3 Arguments for God's Existence
Anselm
Aquinas: Argument From Motion
Aquinas: Argument From Harmony And Design
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Point 1
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“. . . we believe that you are a being of which nothing greater can be conceived. . . ”
God exists as an idea in the mind
God is a being than which none greater can be imagined
God is the greatest and most perfect being you can imagine
That which exists in reality is greater than that which just exists in the mind. Something that exists only in the mind cannot be the greatest being.
If God were to exist only in your mind, he can't be the greatest being
Therefore, that being which nothing greater can be conceived, must exist in reality and in the mind. So it doesn’t matter that you have never experienced him, it is logical he exists.
Argument against this:
There is no clear distinct idea of what the greatest being is. You would have to give this being some attributes, but if you can’t determine what they are, how are they the greatest.
Perfection does not imply existence.
Anselm would answer that when it comes to God, perfection does imply existence. That which is the greatest thing that can be perceived, must exist in reality so that it can be the greatest thing.
Anselm would respond, he will not argue with someone who cannot understand the logic.
Example of this: The perfect island
Your most ideal and perfect island is not greater than God because it only exists in your mind
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Point 1
Everything on earth seems to do things with a purpose in mind, they are driven by a biological need to achieve something
The way birds fly south to a place they’ve never been to escape the cold.
They don’t do this by chance, they do this through purpose
The birds innately knew how to do this
We are guided and given a purpose by a higher being
the birds flying somewhere they’ve never been before indicates that they were guided by a high being. They were given that purpose. The bird would not have done this unless it was guided.
Arguments against this:
Used when people want to claim that there is a natural way of doing things that should not be deviated from
He is preaching intelligent design.
world works with perfect harmony
If you depart from “natural law” you are going against the designer
Used to argue against LGBTQ+ and equal rights
It is a major assumption to say that because some things are done innately, they were given a purpose
This is not an evidence based conclusion
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Point 1
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Motion=things change and things are in states of transition. Think of the way water becomes ice.
Everything is in motion because something causes it. Nothing moves unless it is moved by something else.
Nothing moves unless it is in a relationship where there is potential for movement
A domino will not fall unless it is pushed by another domino
Actuality vs. potentiality
Actually happening vs potential of happening. Something that has the potential to do something won’t happen until it comes in contact with something that is actually performing that action
A domino cannot fall without coming in contact with something that is actually moving. It has the potential to fall, but it won’t until it comes in contact with something that is actually falling
An object cannot cause itself to go from potentiality to actuality. Something puts you in motion.
An object cannot be cause and effect at the same time. Everything is moved by something else (point 2)
Everything that is motion has to be moved by something else
There has to be an original motion
God was the first mover
He uses logic and reasoning to move back to god’s existence and role in the creation of the universe.
Arguments against this:
Aquinas argues that you can't go back infinitely through cause and effect, but who's to say there are only a finite number of effects?