The argument, in its simplest form, is that (i) Whatever begins to exist has a cause of its existence, (ii) The universe began to exist, and (iii) Therefore, the universe has a cause of its existence..
Abstract: Part of the kalam cosmological argument draws upon the claim that an actual infinite cannot exist.
Classical theists also maintain both that some individuals will earn eternal life and that God infallibly foreknows the future..
The Kalam Cosmological Argument
The kalam cosmological argument is as follows: Premise 1: The universe began to exist.
Premise 2: Everything that begins to exist has a cause of its existence.
Conclusion: Therefore the universe has a cause of its existence..
The Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA) purports to establish that God exists based upon the alleged metaphysical impossibility of an infinite regress of past events..
One of the earliest formulations of the Kalam cosmological argument in the Islamic philosophical tradition comes from Al-Ghazali, who writes: "Every being which begins has a cause for its beginning; now the world is a being which begins; therefore, it possesses a cause for its beginning.".
Philosophers such as Aristotle and Islamic theologian Al-Kindi developed the Kalam Cosmological Argument during the ancient period.
Al-Ghazali, a medieval Islamic philosopher and theologian, is credited with its prominence and formulation.Sep 22, 2023.
The Kalam Cosmological Argument was first formulated by the medieval Muslim theologian al-Ghazali (1058-1111).
He introduced a simple syllogism to support the idea that the universe has a cause of its existence.
This cause was attributed to the existence of a Creator..
William Lane Craig has revived interest in the medieval kalām argument to the point where it is now one of the most discussed arguments for God’s existence in the secondary literature.
Still, the reception of Craig’s argument among philosophers of religion has been mostly critical.
These arguments typically come in two major types, known as the “horizontal” and “vertical” approaches.
The most commonly used form is “horizontal,” also known as the kalam cosmological argument.
According to the kalam, there can be only one itself-uncaused-and-eternal thing that causes all other things, and that first cause is God.
Kant contended that the cosmological argument, in identifying the necessary being, relies on the ontological argument, which in turn is suspect.
We will return to these criticisms below.
In the first part of the 20th century, with the rise of Positivism, the argument was largely abandoned.
It is named after the Kalam (medieval Islamic scholasticism) from which its key ideas originated.
William Lane Craig was principally responsible for giving new life to the argument in the 20th century, due to his The Kalām Cosmological Argument (1979), among other writings.
Topics referred to by the same term
