RE: [split] Critical Thinking Skills
April 3, 2013 at 10:46 am
(This post was last modified: April 3, 2013 at 10:50 am by Mister Agenda.)
(April 3, 2013 at 10:32 am)MysticKnight Wrote: Every effect requires a cause.
A chain of effects is an effect.
You mean a chain of causes and effects.
(April 3, 2013 at 10:32 am)MysticKnight Wrote: An infinite chain of effects is therefore is an effect.
An infinite chan of causes and effects has no beginning and therefore is not an effect.
(April 3, 2013 at 10:32 am)MysticKnight Wrote: An effect requires a cause.
An infinite chain of effects requires a cause.
An infinite chain of causes and effects does not.
(April 3, 2013 at 10:32 am)MysticKnight Wrote: An infinite chain of effects by definition also doesn't require a cause.
Correct, bearing in mind the infinite chain includes all the causes.
(April 3, 2013 at 10:32 am)MysticKnight Wrote: Contradiction. Therefore an infinite chain of effects is impossible.
No, but it was a good try, and I think you may have proven than an infinite chain of cause and effect does not itself require a cause. That said, I lean toward uncaused causes being possible and infinite regression not being a necessary explanation, I'm just less certain of it than you.
Also, it occurs to me that every cause we observe in the universe is also an effect. Something might be made of that.