Being does not arise from non-being. It reached medieval Christian philosophy in the 13th century and was discussed by Bonaventure, as well as Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica (I, q.2, a.3) and Summa Contra Gentiles (I, 13). Craig has criticised Balashov for adopting a verificationist methodology that fails to address the metaphysical and theological foundations of the A-theory. The cosmological argument shows that in fact it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist. It has recently been argued that a defense of the Kalam cosmological argument does not have to involve such a commitment to the A-theory. Almost there! In private correspondence with Stenger, Vilenkin remarked how the Aguirre-Gratton model attempts to evade a beginning by reversing the “arrow of time” at t = 0, but that: “This makes the moment t = 0 rather special. Aren't all religions basically the same? There are a handful of famous arguments for the existence of a god. A simple thought experiment demonstrates that an actual infinite number of things that are countable leads to absurdities. For those of you unaware of what exactly the Kalam Cosmological Argument is, here it is: Whatever begins to exist has a cause. supernatural. He states: “We have no experience of the origin of worlds to tell us that worlds don’t come into existence like that. The Kalam cosmological argument is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of God. PRIMARY SOURCE: Dr. Craig Videos; Kalam Cosmological Argument. This latter fact is well known, however, and shows nothing about whether it is logically impossible to have actual infinities in the real world.”. Therefore, it follows that the universe cannot be infinitely old and began to exist. Another criticism comes from Thomist philosopher Dr. Edward Feser who claims that past and future events are potential rather than actual, meaning that an infinite past could exist in a similar way to how an infinite number of potential halfway points exist between any two given points (as was discussed in one of Zeno’s paradoxes). Referring to the implications of Classical Theism that follow from this argument, Craig writes: “… transcending the entire universe there exists a cause which brought the universe into being ex nihilo … our whole universe was caused to exist by something beyond it and greater than it. On the topic of virtual particles, he writes: “For virtual particles do not literally come into existence spontaneously out of nothing. If the PPC is not accepted, given that the cause of the universe must be a personal and free agent, the complexity and precision of the universe implies extreme intelligence. 2. Rather the energy locked up in a vacuum fluctuates spontaneously in such a way as to convert into evanescent particles that return almost immediately to the vacuum.”. Because of its historic roots in medieval Islamic theology, I christened the argument “the kalam cosmological argument” (“ kalam ” is the Arabic word for medieval theology). There have been many versions of the cosmological argument, but the KCA hearkens back to a Muslim theologian named Al-Ghazali. This feature distinguishes it from other cosmological arguments, such as that of Thomas Aquinas, which rests on the impossibility of a causally ordered infinite regress, and those of Leibniz and Samuel Clarke, which refer to the Principle of Sufficient Reason. Honestly, I do find the Kalam argument (KCA) powerful, but of course I first encountered it from the perspective of a believer. Here’s the argument in a deductive syllogism: Another great argument for the second premise, “The Universe Began to Exist,” is derived from the field of physics. The Kalam cosmological argument has been reintroduced with some rigour into the philosophy of religion through the work of analytic philosopher William Lane Craig. Through-out history, man has looked at the star-filled night sky and wondered at the purpose behind its existence. The metaphysical impossibility of an actually infinite series of past events by citing David Hilbert’s famous Hilbert’s Hotel thought experiment and Laurence Sterne’s story of Tristram Shandy. Likewise, Craig has argued that the quantum vacuum, in containing quantifiable, measurable energy, cannot be described as ‘nothing’, therefore, that phenomena originating from the quantum vacuum cannot be described as ‘uncaused’. Also, if there is a hard stop in the future for the number of days, and yet we posit an infinite past, wouldn’t the end of the chain of days have already arrived an infinite amount of time ago? There are different forms of the argument. They are usually presented The argument is very simple in its structure. Something cannot come into existence out of nothing. Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. One of the earliest formulations of the cosmological argument in Islamic tradition comes from Al-Ghazali, who writes: “Every being which begins has a cause for its beginning; now the world is a being which begins; therefore, it possesses a cause for its beginning.”