Existence

Existence of God due to Efficient Causes Gods have been worshiped by many cultures throughout the entirety of human existence. Gods are seen as saviors, and every culture around the world maintains their own interpretation of God. Just like Gods have been idolized, they have also been questioned. Many philosophers throughout history have debated the question of whether God exists. In his paper The Existence of God, Thomas Aquinas claims that God exists because he is the first efficient cause of…

When it comes to the position of the existence of God, several arguments are debated. The cosmological argument, according to the text, holds the position that the universe exists and that something outside of the universe is required to explain its existence; that something being God (Pojman, 57). William Paley presented an inductive, teleological argument in which he believes that we complex beings didn’t occur naturally, thus, the universe must have an intelligent designer (class notes). An…

In his Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes offers both an a priori and an a posteriori proof of God’s existence. Until Immanuel Kant introduced his epistemology—the notion of a priori synthetic judgments—Descartes’ a priori proof was generally considered purely demonstrative and analytic. However, analyzing Descartes using Kant’s epistemological foundations, reveals that Descartes’ a priori proof was both a priori and synthetic. Specifically, the Cartesian concept of clear and…

Russell’s theory states that the existence of a teapot orbiting the sun shares the same amount of evidence and likelihood as the existence of God. Atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, proposed the concept that if a theory of a teapot orbiting the sun was taught, passed on and accepted, it was essentially saying that God must…

In the third Meditation, René Descartes aims to offer an argument for the existence of God, based simply on what he knows with certainty. In this, he reviews his doubts, what he knows for certain, and what he no longer doubts. While arguing the existence of God, Descartes explores God as a possible deceiver, his capacity to overcome this doubt in God’s goodness through formal and objective realities, and how effects supremely rely on their ultimate cause. Through his various claims and…

He is not trying to prove that this is what the word “God” means but just trying to prove that there exists a being of this sort, his proposition would be significant. The fool he claims, doe understand the definition of God but denes his very existence. Anselm then applies the contrast he has just drawn up…

believe the answer to God’s existence. The same form of argument that the cosmological argument possesses can actually be applied to discrediting the existence of God. The origin of time and the relationship between an infinite set of causes and effects and if it has a creator both work together in forming good points against the credibility of the cosmological argument made for the existence of God. There are two main assertions made by the argument in favor of God’s existence. The first,…

of argument from desire dwells on the God’s existence and the divine afterlife, which holds that human’s natural yearning must be capable of contentment (Kreeft, 2008). The implication is that all natural craving are capable of contentment (Kreeft, 2008). The philosopher, Peter Kreeft is person who is an advocate that argues God’s existence from desire (Kreeft, 2008). This philosopher offers two (2) premises to justify his argument that God’s existence from desire is a reality that takes…

Aquinas' Summa Theologica: Proofs for the Existence of God, is a thirteenth century collection of five deductive arguments that, as the name suggests, supposedly prove the existence of God. In these arguments, or proofs, as Aquinas calls them, there is the assumption that there are some things that only God is capable of making happen – such as motion and cause - and ergo, God has to exist for these things to exist. Aquinas' first argument for the existence of God is that of the 'Unmoved…

In an effort to argue for the existence of God, Saint Thomas Aquinas provides five cosmological arguments in his piece “The Existence of God”. The second argument he states examines causes and effects and looks to explain these series in regard to their beginning, or first cause (43:1-2). Aquinas says that the chain of causes and effects cannot go back to “infinity” (43:60) because when the first cause is taken out, so is its effect and every following effect (43:61). I find this claim plausible…