PHL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Cosmological Argument
Document Summary
Q: avicenna"s proof of a necessary existent begins from the premise that there is motion in the universe: true, false. Q: according to mcginnis, what is the modest factual premise that avicenna"s proof relies on: something exists, the universe could have been otherwise, causation exists. When he"s referring to god, he"s talking about a being who is necessary through itself. A being that through its own self, must exist, regardless of everything going on in the world. Once you prove that a necessary being exists, you can prove that this being has all the traditional attributes of god. A cosmological argument is a proof of god"s existence that starts from basic fact(s) about the universe, and a demand for an explanation of these facts. The universe"s being f requires a cause. Avicenna (and others in the middle ages) calls his proof a metaphysical proof, in contrast with aristotle"s physical proof. What can we say about this something that exists.
