John Locke and Exam Review

John Locke: Argument for God's Existence

• Empiricist View of God's Existence (Cosmological Argument)

  • Locke, being an empiricist, presents an argument for God's existence based on observation and experience, rather than pure reason (unlike Descartes' ontological argument).

  • He connects this lineage to earlier empiricist thought, such as Aristotle (ancient empiricist focusing on causes) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (medieval, famous for formulating the cosmological argument).

• The Magic Show Analogy

  • Scenario: Taking a date to a magic show where a rabbit is pulled from a hat. The date screams, declaring it a miracle, believing the rabbit appeared from