Hey, so my professor wants me to explain this argument in premise and conclusion form. I'm pretty sure I have my premises nailed but I just wanted to know how I would explain what the conclusion is....
Briefly put, the argument runs as follows. Every event must have a cause. Hence an event A must have as cause some event B, which in turn must have a cause C, and so on. But if there is no end to this backward progression of causes, the progression will be infinite; and in the opinion of those who use this argument, an infinite series of actual events is unintelligible and absurd. Hence there must be a first cause, and this first cause is God, the initiator of all change in the universe (Elements of Philosophy, 34).
1)Every event must have a cause
2)But if there is no end to this backward progression of causes, the progression will be infinite;
3) what would be the conclusion??? Help Please
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
1. Every event has a cause. (Premise)
2. If every event has a cause, then either there is an infinite regression of cause and effect, or there is a first cause. (Premise)
3. Therefore, either there is an infinite regression of cause and effect, or there is a first cause (Modus Ponens: 1, 2)
4. It is not the case that there is an infinite regression of cause and effect. (Premise)
5. Therefore, there is a first cause. (Disjunctive Elimination: 3, 4)
6. If there is a first cause, then God exists. (Premise)
7. Therefore, God exists. (Modus Ponens: 5, 6)
So, there are really four premises in the argument, and the conclusion is that God exists.
3) therefore the first cause (whatever it is) must be infinite
theist would say the the infinite thing is God
pantheists would say the infinite thing is everything (the sum of matter and energy in the universe has always been constant). This makes the universe into God by some definitions of God
atheists would say that everything popped out of nothing (the universe has no first cause)
This is known as the Cosmological Argument.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_argument
well if u belive so, yes but i do. but i belive that god didnt just pick up dirt and ash and creat people i think other organisms did and i would tell u alot more on what i think is fake in the bible but it would go on to long
I am alpha and omega the beginning and the end~just as a Circle.
no, god does not exist
no, but if you want to believe so