God
natural theology · philosophy of religion
The classical concept: a maximally great being. Arguments for and against constitute much of philosophy of religion.
In practice
The arguments are studied as arguments. Each is evaluated by whether its premises are true and its inference valid, in the same way as any other piece of reasoning.
The common mistake
Assuming the arguments were designed to produce belief. Most were constructed by people who already believed, in order to test whether the belief could be defended by reason alone.
In philosophy, God is the name for a being taken to be perfect, necessary and the source of everything else. Philosophy of religion examines the arguments for and against such a being's existence, and whether the concept is coherent.
The classical attributes
The traditional description holds God to be omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, eternal and necessarily existent. Each attribute generates puzzles, and the puzzles are largely independent of whether anyone believes the description is satisfied. Can an omnipotent being create a stone it cannot lift? Does foreknowledge remove free will? Does perfect goodness constrain what omnipotence can do?
The arguments
The ontological argument, from Anselm in 1078, reasons from the concept alone: a being than which none greater can be conceived must exist, since existing is greater than not existing. Kant objected that existence adds nothing to a concept — it says that the concept is instantiated rather than describing what it contains.
The cosmological argument reasons from the existence of the world to a first cause or necessary being. Aquinas gave five versions in the Five Ways. The standing question is why the first cause must have the attributes religion assigns it.
The design argument reasons from apparent purpose in nature. Hume attacked it in the Dialogues (1779), and natural selection later supplied the alternative explanation it lacked.
The case against
The problem of evil is the strongest objection: a being both able and willing to prevent suffering appears inconsistent with the amount of it. Replies are gathered under theodicy, and include the claim that free will requires the possibility of wrongdoing.
Running alongside is the question of whether reason has any jurisdiction here at all — the subject of faith and reason.
Concept web
Open the full webQuestions
What are the main arguments for the existence of God?
The ontological argument reasons from the concept of a perfect being. The cosmological argument reasons from the existence of the universe to a necessary first cause. The design argument reasons from apparent purpose in nature.
What is the problem of evil?
The argument that the existence of suffering is difficult to reconcile with a being who is all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good, since such a being would appear to be both able and willing to prevent it.
What did Kant object to in the ontological argument?
That existence is not a property that can be contained in a concept. Saying something exists states that the concept is instantiated rather than adding to its description, so existence cannot be derived from a definition.