25 Questions
What characterizes an inductive argument?
It provides premises to support the conclusion
What type of evidence are the inductive arguments for the existence of God based on?
Empirical evidence
Which team is used in the example to illustrate an inductive argument?
Manchester City
What is the main focus of this theme related to inductive arguments for God’s existence?
Challenges to inductive arguments
What type of evidence is a-posteriori evidence also known as?
Empirical evidence
According to Aquinas' Way 2, what did he argue about the chain of intermediate causes and effects?
It cannot logically go back an infinite number of times.
What did Aquinas use as an analogy to illustrate his Way 2?
A series of falling dominos
What did Aquinas observe about the world in his Way 3?
It consists of contingent beings.
Why did Aquinas argue that there must have been a first causer according to his Way 2?
Because it is logically impossible for anything to cause itself.
What did Aquinas argue about every effect in the universe in his Way 2?
It has an intermediate cause.
According to Aquinas' cosmological arguments, the 'Unmoved Mover' is best described as:
The first cause that initiated all subsequent causes.
In Aquinas' cosmological argument, the concept of 'Contingency & Necessity' refers to:
The distinction between things that exist because of something else and things that exist out of necessity.
According to Aquinas' cosmological arguments, a pile of wood being turned into a fire by a match exemplifies:
The necessity of a first changer.
How does Aquinas' cosmological argument differ from Aristotle's concept of the 'Prime Mover'?
Aquinas' 'Unmoved Mover' is synonymous with Aristotle's 'Prime Mover'.
What empirical observation forms the basis of Aquinas' Way 1 – The Unmoved Mover?
The concept of potentiality and actualization in changing states.
According to the argument, why is the concept of actual infinities considered absurd or impossible?
Because it results in the illogical situation where there must be as many red books as there are total books, despite the presence of a set of black books.
Why does Craig argue against 'potential infinities' as well?
Because the universe can only be an actual infinity and not a potential infinity due to its actual history.
What criticism did Craig's argument receive regarding 'actual infinities'?
It failed to address the concept of potential infinity.
Why does the argument claim that there must be as many red books as there are red and black books combined?
Because both red and black books are infinite and have no beginning or end.
Why does Craig argue that a beginningless infinite universe cannot exist?
Because actual infinities, including a beginningless infinite universe, are considered absurd or impossible.
According to Aquinas, why must there be a necessary being?
To prevent an infinite regression of caused necessary beings with no complete explanation.
Which theologian simplified Aquinas’ Third Way and argued that the universe itself must be contingent?
Frederick Copleston
What is the main focus of William Lane Craig’s Kalam Cosmological Argument?
Explaining how the universe was caused and why it began to exist.
Why does William Lane Craig argue that an actual infinity cannot exist?
Due to an analogy of a library with an actual infinite number of books.
What makes Aquinas’ argument different from Frederick Copleston’s and William Lane Craig’s arguments?
Aquinas emphasizes the distinction between caused and uncaused necessary beings.
Test your understanding of the first cause argument in philosophy with this quiz. Explore the concept of an uncaused cause and the principles of causality in philosophical thought.
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