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Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
#1
Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
Ignoring holy books and images of Jesus on toast, what are some of the purely philosophical arguments for God? 

I'm not well-versed in philosophy but it seems that a number of users here are. I was recently reading up on Aquinas and his arguments for God, specifically the "First Cause" argument. Aquinas is (basically) saying that life is a series of movements caused by other movers, correct? But there could not have been infinite number of movers. There must have been an unmoved mover that started it all. Sort of like a chain has to have that first starting link, otherwise the chain isn't a chain, as it's based on nothing and would fall. However it seems to me that Aquinas never really explains why God is used to fill that gap and why God is considered the unmoved mover. Is it because of the qualities God possesses? Perhaps He has the ability to transcend time because...well, He's God?

I'm interested in trying to understand more of Aquinas, but any other philosophical arguments in favor of God (and the ones against them too) would be welcomed. I find it all pretty interesting.
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#2
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
The biggest problem is that of definition. "God" is such a lazy, vague term that it can mean almost anything. Even a purely philosophical argument has to give some meaning to its terms if it's to be of any use.

Aquinas (Aquaman) provides several totally flawed arguments, I dissected it before, let me go paste it in. My ramblings are in bold.

I've just highlighted some of the logical fallacies, enough to show these simply don't work. There's plenty more inherently wrong with the arguments as well that I needn't bother highlighting. I think this should put it to bed, anyone else is welcome to discuss.

My analysis of Aquinas 5 ways (5 ways taken from here)

General objection: Completely dishonest use of the label "god" in not just one but all five ways. This is clearly to try and sneak in an intelligence in the cases where none has been demonstrated; and also to assume all these five things are the same thing. Completely unjustified.

The First Way: Argument from Motion




The Second Way: Argument from Efficient Causes




The Third Way: Argument from Possibility and Necessity (Reductio argument)




The Fourth Way: Argument from Gradation of Being




The Fifth Way: Argument from Design


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#3
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
As I've said elsewhere, I would not include this as "evidence for God" - though slick experts in the arts of theology and sophistry attempt using them like clowns launching off a circus trampoline - there are some pretty reasonable observations that might suggest some middle ground between the reductionist materialism quite popular among atheists and a mode of existence bearing a semblance, in its finer details, to the mysterious architect which (whom?) emerges from natural theology; curiously, within the cruder frameworks devised for theological imaginings, the principles underlying the fictions always dissolve into the latter when their higher-minded, or more pious brothers and sisters, reduce their purpose to allegories concealing transcendent truths.

And the very idea of transcendent truth seems, well, both trascendent and true. Such is the case with necessary being. First principles. Statements that represent nothing but immutable, eternal facts about reality, yet are known only as mere concepts, in a sense that is fundamental to intellectual activity and the operations that make thought possible, and these appear to subject the entire universe to the tools of the natural vivisectionists we once called astrologers, magicians, and priests, and now call mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers. God, if correctly understood, is a trascendent explanation that serves as the starting point for all other knowledge, the sustaining cause of being, the objective idealization of meaning and morality, and the very reason for reason itself by which theists and atheists may engage one another on these important topics. That even an infinite number of configurations for existence are possible, and yet here we are, may never amount to a brute fact that is much more satisfying than a dull, vague Creator.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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#4
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
And, if it boils down to a simple matter of taste, I'll take Timaeus over Genesis every time.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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#5
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
I never understand the connection between morality and God.

"God" created our reality, big deal. He's probably a burglar alarm salesman in his reality. This whole thing is an incidental manifestation of some aspect of technology he uses. So will hundreds of others be. He doesn't even know it's "there" at all, much less that we are there and are somehow self-aware within the manifestation.

What's good old Jim Brookes got to do with morality?
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#6
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
(January 23, 2016 at 5:58 am)robvalue Wrote: I never understand the connection between morality and God.
God is more or less a redundant attachment to the ideal of a Supreme Good, but has the one advantage of being taken more universally so as to combine all metaphysical terms (being, true, good, etc.) into one simple essence.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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#7
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
So it's a nonsensical abstract concept with no relevance to reality as we live in it?

But since it's always one step further than the reach of science, people can still pretend it's there, somewhere.
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#8
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
The other day,I got a Catholic to define God as "That which nothing better can be imagined".
Which I guess they take to mean the most intelligent, most conscious, most logical, most kind, most loving...etc...

But that last word in there... They just can't grasp the irony.
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#9
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
They're going to in for a disappointment when science finally discovers Jim.

Which scenario requires the least number of assumptions, Jim or an omni being of supreme perfect power that got bored/lonely, and so created some pals, but not ones that could see him, ones that can't, and not next to him, but in a whole different reality, so he could watch them while they couldn't see him, and eventually he takes some out to be with him, and they can then presumably see him, and puts some others in a massive oven forever.
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#10
RE: Arguments for God from a purely philosophical perspective
There is a very simple argument as for why God doesn't exist, and it's simply that we cannot locate Him in reality in any way, shape or form. It remains to be a mere idea, one that doesn't particularly make very much sense. If you ask me, it's impossible and therefore it definitely doesn't and couldn't exist in any one universe, for it fails by definition. The only logical thing "God" could ever describe that actually exists is the cosmos, which invalidates its every supernatural pretension.

The philosophical attempts to argue God into existence, so to speak, are a mere exercise of the imagination. You can mentally fap to it all you want, at the end of the day we live in an evidence-based world, in a scientific world, which does away with the apparent need for that kind of baseless thinking.
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