many complex parts
  3. we may infer the world was designed
    C. God is the designer
19
Q

Darwin

A
  • first exponent of evolution

- the complexity of the world can be explained by natural selection

20
Q

James Sadowsky

A

God may have created the process of evolution as a means of bringing order and purpose into the universe

21
Q

intelligent design

A
  • scientists argue that Darwin was wrong

- organisms display irreducible complexity that can’t be explained through natural selection

22
Q

David Hume - teleological

A
  • we have no experience of the world making
  • arguments from analogy can only be suggestive not conclusive
  • evidence cannot prove the God of classical theism
23
Q

F.R. Tennant quote

A

nature is meaningless and valueless without God behind it and man in front

24
Q

Anthropic principle

A
  1. the emergence of human life in our universe depends on numerous factors like planetary conditions and physics
  2. human life has emerged
  3. a life friendly universe is highly improbable
  4. a designer or intelligent creator would make sense of our improbable universe
25
Q

the new design argument

A

Richard Swinburne

  • scientists can define laws and say how they work
  • they cannot find a basis for the most fundamental laws in the first place
  • science cannot explain order in the world, so it must be God
26
Q

Aquinas first way

A
  • everything depends on something else to put it into motion from action to potentiality
  • nothing can be moved by itself , so God was the first mover
27
Q

Aquinas second way

A
  • everything has an efficient cause as it cannot cause itself
  • the first efficient cause was God
28
Q

Aquinas third way

A
  • it’s not possible for everything to have existed forever
  • God is the necessary being that started everything
  • based on contingency and necessity
29
Q

Kalam cosmological argument

A

developed by al Ghazali

  1. ‘actual infinites’ are impossible
  2. the universe cannot be infinite
  3. it must have had a beginning and cause of existence
30
Q

William Lane Craig

A
  1. the universe had a beginning
  2. that beginning was caused
  3. that cause was personal (choice)
  4. therefore God chose to create the world
31
Q

strengths of the cosmological

A
  • a posteriori and inductive
  • most scientists would agree the world had a beginning
  • its natural to ask why the universe began
  • everything has a cause, so it makes sense
32
Q

criticisms of the cosmological

A
  • it just proves a cause and not the existence of a traditional God; loving, powerful, knowing
  • Russel; if all things changed, moved, caused then what grounds do we have for necessary beings
33
Q

Kant criticism of cosmological

A

Causality may be something imposed on experiences by the mind, it’s not truly real. It can only apply to things we experience, which doesn’t include the creation of the universe.

34
Q

the necessity of God’s existence

A
  • de re necessity
  • de dicto necessity
  • faith based necessity
35
Q

de re necessity

A
  • God is not caused or moved by anything else

- cosmological argument; universe requires a necessary being

36
Q

de dicto necessity

A
  • existence is a logical part of the concept of God

- ontological argument

37
Q

faith based necessity

A
  • can Christians do without God?

- is he necessary to their worldview

38
Q

Humes criticism of cosmological

A
  • does everything have a cause?
  • if God caused himself, couldn’t the universe?
  • why can there not be infinite regress?
  • do the limitations of the universe point to an infinite creator?
39
Q

Russell criticism of ontological

A

if existence was a predicate you would get the following syllogism

  1. men exist in the world
  2. santa claus is a man
  3. therefore Santa Claus exists
40
Q

Russell definition of existence

A

existence = not a property of things, but an idea of those things

41
Q

Charles Hartshorne

A

existence isn’t always a property but that doesn’t mean it never is

  1. existence is a property
  2. if God is necessary, he’s greater than contingent beings
  3. if to have necessary existence means he must always exist, it’s logically impossible for him not to exist
42
Q

Norman Malcolm

A
  • religious people refer to God as an unlimited being

- if God is maximally great he cannot be contingent as this means he must depend on something else

43
Q

Malcolm’s argument

A
  1. within religious understanding, God is by definition an unlimited being
  2. the existence of an unlimited being is either logically necessary or logically impossible
  3. the existence of an unlimited being is not logically impossible
  4. therefore the existence of God is logically necessary
44
Q

Descartes ontological argument

A
  1. God is a supremely perfect being
  2. existence is a perfection/predicate of a perfect being
    C. God has existence as a perfection

Philosophy (9 decks)

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