Metaphysics of God vocab

What is an analogy in philosophy?

A comparison drawn between one thing and another to identify similarities for clarification or explanation.

What does Hume's argument from analogy suggest?

It argues for the existence of a designer of the universe by comparing the universe to human-made machines, inferring that both have intelligent design.

What is Aquinas' 1st Way?

A deductive cosmological argument that posits the existence of an unchanged changer (or unmoved mover) as the first cause of change.

What does Aquinas argue about change?

Change is the actualization of potential, which must be initiated by something that is already actual.

What is Aquinas' 2nd Way?

A deductive cosmological argument that asserts there must be a first efficient cause, as nothing can be the efficient cause of itself.

What is the significance of a first efficient cause in Aquinas' 2nd Way?

It prevents the impossibility of an infinite series of efficient causes and establishes the need for a first cause.

What is Aquinas' 3rd Way?

A deductive cosmological argument that argues for the existence of a necessary being to account for contingent beings.

What are contingent beings?

Beings that are possible but not necessary; they depend on something other than themselves for existence.

What is atemporal causation?

A hierarchical form of causation that concerns the sustained existence of beings regardless of their temporal status.

What is a 'blik' according to Hare?

An attitude towards the world that shapes interpretation and behavior, independent of empirical evidence.

What is the causal principle?

The principle stating that for any event, there is a cause, implying that everything that exists has an explanation for its existence.

How does Hume challenge the causal principle?

He argues that the claim 'everything that begins to exist has a cause' is not universally true and cannot be established as a matter of fact.

What is cognitivism in religious language?

An approach that holds religious language is meaningful if it includes truth-apt claims that describe reality.

What is the contingency argument?

A cosmological argument that asserts the existence of contingent beings necessitates a necessary being (God) to explain their existence.

What characterizes a contingent proposition?

A proposition that could be true or false depending on the state of the world at a given time.

What are cosmological arguments?

Arguments for the existence of God that derive from the existence of the world or its features to posit a first cause.

What is a dilemma in philosophy?

A situation where logic demands a choice between two undesirable conclusions, known as the 'two horns' of the dilemma.

What challenge do empiricists/logical positivists present to religious language?

They argue that much religious language is meaningless because it cannot be verified through empirical evidence.

What is eschatology?

The study concerned with the last things, including the end of the world and the post-mortem destiny of human beings.

What is eschatological verification according to Hick?

The thesis that religious claims can be verified postmortem, countering skepticism about their meaningfulness.

What is the verification principle as posed by Ayer?

It asserts that religious claims can be empirically verified, fulfilling criteria for meaningful language.

What does it mean for God to be timeless?

God exists without beginning or end, transcending the temporal order.

What is the Euthyphro dilemma?

It questions whether God commands what is morally good because it is good, or if it is good because God commands it.

What is the problem with the first horn of the Euthyphro dilemma?

It suggests that moral goodness exists outside of God's will, challenging God's omnipotence.

What is the problem with the second horn of the Euthyphro dilemma?

It implies that moral goodness is arbitrary, depending solely on God's will.

What does it mean for God to be everlasting?

God exists within and throughout all of time, without beginning or end.

How is evil defined in philosophical terms?

Evil is any harm or suffering inflicted on or experienced by beings, often understood as the absence of goodness.

What is Kant's objection to ontological arguments?

He argues that existence is not a predicate that adds to our understanding of a being.

What is the fallacy of composition?

It is the error of attributing properties of parts to the whole, such as concluding that water is not wet because its components are not.

How does Russell apply the fallacy of composition to cosmological arguments?

He argues that just because individual beings have causes, it does not mean the universe itself must have a cause.

What is falsification in epistemology?

It is a method of testing claims by attempting to prove them false rather than true.

What is Flew's approach to religious language?

He suggests that religious claims must specify conditions under which they could be falsified to be considered meaningful.

What does it mean to be a free human being in philosophical terms?

It refers to possessing autonomy in actions and moral decision-making.

What is the free will defense proposed by Plantinga?

