does god exist philosophy

However, Hick argues that pointless evils e.g. Unlike spatial order, we cant give a scientific explanation of why the laws of nature are as they are. Thus, God is the greatest conceivable being a maximally great being. Kants objection to the ontological argument is generally considered to be the most powerful argument against it. Since the concept of a being greater than that than which nothing greater can be conceived is incoherent, God cannot exist in the mind alone. Presumably, we wouldnt have created a word for red, nor would we know what it meant if someone tried to explain it to us. Thus, proponents of ontological arguments claim God exists is an analytic truth. (evil). So, to escape this endless cycle of contingent facts and provide sufficient reason for truths of fact (i.e. His book, A Reasonable Response, is due out soon, answering questions unbelievers and believers often pose. Gods existence has been an ongoing debate probably for centuries. Similarly, you could argue that any being that exists necessarily (such as follows from Aquinas third way and Leibnizs cosmological argument) would be God. Existence of God - Wikipedia And on balance, having free will creates more good than the evil it also creates. If, on the other hand, I were neutral, and didn't already have an "a priori adherence" to a particular worldview (be it naturalistic or otherwise), the question "does God really exist?" They arent based on some other beliefs; rather theyre part of the foundation of a persons system of beliefs. So what is the explanation of the existence of the universe (by the universe I mean all of spacetime reality)? Information requires intelligence and design requires a designer. Descartes offers his own version of the ontological argument: This argument is very similar to Anselms, except it uses the concept of a perfect being rather than a being greater than which cannot be conceived. But it doesnt explain natural evil. Perhaps the most sophisticated and challenging argument for the existence of God is the ontological argument, propounded by St. Anselm of Canterbury. Lets say we accept that first order evil is necessary for second order good to exist. And remember, Plantingas argument is that we only need to show evil is not logically inconsistent with Gods existence to defeat the logical problem of evil. God, Anselm observes, is by definition the greatest being conceivable. So, while allowing free will brings some suffering, the net good of having free will is greater than if we didnt. Atheists simply ground their logic in what is certainly known, and no assumptions found their reasoning. Does God Exist? - AllAboutPhilosophy.org He is the one creator of all physical reality and existed before all of time, space, matter, and energy. In 2003, the mathematician Arvind Borde, and physicists Alan Guth and Alexander Vilenkin were able to prove that any universe which has, on average, been expanding throughout its history cannot be infinite in the past, but must have a past spacetime boundary (i.e., a beginning). This article is comprised of five different ways in which Aquinas tries to prove that we can be sure that God exists. It also attempts to show how the logic of the demonstration is rooted in our ordinary reasoning practices. Ignorance and imagination may have played a part to be sure, but is there something more. Moreover, as weve seen, there are other arguments for Gods existence which at least suggest that its possible that God exists. If God existed in the mind alone we would be able to conceive of a being greater than that How do we know the designer is, Whatever is in motion must have been put in motion by something else, If this chain goes on infinitely, then there is no first mover, If there is no first mover, then there is no other mover, and so nothing would be in motion, Everything in the universe is subject to cause and effect, E.g. These parts are organised for a purpose in the case of the eye, to see. The free will defence above explains why an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God would allow moral evil. But although these sorts of beliefs are basic for us, that doesnt mean that theyre arbitrary. By contrast, the theist has a ready explanation: When God created the physical universe He designed it in terms of the mathematical structure which He had in mind. This objection doesnt work so well against Descartes version because he specifically reasons that there is a first cause and that this first cause is an omnipotent and omniscient God. Now if this is so, then theres a danger that philosophical arguments for God could actually distract your attention from God Himself. And if God is omnipotent, then hes powerful enough to prevent evil. Philosophy and the proof of God's existence And while its logically possible such entities exist, what physical evidence is there? Traditional "proofs" of God's Existence 1) The argument from Design. God could have created a world in which there was no evil. Science can explain and predict things using these laws but it has to first assume these laws. But this would mean less free will. WebAccording to Anselm, the concept of God as the most perfect beinga being greater than which none can be conceivedentails that God exists, because a being who was otherwise all perfect and who failed to exist would be less great than a being who was all perfect and 7.2 Does God Exist? | Introduction to Philosophy | | Course Hero 2. [1] In the experiential context of seeing and feeling and hearing things, I naturally form the belief that there are certain physical objects which I am sensing. Leibniz then defines two different types of truth: The sufficient reason for truths of reasoning (i.e. theory of evolution by natural selection. For example, the tree in the field wouldnt exist if someone hadnt planted the seed years ago. So, why wouldnt an omnipotent and omniscient God create this specific world? For example, you can explain the existence of a tree by saying someone planted a seed. So, even if the cosmological argument is sound, it doesnt necessarily follow that God exists. You dont actually experience A causing B, but its reasonable to expect this relationship to hold in the future because youve seen it and similar