The Cosmological ArgumentThe basics

Make Notes on the first 7 slides

Reece, can you be in charge of Lollypop sticks and ask people to take turns in reading Sophie R, can you be in charge of moving the Powerpoint slides on…

Background• The argument states that the universe requires a

cause and an explanation: God.• ‘Cosmological’ comes from cosmos (Greek for

world); it is concerned with the cause of the world.• The argument is a posteriori (based on experience),

inductive (probabilistic) and synthetic (requiring evidence, not purely logical).

• Perhaps the first cosmological argument was that of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who claimed that there must be a ‘Prime Mover’ – the original source of motion in our world.

Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas

• A 13th century theologian from Italy.• Aquinas looks back to Aristotle.• He gives three cosmological arguments.• These form the first three of his famous

Five Ways – five proofs for God.• These are taken from his great work

Summa Theologica.

The First Way• This is the argument from motion, taken

directly from Aristotle:1. All moving things have a source of motion.2. There must have been some original source

of motion, unmoved by anything else.3. This we call God, the ‘unmoved mover’.

The Second Way• This is the argument from causality:1. Everything which exists must have a

cause of its existence.2. There cannot be an infinite chain of

causes stretching back into the past.3. There must have been some first cause

uncaused by anything else.4. This we call God, the ‘uncaused cause’.

The Third Way• This is the argument from contingency.1. Everything which exists is dependent on

something else for its existence and might at some stage not exist (it is contingent).

2. At one stage, everything did not exist.3. There must be some thing dependent on

nothing else for its existence, the source of all contingent things.

4. This we call God, who must exist.

Make a poster outlining the three ways

Using plain paper and the coloured pencils

Spend 10 minutes on this

Write a paragraph on Aquinas and then give it to your neighbour to

check• Mention his Five Ways and his debt to

Aristotle.• Distinguish between the three arguments

he gives, giving a sentence or two to explain each one.

• Make sure that you use the key terms.• Practice makes perfect – redraft the

paragraph and time yourself for speed.

Make notes on this: Criticisms of Aquinas

• His statement that all things have a cause of their existence or motion seems to be contradicted by the claim that God is uncaused. Why make an exception?

• The argument may prove that the universe has a cause, but not that this is God. It certainly doesn’t prove God’s attributes!

• Hume – there is no absurdity in suggesting that some events do not have a cause.

William Lane Craig• He has developed a modern form of the

argument:

1.The universe had a beginning.

2.That beginning was caused.

3.That cause was probably personal (making the choice to create).

4.Therefore God exists.

Criticisms of Craig• The universe might be infinite (steady

state theory, etc.).• The cause of the universe might not have

involved any deliberate choice; it might have been entirely impersonal.

EvaluationSee if you can come up with a list of strengths and weaknesses of

the argument in your teams before you go any further….

Strengths of the Argument• a posteriori and inductive: it is based on

ideas we can observe and verify – objects have causes, the universe began.

• Most scientists would agree that the universe had a beginning (Big Bang).

• It is natural to ask why the universe began, and science has not yet answered this.

• Copleston – if all things have a cause, surely it makes sense for the universe to have a cause.

Criticisms/Weaknesses• Immanuel Kant – causality may be something

imposed on experiences by the mind; it is not truly real. So, it can only apply to things we experience, which does not include the creation of the universe.

• All the argument proves is a cause. It fails to prove the existence of God in traditional terms: loving, powerful, etc.

• Russell: The universe is just here and that is all; we don’t need to ask why. It is “a brute fact”.

Frederick Copleston

Bertrand Russell

Next lesson, you are going to be looking at the Copleston vs Russell Debate!

Plan, in your teams the following essays:a)Outline Aquinas’ Cosmological Argument (25)

b) ‘The Cosmological Argument cannot prove that God exists’ Discuss (10)

Use the planning a part b essay sheet to help you.