aquinas 3rd way, leibniz and kalam

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what is aquinas’ third way

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1

what is aquinas’ third way

contingency

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2

proof of 3rd way

p1= we observe that there are contingent beings

p2= a series of contingent beings cannot regress infinitely into the past

c1= if so, a series of contingent beings must be finite

p3= if this finite series was all that existed, then before it would be nothing

p4= if there was once nothing, there would be nothing now, which is incorrect

c2= so, there must be more than this finite series of contingent beings i.e. a necessary being

p5= there cannot be an infinite regress or necessary beings

c3= there must be a necessary being having got itself its own necessity, that thing is what we call god

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3

wtf is aquinas saying??

  • he is arguing that we can agree that everything in the universe is contingent

  • contingent things need something else to bring them into existence, so nothing would have ever started.

  • there would still be nothing- unless there is some other being, capable of bringing other things into existence but being independent of everything else, or ‘necessary’

  • it would have to be a being which is not caused, and which depends on nothing else to continue to exist- and this, aquinas thought, would be god

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4

what does leibniz base his argument on + what method of argument does he use

  • improves on Aquinas’ 3rd way by removing unnecessary reasoning about nothing once existence

  • leibniz bases his argument on the principle of sufficient reason, which does both the job of a causal principle and an argument against infinite regress

  • it shows there must be not just any causal explanation, but a causal explanation, but a causal explanation which provides an ultimately sufficient reason for everything that exists

  • this strengthens the argument by making it dependent on only one claim

  • a priori

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5

proof of leibniz’ principle of sufficient reason

p1= for every true fact or assertion, there is a sufficient reason why it is thus and not otherwise

p2= there are two types of truth: truths of reasoning and truths of fact

p3a= truths of reasoning are necessary, so their opposite is impossible, the sufficient reason for truths of reasoning can be discovered a priori

p3b= truths of fact are contingent, so their opposite is possible. the sufficient reason for truths of fact cannot be discovered through other contingent truths, because they too require a sufficient explanation, and so on

c1= a sufficient reason for contingent facts must be found outside a series of contingent things

c2= the sufficient reason for contingent facts must be a necessary substance

c3= that necessary substance is god → god must exist

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6

what is leibniz saying

  • claims that the principle of sufficient reason can be known as a necessary truth

  • even if we can’t know or even find out what the reason is, there must be one

  • ‘from nothing nothing comes’ bc nothing is not sufficient to create something

  • only a necessary being is sufficient to explain the universe bc otherwise there would be an infinite regress of contingent beings, but an infinite regress alone can have no sufficient explanation

  • if things have always existed going back 4ever then nothing would have a sufficient reason for its existence

  • everything’s reason for existence would consist something for which its reason for existence consists in something else

  • there would simply be an infinite deferring of the reason for existence and thus would not actually be a reason for existence

  • so, a necessary being must have begun the chain of contingent beings and is the sufficient explanation of the universe

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7

what is the kalam argument

  • infers a beginning cause rather than a sustaining cause

  • the causal sequence being temporal, w god as the beginning cause, is a central feature of the argument

  • scientific explanation applies with in the universe and therefore cannot apply to its actual creation

  • the cause of the universe must therefore have a personal explanation, i.e., intentionally created by an intelligent mind

  • this being must must have the power to create a universe from nothing (ex nihilo)

  • it must be outside time and space since it created time and space

  • as a timeless, external being, god didnt begin to exist so its then no contradiction in claiming god doesn’t have a cause

  • these are qualities that god would have, so the cause of the universe is god

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