examples hundreds of times. Descartes (and Anselm) certainly thought so. A level philosophy requires you to know these three: Aquinas first way is the argument from motion. Throughout my life I But, Hick says, virtues acquired through hard work and discipline are good in a richer and more valuable sense. Web1. However, it argues the amount and distribution of evil in the world provides good evidence that God probably doesnt exist. This argument is very similar to Anselms, except it uses the concept of a perfect being rather than a being greater than which cannot The question that millions of people ask themselves each day is does God exist? We have pretty strong evidence that the universe has not existed eternally into the past, but had a beginning a finite time ago. And to people so undeserving of it? WebStill, most philosophers (73 per cent) do not believe that God exists. wouldn't be pointless at all. For example, the players might not work well together. Rosenberg boldly claims that we never really think about anything. WebThe view that the existence of God cannot be proved or disproved by philosophy has not stopped developments in modern theology. If life did not arise by chance, how did it arise? For example, the law of gravity is such that it allows galaxies to form, and planets to form within these galaxies, and life to form on these planets. So, if God did get rid of terrible evils, then the worst ordinary evils would become the new terrible evils. temporal order) in a similarly personal way: The laws of nature are the way they are because someone designed them. The renaissance of Christian philosophy has been accompanied by a resurgence of interest in natural theology that branch of theology which seeks to prove Gods existence without appeal to the resources of authoritative divine revelation for instance, through philosophical argument. Dr. Richard Lewontin, the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University, put it like this: "It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. If, for example, I am already dedicated to the philosophical idea that nothing can exist outside of the natural realm (i.e. For example, human beings exist contingently. Updates? All rights reserved. For example, he talks about a cause needed to keep him in existence and how there must be as much reality in the cause as in the effect. Now these constants and quantities fall into an extraordinarily narrow range of life-permitting values. Do you think, as I do, that its at least possible that God exists? If mathematical objects like numbers and mathematical theorems are abstract entities causally isolated from the physical universe, then the applicability of mathematics is, in the words of philosopher of mathematics Mary Leng, a happy coincidence. On the other hand, if mathematical objects are just useful fictions, how is it that nature is written in the language of these fictions? The Kalam cosmological argument attempts to argue, based on logic and the Universe itself, that God must exist and must have created it. Leibnizs argument is premised on hisprinciple of sufficient reason. WebOne of the arguments that claim God does not exist bases its grounds on existence of. So what are we supposed to do with these prodigious accounts of divine healing, prophetic revelation, answered prayer, and other miraculous phenomena? This cannot be argued from the definition of God and thus the ontological argument fails to prove Gods (actual) existence. Then imagine a unicorn that exists. The Bible promises, Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8) We mustnt so concentrate on the external arguments that we fail to hear the inner voice of God speaking to our hearts. Thus, my basic beliefs are not arbitrary, but appropriately grounded in experience. Thank you for your purchase with HostGator.com, When will my domain start working? An answer to this fundamental question is a prerequisite for answering the other big questions of life: Where did we come from? Instead, what people mean when they say God exists is that God exists in the world. WebExistence is a perfection. Of course, when such universes do exist, it is just sheer luck. Perhaps there is just be an infinite chain of causes stretching back forever. WebThe existence (or non-existence) of God and the foundation of ethics are two perennially live issues, and this is a readable account of many of the main points, suitable for A level The naturalist has no explanation for the uncanny applicability of mathematics to the physical world. The idea of a being who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good in every possible world seems perfectly coherent. How do you explain second order evil? go wrong and cause chaos. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. For more information, please see this page. Alternatively, we may argue that the meaning of necessary changes between premise 4 and the conclusion (10) and thus Malcolms argument is invalid. Last year, at a conference in Cambridge celebrating the seventieth birthday of Stephen Hawking, Vilenkin delivered a paper entitled Did the Universe Have a Beginning?, which surveyed current cosmology with respect to that question. Introduction. It tends to reflect the scientism of a bygone generation, rather than the contemporary intellectual scene. These are some main objections to the ontological argument: So, ask yourself if you believe in right and wrong and then ask yourself why. By contrast, for theists, because God is a mind, its hardly surprising that there should be other, finite minds, with intentional states. Imagine a unicorn. WebMany philosophers have appealed to the PSR in arguments for a being that exists a se, a being whose explanation is in itself. But they dont show that this first cause is God. Now there is only one way I can think of to get a contingent entity like the universe from a necessarily existing cause, and that is if the cause is an agent who can freely choose to create the contingent reality. Rather theyre grounded in the sense that theyre formed in the context of certain experiences. The idea of a 4-sided triangle doesnt make sense. (IV) The fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life. Asking the question "does God exist?" Hume argues