Nothing causes itself; everything is caused by something else.
Premise 2:
Either (1) the chain of causes extends
infinitely backward, or (2) there is a First (Uncaused) Cause.
Premise 3:
The chain of causality cannot extend
infinitely backward.
Conclusion:
Therefore, there must be a First Cause (an
"Uncaused Cause"), and that's God.
Objections
to the Cosmological Argument
Hume
says Premise 1 is unknowable. For the full argument, see the notes on Hume.
Premise
1 is compatible with all states of affairs.
Premise
2 embodies a false dilemma: both options are problematic. Option (1) is
inconceivable; option (2) contradicts Premise 1.
The
First Cause isn't necessarily the God of Western religions.
Substitute
“Motion” for “Cause” and you have Aquinas’ First “Way” (also cosmological).
The Teleological
Argument
Also
known as the Argument from Design
Thomas
Aquinas, William Paley
Premise 1:
The universe is like a watch: it contains
many tiny parts that are combined in impressively intricate and complex ways.
Premise 2:
It is obvious when you examine a watch
that nothing in the watch is there by chance. Rather, the watchmaker designed
the watch such that each component has a specific purpose.
Conclusion:
In the same way, it seems obvious that
nothing in the universe is here by chance. Rather, a Designer gave each part of
the universe a special purpose. This Designer is God.
Objections to the
Teleological Argument
It
is an argument by analogy (an inductive argument) and thus can at best
establish its conclusion with probability, not certainty.
The
Designer God is not necessarily the God of Western religion.
Hume
and Darwin: The Teleological Argument assumes that any orderly outcome is the
result of conscious intention or design. But it seems clear that order can
happen without conscious design.
Hume:
"order" is in the eye of the beholder anyway.
Hume:
we understand the watchmaker concept because we have experience of watchmakers.
We have no corresponding experience of Gods. Legitimate concepts must be
grounded in experience.
Hume: how far are we willing
to take the analogy? Watches might be made by committees, by incompetent
apprentices, by females ...