PHIL 205

What are the premises and conclusion of Craig’s Kalam Cosmological Argument?

1. The universe began to exist.

2. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.

3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

4. If the universe has a cause, that cause is God.

5. Therefore, the cause of the universe is God

What evidence supports Premise 1 of Craig’s Kalam Cosmological Argument?

The Big Bang theory and the unintelligibility of an infinite chain of causes.

What principle supports Premise 2 of Craig’s Kalam Cosmological Argument?

The Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR

What is Sinnott-Armstrong’s critique of Craig’s Kalam argument?

Even if the universe is caused, God does not provide an explanation for it; thus, belief in God is unwarranted.

What does modality study?

Possibility, impossibility, and necessity.

What is a contingent truth?

Something true but which could have been false.

What is a necessary truth?

A truth that must be true and cannot be false.

What is a contingent being?

Something that does not have to exist (its nonexistence is possible).

What is a necessary being?

Something that must exist (its nonexistence is impossible).

What does the PSR imply?

Every contingent truth and being must have a sufficient explanation; therefore, the universe requires a necessary being

What is the basic idea of design arguments?

Things that appear designed for a purpose must have been intelligently designed.

What is Hume’s analogical argument for design?

The universe is like a machine, so by analogy it must have a designer similar to a mind

What is Paley’s watchmaker argument?

Just as a watch implies a watchmaker, the universe implies an intelligent designer

What is the fine-tuning argument?

The universe is fine-tuned for life; this cannot be explained by chance or law, so the best explanation is design

What is Craig’s moral argument for God?

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist.

2. Objective moral values do exist.

3. Therefore, God exists.

What is the Euthyphro Problem?

Goodness cannot depend on God’s will, because then morality is arbitrary; goodness must be independent of God

What is WLC’s response to the Euthyphro Problem?

God’s nature itself determines goodness—there is no external standard

What are the traditional replies to the problem of evil?

(1) Evil is not real (privation), (2) Retribution/free will justification, (3) Suffering builds character, (4) God’s reasons are beyond us

What is Sinnott-Armstrong’s response to the traditional replies to the problem of evil?

Evil is excessive, unfair, and implausibly necessary for greater good

What is Sinnott-Armstrong’s “argument from ignorance”?

We lack direct evidence of God; God could provide it, so absence of evidence is evidence against God.

What is Craig’s reply to Sinnott-Armstrong’s “argument from ignorance”?

God may have reasons not to provide stronger evidence; faith could be undermined by direct proof

What do moral subjectivists believe?

Morality is projection of feelings; no objective moral facts.

What do moral objectivists believe

Moral experience may correspond to independent moral reality