God Exists is Superior to Denial of His Existence
Zena Hafez
William Paterson University
Abstract
There are two possibilities when it comes to the philosophical arguments for God—either He exists, or He does not exist. This essay argues that the arguments for God’s existence are more compelling and philosophically sound than the oppositions to God’s existence. The ontological argument that is put forth by St. Anselm is explored. The cosmological and teleological arguments by St. Thomas Aquinas are explored. Both of these philosophers are able to argue for God’s existence: St. Anselm uses deductive reasoning and St. Thomas Aquinas uses inductive reasoning. The opposition to God’s existence is presented by J.L. Mackie and involves the idea that God cannot exist because we know that evil exists. This essay argues that J. L. Mackie presents a good argument, but that his argument fails when one considers the idea that evil could be misunderstood because of our finite perspectives. Therefore, this essay concludes that the inductive and deductive arguments of St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas are superior to denying God’s existence.
Keywords: ontological, cosmological, God, evilGod Exists is Superior to Denial of His Existence
Philosophical claims are sometimes difficult to prove; however, sometimes it is obvious that there are truths. The main difference between induction and deduction is that deduction is an argument that derives its truth from its own premises and an inductive argument concludes something that is not contained in the premises. The notion of God falls into a unique philosophical category because the argument for God’s existence has been pulled off both deductively and inductively. Therefore, for the purposes of this paper, if one has to choose which philosophical argument is superior between the opposed ideas that either God exists, or God does not exist, the choice should be that it is philosophically superior to argue that God exists. This is because this type of argument involves both deduction and induction.
There have been many famous arguments for the existence of God. In order to prove that the philosophical argument for God’s existence is superior to denying his existence, this paper will review the arguments that have been put forth by St. Anselm and by St. Thomas. Both of these philosophers want to prove that God exists. Both philosophers approach the argument for God’s existence in different ways, but both are able to conclude that God must exist. These are the most compelling arguments for God’s existence. These arguments are superior to arguments that god does not exist.
The arguments that deny God’s existence usually revolve around the problem of evil. J.L. Mackie has one of the most famous arguments against the existence of God. Mackie’s argument rests on the idea that there is incompatibility between the notion of an omnipotent and all good being with the fact that there is evil in this world (Speaks, 2006). Since God is all powerful and all good, Mackie challenges the existence of God with why and how it is possible for such a being to permit the existence of evil. Mackie’s argument against God’s existence is simply inferior to the arguments for God’s existence because there are possible solutions to his denial. Mackie believes the solutions are inadequate and/or fallacious (Speaks, 2006). However, this essay argues that the solutions disprove Mackie’s claims. Therefore, because the arguments put forth by St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas are logical and sound, and the arguments put forth by Mackie have falsehoods, the arguments for God’s existence are far superior to denying His existence.
St. Anselm’s ontological argument for God’s existence. St. Anselm’s argument for God’s existence involves six premises. The first premise states that the concept of God involves a being of which no greater being is imagined (Himma, 2018). The second premise states that God does indeed exist as an idea in the mind (Himma, 2018). The third premise relates the first two premises stating that out of two options, existing only in the mind or existing independently of the mind, it is greater to exist independently of the mind (Himma, 2018). The fourth premise says that the third premise proves that we are able to imagine a greater being than one than exists only in the mind—that is one that exists outside of the mind (Himma, 2018). The fifth premise draws on all of the premises and argues that we cannot imagine a greater being than God, and therefore, we must be imagining a God who exists outside of the mind (Himma, 2018). St. Anselm concludes that because of these premises, the sixth premise is that God does exist (him, 2018).
St. Thomas Aquinas’ cosmological argument for God’s existence. St. Thomas Aquinas has an argument that God exists based on three principles that are related. These principles are based on the ideas of independence and dependence. Sometimes his argument is known as the “first mover argument” (Miranda, 2018). The cosmological argument is pretty much these following three premises:
Every being (that exists or ever did exist) is either a dependent being or a self-existent being.
Not every being can be a dependent being.
So there exists a self-existent being (Miranda, 2018)
The reason that this argument is compelling is that it avoids a reduction argument in which there is a never-ending motion (Miranda, 2018). What this means is that everything in this world is in motion and is always changing; whatever is in motion had to be put in motion by another thing that is in motion (Miranda, 2018). St. Thomas Aquinas argues that it would be absurd if there was no initial movement that started the motion, and that this initial movement is the first mover, i.e., God (Miranda, 2018). St. Thomas Aquinas argues that each movement cannot be created by itself and that there is a string of causes—the string is not infinite and therefore, there is only one being that exists at the start of the string (Miranda, 2018). This being is God. St. Thomas Aquinas also argues from what is known as possibility and necessity—he argues that all things that are made possible necessarily attribute their existence to a pre-existing thing (Miranda, 2018). It is only God who does not need a pre-existing thing since he is a being that has his own necessity; therefore, all things that exist can be attributed to God (Miranda, 2018).
St. Thomas Aquinas’ teleological argument for God’s existence. St. Thomas Aquinas presents an argument that is the most common one that is used to reason for God’s existence, the teleological argument. This argument is strong because it appeals to the idea that all things are directed toward a specific purpose and that there is a continuity to the manner that things always act in order to obtain the best results (Miranda, 2018). St. Thomas Aquinas argues that we are not intelligent about our entire purpose and would not be able to act toward it unless there was a being who was more intelligent than we are directing our actions (Miranda, 2018). St. Thomas Aquinas claims that …some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God” (Miranda, 2018).
J.L. Mackie’s opposition. The opposition to the argument for God’s existence is founded on the problem of evil. This opposition can be overcome with the notion that evil is necessary for free will, or that evil is misunderstood from our finite perspectives (Speaks, 2006). The opposition is based on the idea that we know that evil certainly exists, but it is possible that evil is misunderstood. The bigger picture is unknown to finite minds but is known to God. Therefore, although Mackie’s argument is seemingly sound, it is not as convincing as the arguments put forth that support God’s existence by St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the arguments for the existence of God are superior to any arguments against God. St. Anselm presents the ontological proof which is a deductive argument for God’s existence. St. Thomas Aquinas presents the cosmological and teleological arguments which are inductive proofs of God’s existence. Although the arguments still involve a jump from what is metaphysically provable to what is epistemologically provable, it seems more cogent to argue for the philosophical existence of God than to deny that God exists.
References
Himma, K. (2018). Anselm: Ontological argument for God’s existence. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://www.iep.utm.edu/ont-arg/
Miranda, S. (2018). Philosophical proofs on the existence of God. St. Thomas Aquinas Forum. Retrieved from http://www.saintaquinas.com/philosophy.html
Speaks, J. (2006). Mackie on the problem of evil. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved from https://www3.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/mcgill/201/mackie-evil.html