Cosmological Argument

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Robert Koons, a professor at the University of Texas, discussed where we fault in our belief in God. It is a natural illusion of reason with two stages. The first stage is in thinking about the world. When we do, we always end up beginning with a model idea of a perfect, all knowing being. The second stage is determined by the theory of transcendental idealism. In essence, to cut off the cosmological argument, one could say that God does not exist because we only imagine the presence of our creator because we feel safer about life as we know it. Straying away from personal and emotional arguments, I can only agree to disagree with what he was saying.

Kant believes that God is not logically necessary. There are three different types of necessities when it comes to cosmological argument. Logical, modal and factual. Logic being something that cannot be contradicted, modal being something that exists in all worlds and factual meaning something didn’t come into existence nor can it cease to exist. To some people, God is logically necessary because he is a maximally great, all knowing being. But according to Kant, if God is modally necessary and not logically necessary, he could have not existed in any worlds. This makes him logically dependent and therefore he cannot satisfy the cosmological argument. For factual necessity, it is the same rule as modal; if he is factually necessary and not logically necessary, he could have not existed in any worlds. Therefore, he is once again logically contingent, according to Kant. Also, without the ontological argument, there might not even be a need for a necessary being such as God.

My views on the cosmological argument did not change throughout this research and reading. I still believe that God is the creator of all things and nothing can change my mind about it. There is no possible way that all things just appeared or that they have been here forever, something had to create them. Kant made a good point about the different types of necessities, but I still disagree with the fact that God does not exist. My favorite philosopher that I learned about was William Craig. He made great points and really opened my eyes to the whole cosmological argument. I never really went into depth on anything about it outside of household talks with my family about where the universe started. I started to think deeper about how the universe was made because it has a cause and how everything followed. That solidified my beliefs and helped me realize a bit more about what I believe in. God exists and he created all things because he is almighty and all powerful.

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Works Cited

Craig, William Lane., and Quentin Smith. Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology. Oxford: Clarendon, 1993. Print.

Craig, William Lane. The Kalām Cosmological Argument. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1979. Print.

Rowe, William L. The Cosmological Argument. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1975. Web.

Koons, Robert. A New Look at the Cosmological Argument. 2nd ed. Vol. 34. Champagne: U of Illinois, 1997. Web. pp. 193-211

Kant, Immanuel, and Mary J. Gregor. Critique of Practical Reason. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1997. Web.