It argues that God cannot guarantee the absence of evil without contradicting the existence of free will.

What are God's attributes according to philosophers?

God is typically described as omniscient, omnipotent, supremely good, and eternal or everlasting.

What is Hume's claim about necessary beings?

He argues that necessity is a property of propositions, not beings, and that the statement 'God does not exist' does not entail a contradiction.

What is an infinite series in philosophical terms?

It is a series without limits, such as natural numbers extending infinitely in both directions.

What is the Kalām argument?

A cosmological argument that asserts the necessity of a first cause for the universe, which is itself uncaused (God).

What is moral evil?

Harm or suffering intentionally caused by the actions of free moral agents.

What is natural evil?

Harm or suffering caused by natural events or processes, not by human actions.

What is a necessary being?

A being whose existence is not contingent and could not fail to exist, typically ascribed to God.

What is non-cognitivism in relation to religious language?

It holds that religious language does not describe reality but expresses non-cognitive states, making it meaningful in a different sense.

What does it mean for God to be omnipotent?

God is all-powerful, defined as having the power to do anything that is logically possible.

What does it mean for God to be omniscient?

God is all-knowing, defined as knowing all true propositions or all that is logically possible to know.

What is the ontological argument?

A family of arguments that reason from the conception of God to the conclusion that God must exist.

What is Anselm's version of the ontological argument?

It reasons that if God is the greatest conceivable being, then God must exist in reality; otherwise, a greater being could be conceived.

What is the ontological argument according to Descartes?

An a priori and deductive argument for the existence of God that reasons from the idea of God as a 'supremely perfect being' to the conclusion that God necessarily exists.

How does Descartes define a 'supremely perfect being'?

A being that contains all perfections, including existence as a perfection.

What is the ontological argument according to Malcolm?

An a priori and deductive argument that reasons from the idea of God as 'an unlimited being' to the conclusion that God exists necessarily.

What is the significance of contingency in Malcolm's argument?

Malcolm argues that an unlimited being cannot exist contingently, as contingency implies limitation.

What is a paradox in philosophical terms?

A situation where a logically unacceptable conclusion arises from premises that seem true.

What is the paradox of the stone?

An argument questioning the coherence of omnipotence by asking if God can create a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it.

What is the perfect island objection proposed by Gaunilo?

A reductio ad absurdum objection to Anselm's argument, claiming that if one can conceive of a perfect island, it must exist, which seems absurd.

What does the principle of sufficient reason state?

For any factual state of affairs, there is a sufficient reason why that state holds rather than some other.

What is the problem of evil?

A challenge to the existence of God, highlighting a tension between an omnibenevolent, omnipotent God and the existence of evil in the world.

What is the evidential problem of evil?

It claims that the existence and severity of evil in the world provide strong evidence against the existence of an omnibenevolent God.

What is the logical problem of evil?

It argues that the existence of evil is logically incompatible with the existence of an omnibenevolent God.

What is the soul-making theodicy proposed by Hick?

It argues that the existence of evil is necessary for the cultivation of virtue and human flourishing.

What is spatial order in the context of design arguments?

The regularities of co-presence in nature that suggest parts are organized for a purpose.

What is Paley's argument from spatial order?

A teleological argument asserting that the organization of parts for a purpose in nature implies a designing intelligence.

What is the teleological/design argument?

A family of a posteriori arguments for the existence of a designing intelligence based on purpose, order, or regularity in the world.

What does temporal causation refer to?

An order of cause and effect within time, where causes are temporally prior to their effects.

What is Swinburne's argument from temporal order?

An inductive design argument claiming that temporal order cannot be explained by natural sciences and suggests a personal explanation (designing intelligence).

What is the unique case objection in design arguments?

An objection arguing that the universe is a unique case, making it difficult to infer design from human-made objects.

What is the verification principle according to Ayer?

The principle stating that language is meaningful only if it makes analytic or empirically verifiable claims.

How does Ayer apply the verification principle to religious language?

He finds religious claims, such as 'God exists', to be neither analytic nor empirically verifiable, rendering them meaningless.