🛐Philosophy of Religion Unit 2 – Arguments for the Existence of God

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Theism belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities
• Atheism rejection of belief in the existence of deities
• Agnosticism view that the existence of God is unknown or unknowable
• Natural theology attempt to provide arguments or evidence for the existence of God based on reason and ordinary experience of nature
• Cosmological argument family of arguments that seek to prove the existence of God by arguing that the universe must have a cause or reason for its existence
• Teleological argument argues for the existence of God based on apparent design or purpose in the natural world
  • Also known as the argument from design
• Ontological argument aims to prove God's existence through abstract reasoning alone
• Problem of evil argument that questions the existence of God based on the presence of evil and suffering in the world

Historical Context

• Ancient Greek philosophers (Plato, Aristotle) laid the groundwork for later arguments about the existence of God
  • Plato's concept of the "Demiurge" a divine craftsman who created the universe
  • Aristotle's "Unmoved Mover" the ultimate cause of all motion in the universe
• Medieval philosophers (Anselm, Aquinas) developed sophisticated arguments for God's existence within the framework of Christian theology
  • Saint Anselm's ontological argument in his work "Proslogion"
  • Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways presented in his "Summa Theologica"
• Enlightenment thinkers (Descartes, Leibniz) refined and expanded upon earlier arguments
  • René Descartes' version of the ontological argument in his "Meditations on First Philosophy"
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's principle of sufficient reason and cosmological argument
• 19th and 20th-century philosophers (Paley, Plantinga) introduced new arguments and critiqued earlier ones
  • William Paley's watchmaker analogy in his work "Natural Theology"
  • Alvin Plantinga's modal ontological argument and defense of the free will response to the problem of evil

Major Arguments for God's Existence

• Cosmological argument
  • Argument from contingency everything that exists has a reason for its existence, either in the necessity of its own nature or in an external cause
  • Kalam cosmological argument the universe began to exist, and everything that begins to exist has a cause, therefore the universe has a cause
• Teleological argument
  • Argues that the complex design and order in the universe points to an intelligent designer
  • Analogical version compares the universe to human artifacts (watches, houses) that require a designer
• Ontological argument
  • Defines God as the greatest conceivable being and argues that such a being must necessarily exist in reality, not just in the mind
  • Modal version argues that if it is possible for God to exist, then God must exist in some possible world, and if God exists in any possible world, then God exists in all possible worlds, including the actual world
• Moral argument
  • Argues that objective moral values and duties require a divine lawgiver as their source and foundation
  • Kant's categorical imperative and the existence of God as a postulate of practical reason

Philosophical Foundations

• Principle of sufficient reason (PSR) for every fact or state of affairs, there must be a sufficient reason or explanation for why it is the way it is and not otherwise
  • Leibniz's formulation "no fact can be real or existing and no statement true without a sufficient reason for its being so and not otherwise"
• Ex nihilo nihil fit "out of nothing, nothing comes" principle that denies the possibility of something coming into existence from nothing
  • Used in cosmological arguments to argue that the universe must have a cause
• Axiological assumptions arguments for God's existence often presuppose certain value judgments or claims about what is good, valuable, or desirable
  • E.g., that design, order, and purpose are objectively good or that moral realism is true
• Epistemological considerations arguments for God's existence raise questions about the nature and limits of human knowledge
  • E.g., whether a priori reasoning alone can prove God's existence (ontological argument) or whether empirical evidence is required (cosmological and teleological arguments)

Critiques and Counterarguments

• Hume's criticisms
  • Challenges the analogy between the universe and human artifacts in the design argument
  • Argues that the concept of causation is based on experience and cannot be extended to the universe as a whole
• Kant's objections
  • Rejects the ontological argument, arguing that existence is not a property that can be included in the concept of a thing
  • Distinguishes between the logical possibility and the real possibility of God's existence
• Logical positivism and verificationism
  • Argue that religious language is meaningless because religious claims cannot be empirically verified or falsified
  • Challenge the coherence and intelligibility of concepts like "necessary being" and "greatest conceivable being"
• Naturalistic explanations
  • Propose alternative, non-theistic explanations for the origin and nature of the universe (e.g., multiverse theory, eternal inflation, quantum fluctuations)
  • Evolutionary accounts of the appearance of design in the natural world (e.g., natural selection, adaptationism)

Modern Interpretations and Debates

• Plantinga's reformed epistemology argues that belief in God can be rational and warranted even without arguments or evidence, as a properly basic belief
• Swinburne's Bayesian approach uses probability theory to assess the likelihood of God's existence given various pieces of evidence and arguments
• Fine-tuning argument claims that the precise values of fundamental physical constants and the initial conditions of the universe are improbably fine-tuned for the existence of life, suggesting a cosmic designer
  • Objections from the anthropic principle and the multiverse hypothesis
• Evolutionary debunking arguments aim to undermine moral arguments for God's existence by explaining moral beliefs and intuitions as the products of evolutionary processes rather than divine revelation or objective moral truth
• Divine hiddenness argument contends that the existence of reasonable nonbelief poses a challenge to the existence of an all-loving God who desires a relationship with his creatures

Practical Applications

• Interfaith dialogue understanding the arguments for God's existence can facilitate constructive dialogue and mutual understanding between adherents of different religious traditions
• Apologetics and evangelism arguments for God's existence are often used to defend the rationality of religious belief and to persuade others to accept a particular religious worldview
• Pastoral care and counseling engaging with arguments for God's existence can help individuals navigate questions of meaning, purpose, and suffering in their lives
• Science and religion debates arguments for God's existence intersect with discussions about the relationship between scientific and religious ways of knowing and the implications of scientific discoveries for religious belief
• Ethics and public policy belief in God's existence can shape individuals' moral convictions and their views on issues such as human rights, social justice, and environmental stewardship

Further Reading and Resources

• "The Existence of God" by Richard Swinburne a comprehensive examination of the major arguments for and against God's existence from a Bayesian perspective
• "The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology" edited by William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland a collection of essays by leading philosophers and theologians on various arguments for God's existence
• "The Cambridge Companion to Atheism" edited by Michael Martin a survey of philosophical debates surrounding atheism, including critiques of arguments for God's existence
• "The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy" online resource with in-depth articles on topics related to the existence of God, such as the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the problem of evil
• "The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion" edited by Graham Oppy an overview of current research and debates in the philosophy of religion, including chapters on arguments for and against God's existence