descartes cosmological arg.

howe else can descartes arg be referred to

an arg. from causation

what is meant by continued existence

the property of a thing that does not go out of existence, rather persists through time

what kind of arg is it

deductive - if the premises are true then the conclusion must also be true

what is the main aim of the arg

to argue that God exists as the cause of my continued existence

give the arg in standard form

• I exist as a being from one moment to the next as one with an idea of a supremely perfect being

• I cannot be the cause of myself as I would have made myself perfect - and I know im not

• even if I had always existed, the fact that I continue to exist from one moment to the next would still require a cause

• I cannot be the cause of my continued existence because if I had the power to do this then I would know that I had such power, but I do not

• no other finite being could be the cause of my continued existence - as my parents do not keep me in existence from moment to moment

• therefore only supremely perfect being could be the cause of my contiinued existence

• this supremely perfect being is God

• therefore, God must exist

what is the response to this arg.

objection to the causal principle

• the casual principle says that evrything must have a cause

• however we never observe causation, only a constant conjunction of events

• so we cannot know that anything has a cause