. Jamie is a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband, and a father He currently resides in the state of Florida. This argument has been criticised by Bruce Reichenbach and G.E.M. But for information to exist in an immaterial way is what is classically defined as intellect (e.g. Since the two premises of the kalam cosmological argument are true, the conclusion necessarily and inescapably follows – namely, that the Universe has a cause for its existence. But if it extends infinitely, how could one start it at a beginning? Craig formulates the Kalam as follows: P1. How can one add or subtract from infinities? Abstract objects, the only other ontological category known to have the properties of being uncaused, spaceless, timeless and immaterial, do not sit in causal relationships, nor can they exercise volitional causal power. you get a god out as a conclusion. Further, Aristotle described metaphysics as the study of being. Scientific confirmation against a past-infinite universe in the form of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Its historic proponents include Al-Kindi, Al-Ghazali, and St. Bonaventure. Basically, this is saying that things don’t come into being out of nothing. Now, let the cause itself have a cause, and the cause of the cause have yet another cause, and so on ad infinitum. Therefore, a beginningless series of past events cannot exist. Therefore The cosmological argument shows that in fact it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist. The Borde–Guth–Vilenkin theorem, a cosmological theorem which deduces that any universe that has, on average, been expanding throughout its history cannot be infinite in the past but must have a past space-time boundary. The true relativistic-quantum-field-theoretical equivalent to there not being any physical stuff at all isn’t this or that particular arrangement of the fields—what it is (obviously, and ineluctably, and on the contrary) is the simple absence of the fields.”. The first-cause argument begins with the fact that there is change in the world, and a change is always the effect of some cause or causes. Therefore, only. Things don’t just pop into existence uncaused out of non-being. He made this statement implying that the only thing made “from scratch” or out of nothing is the universe itself, therefore, everything else in existence is contingent on the universe’s beginning. Quantum mechanics does not in fact posit something coming from nothing, but rather things coming from the quantum vacuum–which is not “nothing.” The principle is obvious to anybody who understands it. The Kalam is an apologetics argument that claims everything has to have a cause except for the thing the arguer is claiming exists without a cause. The Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA) was popularized by William Lane Craig, one of the preeminent Christian philosophers today. "Kalam" is a school of thought that tries to defend Islam intellectually against criticisms. Given that the Kalam cosmological argument is a deductive argument, if both premises are true, the truth of the conclusion follows necessarily. Craig defends the first premise as follows: According to Reichenbach, “the Causal Principle has been the subject of extended criticism”, which can be divided into philosophical and scientific criticisms. Anscombe, who point out the phenomenological and logical problems in inferring factual possibility from conceivability. But, if the logical conclusion still fails to garner a reasonable acknowledgment, Professor Greg Koukl sums it up, “Here’s the simplified version: A Big Bang needs a big Banger. Despite Craig’s claim that theories postulating that the universe ‘could pop into existence uncaused’ are incapable of ‘sincere affirmation,’ such similar theories are in fact being taken seriously by scientists.”. The conclusion is that an actual infinite number of things cannot exist in reality. Kalam cosmological argument as a brief syllogism, most commonly rendered as follows: Therefore, one... […] Sunni Muslims perform the following: […]. To finish the series at a certain point, and to elevate one member of the series to the dignity of an un-caused first cause, is to set at naught the very law of causation on which the whole argument proceeds.”, According to the atheist philosopher Quentin Smith, “a count of the articles in the philosophy journals shows that more articles have been published about Craig’s defense of the Kalam argument than have been published about any other philosopher’s contemporary formulation of an argument for God’s existence.”. Islamic perspectives may be divided into positive Aristotelian responses strongly supporting the argument, such as those by Al-Kindi, and Averroes, and negative responses critical of it, including those by Al-Ghazali and Muhammad Iqbal. The ancient philosopher Isaiah declared, “lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these?” (Isaiah 40:26), reminding his people that what we see should lead us to ask why we see it. Answer: This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the claim. 1komma5grad-quellen – Matthias Ziemer Photography says: Earth’s Crisis and Evolution Series- Part 1 Finding Commonality in Religious and Spiritual Pathways – SacredFireofKnowledge says: Premise one: “Whatever begins to exist has a cause.”, Premise two: “The universe began to exist.”, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), “Initial Arguments: A Defense of the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God”, “Cosmological Argument: The Causal Principle and Quantum Physics”, 1komma5grad-quellen – Matthias Ziemer Photography, ... 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