Class notes on the Cosmological Argument

(Originally written March 1, 2007 in Book 13)

Class Notes

Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God

Support for cosmological argument:

1) Absolutely perfect: something exists, therefore must be explained

2) Either unmoved mover or infinite regress of causation, which the latter is irrational

Basic Cosmological Argument

1) Every being (that exists or ever did exit) is either a dependent being or a self-existent being
2) Not every being can be a dependent being
3) Therefore, there exists a self-existent being.

Proponents of the Cosmological Arguments

Plato
Aristotle - "unmoved mover"
St. Thomas Aquinas - 3 of 5 Theistic proofs are cosmological arguments
1) argues from change to an unchanging cause of change
2) argued from uncaused change
Descartes
Samuel Clarke
Gottfried Leibniz
William Lane Craig

Dependent being - beings caused by other
Self-existence being - beings caused by there own self (self-caused)

Principle of sufficient reason
1) There must be an explanation of the existence of any being
2) There must be an explanation of any positive fact

Proponents of the principal of sufficient Reason
- Leibniz
- Clarke

Even if the idea of an infinite regress is a coherent one, it does not follow that it is a true one. The idea of me having blue skin is a coherent idea, but it is not a true one.

An infinite regress may be logically possible but if time is finite then there is no way that an infinite regress can exist within a finite time.

Is the principle of sufficient reason true?

The principle of sufficient reason can be restated to say that all contingent facts can be explained.

Side Note -

Contingent - that which is but could have been another way or could have been not; or, that which is possible.

If that which is possible is sufficient for contingency then there are no true contingent facts, only contingent possibilities.