In This Article Edwards Attacks the Cosmological Argument, Specifically Aquinas's

question 1

True/False

In this article Edwards attacks the cosmological argument, specifically Aquinas's causal and contingency versions, holding that the argument fails at several points. Against the causal argument, he argues that the premise asserting the impossibility of an infinite series is false. Even if the argument were sound, he says, it would not prove the existence of a single first cause because a plurality of causes cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, the argument is not helped by the theist's distinction between causes that bring something into existence (causes in fieri) and causes that sustain something in existence (causes in esse). Some defend the causal argument by insisting that even if there were an infinite series of causes, there still must be an ultimate cause of the series as a whole. Edwards counters that such notions rest on the "erroneous assumption that the series is something over and above the members of which it is composed." Against the contingency argument, Edwards maintains that to explain a contingent phenomenon, we do not need to posit a necessary being and that those who make such a demand beg the question at issue.
-Edwards rejects the contingency argument.

---

Definitions:

Mind

The element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.

Spinoza's Metaphysics

An aspect of Spinoza's philosophy focusing on the nature of reality, substance, and the monistic idea that there is only one substance, God or Nature.

Radical Freedom

A concept that suggests individuals have the ultimate responsibility and freedom to choose and shape their own lives, often associated with existentialist philosophy.

Heraclitus

An ancient Greek philosopher known for his doctrine that change is the fundamental essence of the universe, famously encapsulated in the phrase "You cannot step into the same river twice."