The Cosmological and
Teleological Arguments for God
God: What We’re Not Talking About
God: What We Are Talking About
The arguments for & against the
existence of a supernatural
– Force.
– Being.
– Intelligence.
– Designer.
– Cause.
– Logical and/or physical
necessity.
Conversations about the Existence of God
How can we decide whether
God exists or doesn’t exist?
Are there rational arguments
that demonstrate that God
exists or doesn’t exist, or at
least that its existence/nonexistence is probable?
Evidentialism.
Nonevidentialism.
Theism, atheism, and
agnosticism.
Fideism.
Are questions about God’s
existence/non-existence
questions that can/should be
approached empirically?
Conversations about the Existence of God
How do we determine
whether or not to believe?
Why do we want to
determine whether or not
to believe?
Why does the question
about whether or not to
believe remain and why do
we believe we can find an
answer?
Cosmological Argument: First Cause
The world contains things whose
existence depends on some cause.
Everything that exists is either
uncaused or caused to exist by
another thing.
There cannot be an infinite regress of
causes.
So there must be an uncaused first
cause.
An uncaused first cause is what we
mean by God.
Therefore, God exists.
Which seems more plausible?
The series of causes
producing present events
can be traced back
infinitely, never leading to
a first cause.
The series of causes
producing present events
can be traced back to an
uncaused cause.
Cosmological Argument: Principle of Sufficient Reason
Everything that exists has
a reason for existing (but
not necessarily a
purpose).
The reason something
exists or does not exist
may be known or
unknown.
PSR: Contingent and Necessary
Something “created” is
something contingent on its
creator—i.e. the created thing
depends on a creator for its
existence.
A necessary thing does not
depend on anything outside of
itself for its existence and
nothing can prevent it from
existing.
A contingent thing cannot be its
own cause or its own creator.
It is uncaused, indestructible,
self-sufficient, and independent.
A contingent thing may or may
not exist—i.e. it is finite,
destructible, and not necessary.
God is the necessary being on
which the existence of the world
depends.
All the things in the world and
the world itself are contingent.
Why is there something rather than nothing? 4 Options
1. The universe is just
“there” and that is all
we can say.
2. The universe came into
being out of nothing.
3. Every event had a cause
that preceded it in the
past, and this series goes
back in time forever.
4. A necessary being (God)
created a contingent
universe.
Teleological Argument/Argument from Design
The universe exhibits an apparent
design, that is, the ordering of
complex means to the fulfillment of
intelligible goals, ends, or purposes.
We have usually found a purposive,
intelligent will to be the cause of
such design and order.
Therefore, it is reasonable to
conclude that the universe was
caused by a purposive, intelligent
will.
The Watch and Watchmaker
Universe is Like a Watch
Universe is Unlike a Watch
Problems for the Teleological Argument?
Weak analogy.
Choice of intelligence as
cause is arbitrary since
there are many other
causes of events.
Composition fallacy.
Have to have knowledge
of how worlds are created
to judge whether this
world was created.
A finite, imperfect world
does not necessarily imply
an infinite, perfect creator.