The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction

204 Pages·2010·1.21 MB·English

by  Yujin Nagasawa

THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Does God exist? What are the various arguments that seek to prove the existence of
God? Can atheists refute these arguments? The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction
assesses classical and contemporary arguments concerning the existence of God:
• The ontological argument, introducing the nature of existence, possible
worlds, parody objections, and the evolutionary origin of the concept of God.
• The cosmological argument, discussing metaphysical paradoxes of infinity,
scientific models of the universe, and philosophers’ discussions about ulti-
mate reality and the meaning of life.
• The design argument, addressing Aquinas’s Fifth Way, Darwin’s theory of
evolution, the concept of irreducible complexity, and the current contro-
versy over intelligent design and school education.
Bringing the subject fully up to date, Yujin Nagasawa explains these arguments
in relation to recent research in cognitive science, the mathematics of infinity, big
bang cosmology, and debates about ethics and morality in light of contemporary
political and social events.
The book also includes fascinating insights into the passions, beliefs and struggles
of the philosophers and scientists who have tackled the challenge of proving the exist-
ence of God, including Thomas Aquinas, and Kurt Gödel - who at the end of his career
as a famous mathematician worked on a secret project to prove the existence of God.
The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction is an ideal gateway to the philosophy of
religion and an excellent starting point for anyone interested in arguments about
the existence of God.
Yujin Nagasawa is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham,
UK. He is author of God and Phenomenal Consciousness (2008), and editor/co-editor of
There’s Something About Mary: Essays on Phenomenal Consciousness and Frank Jackson’s Knowledge
Argument (2004), New Waves in Philosophy of Religion (2008) and Scientific Approaches to the
Philosophy of Religion (2012).

THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
A philosophical introduction
Yujin Nagasawa
This edition published 2011
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
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collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2011 Yujin Nagasawa
The right of Yujin Nagasawa to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Nagasawa, Yujin.
The existence of God : a philosophical introduction / by Yujin Nagasawa.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. God--Proof. I. Title.
BL200.N34 2011
121’.6--dc22 2010043554
ISBN 0-203-81862-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN: 978-0-415-46588-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-46589-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-81862-6 (ebk)
To my parents Yonosuke and Yoko Nagasawa

CONTENTS
List of figures ix
List of tables x
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Part I
An armchair proof of the existence of God 1
1 Gödel’s secret project 1
2 Anselm’s discovery 3
3 Descartes’s ontological argument 12
4 Objections to the ontological argument 21
5 Hartshorne’s discovery 34
6 Objections to the modal ontological argument 38
7 Gödel’s ontological argument 41
Part II
‘Follow the evidence wherever it leads’: evolution vs. intelligent design 46
1 Professor Flew’s conversion 46
2 Battles over evolution 50
3 Intelligent design 54
4 History of the design argument 66
5 Objections to the design argument 74
6 The theory of evolution 87
7 Judge Jones’s verdict on intelligent design 95
viii CONTeNTS
Part III
The big bang, infinity, and the meaning of life 102
1 The big bang 102
2 Infinity 108
3 History of the cosmological argument 116
4 The Kala¯m cosmological argument 128
5 Objections to the Kala¯m cosmological argument 138
6 Infinity and the meaning of life 149
Conclusion
Additional arguments for and against the existence of God 153
1 Further arguments for the existence of God 153
2 Arguments against the existence of God 156
Notes 161
Further reading 172
Bibliography 177
Index 187
LIST OF FIGURES
I.1 Anselm’s ontological argument 8
I.2 Possible worlds 19
I.3 Modal ontological argument 37
II.1 Mousetrap 55
II.2 Bacterial flagellum 56
II.3 Watchmaker analogy 73
III.1 Hilbert’s Hotel A 131
III.2 Hilbert’s Hotel B 132