Metaphysics of God

Aquinas' First Way

A form of cosmological argument presented by Aquinas, said to be from 'motion'. By 'motion', Aquinas means 'change' from the potential to actual state of something. Such change must be caused by something that is already actual. If the cause was previously potential, then it must in turn have been caused to become actual. There must be a 'first cause' of change in this sequence, a cause that is not itself changed from actual to potential. This is God.

Aquinas' Second Way

A form of cosmological argument presented by Aquinas, said to be from 'atemporal' or 'sustaining' causation. As nothing depends on itself, things are sustained in their continued existence. Therefore, there must a first sustaining cause, which does not depend on any other cause. This is God.

Aquinas' Third Way

A form of cosmological argument from contingency by Aquinas. Anything that exists contingently, at some time, does not exist. If everything exists contingently, then at some point, nothing existed. If nothing existed, then nothing could begin to exist. Therefore, something must exist necessarily, not contingently. This is God.

atemporal

Not existing in time or subject to the passing of time.

causal principle

The claim that everything that exists has a cause.

contingent

A proposition that could be either true or false, a state of affairs that may or may not hold, depending on how the world actually is.

contingent existence

The type of existence had by a being, such as human beings, that can exist or not exist.

cosmological argument

Arguments for God's existence that claim that unless God exists, the question 'why does anything exist?' is unanswerable. Oversimplified, arguments from causation claim that everything must have a cause, and causal chains cannot be infinite, so there must be a first cause. Arguments from contingency claim that every contingent thing must have an explanation for its existence, and this can ultimately only be provided by something that exists necessarily.

defence, free will

An argument to show that there is no inconsistency between the existence of evil and the existence of God, because it is possible that God would allow evils that arise from free will in order that we (or other beings) can have free will.

design argument

Arguments for God's existence that claim that there is complexity in the world that is evidence of design, and design requires a designer, which is God. The evidence of design that is appealed to is usually the organisation of parts for a purpose or temporal regularities expressed by the laws of nature. Also known as the teleological argument.

determinism

Commonly understood as the claim that everything that happens, including each human choice and action, has a cause, in accordance with laws of nature. Many philosophers argue that given a particular cause, only one outcome is possible.

eternal

Timeless (atemporal). What is eternal cannot have a beginning or end.

Euthyphro dilemma

Does God will what is morally good because it is good, or is it good because God wills it? If the former, God is not omnipotent, if the latter, morality is arbitrary and 'God is good' is tautologous.

everlasting

Existing throughout all time, without beginning or end.

evil, moral

Bad things that arise as the result of the actions of free agents, e.g. murder.

evil, natural

Bad things, especially pain and suffering, that arise as the result of natural processes, e.g. people dying in earthquakes.

falsifiable

A claim is falsifiable if it is logically incompatible with some (set of) empirical observations.

falsification principle

A claim is meaningful only if it is falsifiable, i.e. it rules out some possible experience.

free will

The capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives.

incompatibilism

The belief that determinism and free will cannot both be true. If human beings have free will, determinism is false; if determinism is true, human beings do not have free will.

infinite

Without any bounds or limits. E.g. the natural numbers form an infinite series, the numbers continue in both directions (positive and negative numbers) without any end point.

Kalam argument

A form of cosmological argument that claims that everything that begins to exist has a cause, and the universe began to exist, because it is impossible for a temporal sequence of things to be infinite, and so there is a cause of the universe.

laws of nature

Fixed regularities that govern the universe; statements that express these regularities.

monotheism

The view that there is only one God.

multiverse theory

The claim that there are or have been (many) other universes. It can be used as an objection to the argument from design, to argue that the chance that some universe with laws that enabled order is high. So we shouldn't infer that there is a designer.

necessary existence

The type of existence had by a being, such as God, that does not exist contingently, but must exist.

omnibenevolent

Being perfectly or supremely good. Often defined as being perfectly morally good.

omnipotent

Having perfect power. Often defined as having the ability to do anything it is possible to do.

omniscient

Having perfect knowledge. Often defined as knowing everything that it is possible to know.

ontological argument

Arguments that claim that we can deduce the existence of God from the concept of God.

paradox of the stone

Can God create a stone that he can't lift? If the answer is 'no', then God cannot create the stone. If the answer is 'yes', then God cannot lift the stone. So either way, it seems, there is something God cannot do. If there is something God can't do, then God isn't omnipotent.

principle of sufficient reason

The principle, defended by Leibniz, that every true fact has an explanation that provides a sufficient reason for why things are as they are and not otherwise.

problem of evil

The existence of evil either logically rules out or is evidence against the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, supremely good being.

sustaining cause

A cause that brings about its effect continuously, rather than at a specific moment, such that the effect depends on the continued existence and operation of the cause. Sometimes also called an atemporal cause.

teleological argument

Another term for the design argument.

temporal cause

A cause that brings about its effect at a time, such that the effect comes after the cause and can continue after the cause ceases.

theodicy

An attempt to explain how or why an omnipotent, omniscient, supremely good God would allow the (apparent) presence of evil in the world.

theodicy, soul-making

God allows evil because it is necessary for us to develop virtue.

timeless

Not in time (atemporal, eternal).