Three indications for the existence of God in causal metaphysics
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 66 (1):33 - 46 (2009)
| Abstract | With the emergence of modern physics a conflict became apparent between the Principle of Sufficient Cause and the Principle of Physical Causal Closure. Though these principles are not logically incompatible, they could no longer be considered to be both true; one of them had to be false. The present paper makes use of this seldom noticed conflict to argue on the basis of considerations of comparative rationality for the truth of causal statements that have at least some degree of philosophico-theological relevance and can be taken to indicate ( not prove) the existence of God. The paper’s comparatively modest aim is to establish belief in the existence of God as a rational metaphysical option, not as a rational obligation. In its final section, enriched causal considerations lead to an indication ( not proof) of God as that which guarantees the unified continuance of the physical world. | |||||||||
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James R. Beebe, Logical Problem of Evil. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
E. J. Lowe (2000). Causal Closure Principles and Emergentism. Philosophy 75 (294):571-586.
George I. Mavrodes (1970). The Rationality of Belief in God. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,Prentice-Hall.
Frederick J. O.’Toole (1993). Descartes' Problematic Causal Principle of Ideas. Journal of Philosophical Research 18:167-191.
Robert Larmer (2009). Divine Agency and the Principle of the Conservation of Energy. Zygon 44 (3):543-557.
David Twetten (2006). On Which 'God' Should Be the Target of a 'Proof of God's Existence'. The Proceedings of the Twenty-First World Congress of Philosophy 8:75-80.
Daniel von Wachter (2006). Why the Argument From Causal Closure Against the Existence of Immaterial Things is Bad. In H. J. Koskinen, R. Vilkko & S. Philström (eds.), Science - A Challenge to Philosophy? Peter Lang.
Brian Leftow (2003). On a Principle of Sufficient Reason. Religious Studies 39 (3):269-286.
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