Unit 1: The Cosmological Argument |
Aristotle's Causes and Prime Mover
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The cosmological argument is the argument that the existence of the world or universe is strong evidence for the existence of a God who created it. The existence of the universe, the argument claims, stands in need of explanation, and the only adequate explanation of its existence is that it was created by God..
Unit 1 - The cosmological argument Candidates may refer to any version of the argument but are expected to be familiar with: • The cosmological argument as proposed by Aquinas with particular reference to: its basis in observation; the rejection of infinite regress; God as the first mover and first cause, and as the necessary being • Differing understandings of the role of God in the argument: God as the temporal first cause; God as the sustainer of motion, causation and existence; God as the explanation of why there is something rather than nothing • Key criticisms of the argument relating to: the possibility of infinite regress and the universe as a ‘brute fact’; the fallacy of composition; the identity of the necessary being as God and drawing a conclusion that goes beyond the evidence |
Issues arising
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