The Cosmological Argument

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Jeremy Kossoff Introduction to Philosophical Problems 9/30/15 Causal Fallacies and Infinite Falsity The cosmological argument for the existence of God has been proposed ubiquitously throughout history. The cosmological argument is both an a posteriori argument and an inductive argument; respectively, this means that the argument can be intuited by looking at the evidence in the world around us and that the argument is merely meant to sway the listener to its conclusion rather than stating that its conclusion is an absolute fact. The most accepted and widely cited version of the cosmological argument came about during the Islamic golden age and was revived quite recently by American Christian apologist Dr. William Lane Craig. This version of…show more content…
This brings me to my first objection: in order to claim that the universe has an efficient cause only, one must first prove that an effect does not necessarily have to have a material cause. While it may be the case that the universe could have been created by an efficient cause only, it is illogical to accept an inductive argument that goes against an established law of causality. Because the Kalam asserts that the universe is not subject to the law of universal material cause, there is an enormous burden of proof that must overcome. Dr. Craig understands that this is a problem for the Kalam, but believes that the objection is ultimately irrelevant as it applies to its premises. Dr. Craig states: “it is true that in our experience material things do not begin to exist without material causes…But, if we have good arguments and evidence that the material realm had an absolute beginning, preceded by nothing, this can override [the objection]. Dr. Craig goes on further to say that even though we do not have any evidence for a something having an efficient cause only, there is no metaphysical absurdity in that concept. Dr. Craig’s main point is that if we can reason to the best possible explanation that the universe was preceded by nothing, then it is quite possible that the law of material causation would not apply to the creation of the universe. Therefore, Dr. Craig’s response to this objection is only founded if we can prove that a universe with an absolute beginning, preceded by nothing, is the best possible explanation of the origin of the universe that evidence
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