that such examples of disorder show that the universe isnt designed. Instead, Malcolm argues that its not existence that is a perfection, but the logical impossibility of non-existence (necessary existence, in other words). Versions of the ontological argument aim to deduce Gods existence from the definition of God. baby torture and leave only ordinary evil. Other modern variants of the argument attempt to ground theistic belief in patterns of reasoning that are characteristic of the natural sciences, appealing to simplicity and economy of explanation of the order and regularity of the universe. To say that something exists in every possible world means that no matter which description is true, that entity will be included in the description. In the absence of a scientific explanation of the laws of nature, Swinburne argues, the best explanation of temporal order is a personal explanation. He then addresses some specific examples of evils that may not seem to fit with an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God: The evidential problem of evil can ask Hick why God would allow animals to suffer when there is no benefit. A chair or a stone or a glob of tissue like the brain is not about or of something else. anonymously dying in vain trying to save someone are somewhat of a mystery. And for something to be designed, it must have an equally impressive designer. What brought the universe into existence? Why does God exist? | Religious Studies | Cambridge Core Gods existence is purported to be as obvious and self-evident as the most basic mathematical truth. But the long necks of giraffes can be explained without a designer, for example: The key idea is that given enough time and genetic mutations it is inevitable that animals and plants will adapt to their environment, thus creating the appearance of design. By contrast, a contingent being is one that does exist but would not exist under different circumstances. (I) God is the best explanation why anything at all exists. earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, etc. 5. Things that exist contingently are things that might not have existed. The fine-tuning of the universe is not due to physical necessity or chance. However, Swinburne argues, we cant explain the laws of nature (i.e. Perhaps the requirement of a proof is too stringent, and perhaps there are other ways of establishing Gods existence. But imagine that you take a sip of tea and at the same time your friend coughs. First, what is "god". If you found a clock and examined the mechanism within it, you would probably think that this intricate mechanism was So, even if the explanation of why God would allow evil doesnt seem particularly plausible, as long as its a logical possibility then we have defeated the logical problem of evil. (IV) God is the best explanation of the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life. This, Aquinas said, is God. This necessary substance is God, Leibniz says. 2. Since God is a being that we cannot imagine to be greater, this description better fits the second option (the one that exists) than the first. So why would an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God allow the existence of second order evils if there is no greater good in doing so? This idea of multiple universes is popular among some physicists, as it explains various phenomena in quantum mechanics. Hume uses this claim as the basis for his objection to the ontological argument. The teleological arguments are also known as arguments from design. Similarly, we couldnt learn virtues such as forgiveness if people never treated us wrongly. He argued that people can choose to believe in God or can choose to not believe in God, and that God either exists or he does If each universe has randomly different scientific laws, there will also be many universes where the temporal order does not support life. People of every race, creed, color, and culture, both men and women, young and old, wise and foolish, from the educated to the ignorant, claim to have personally experienced something of the supernatural. instances of evil in the world. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurus. Plantinga argues that its possible natural evil is the result of non-human actors such as Satan, fallen angels, demons, etc. The fallacy of composition is an invalid inference that because parts of something have a certain property, the entire thing must also have this property. Corrections? But Hume argues against this claim. Again, this goes back to the soul making theodicy: without seemingly unfair and pointless evil, we would never be able to develop virtues such as hope and faith both of which require a degree of uncertainty. This site uses cookies to recognize users and allow us to analyse site usage. This would make God exists an analytic truth (even though the analytic/synthetic distinction wasnt made until years later). The same principle applies to the teleological argument, argues Hume. But that does not tell us what a god is, or what Kant argues that existence is not a property (predicate) of things in the same way, say, green is a property of grass. Of course, God could just have given us these virtues right off the bat. Therefore, there is no omnipotent and omnibenevolent being. God 2. The remainder of this article will consider some historically influential arguments that have been advanced to demonstrate the existence of God. God is real to many, but not real to The problem of evil uses the existence of evil in the world to argue that God (as defined in the concept of God) does not exist. WebThe problem of evil is the most famous argument against the existence of an all-powerful and loving god. Principles of Philosophy I believe that Gods existence best explains a wide range of the data of human experience. Malcolm accepts that Descartes and Anselm (at least as presented above) are wrong. The point here is not that the monkey would learn to write Shakespeare or even that it would understand what it had written. This argument has exercised an abiding fascination for philosophers; some contend that it attempts to define God into existence, while others continue to defend it and to develop new versions.
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