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Russell: Why I Am Not a Theist

Russell: Why I Am Not a Theist. Russell: Why I Am Not a Theist. Bertrand Russell: “Why I Am Not a Theist” The First-Cause Argument. (P1) For everything in the world, there is some cause. (P2) Nothing can cause itself.

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Russell: Why I Am Not a Theist

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  1. Russell:Why I Am Not a Theist Russell:Why I Am Not a Theist

  2. Bertrand Russell: “Why I Am Not a Theist” The First-Cause Argument (P1) For everything in the world, there is some cause. (P2) Nothing can cause itself. (P3) Therefore if the first thing in a series does not exist, nothing in the series exists. (P6) The series of causes cannot extend ad infinitum into the past, for then there would be no things existing now. (C) Therefore it is necessary to admit a first cause, and this cause is God.

  3. The Natural Law Argument (P1) The universe obeys certain laws. (P2) The laws of biology depend on the laws of chemistry, which depend on the laws of physics, which depend on the laws of mathematics, which depend on the laws of logic… (P3) If the universe were merely accidental, there is no reason it should obey orderly principles, or any principles at all. (C) Therefore the universe is not accidental, and there is some law-giver. This law-giver is God.

  4. Modern (“Teleological”) Argument (P1) X is too complex/orderly/purposeful/beautiful to have occurred randomly or accidentally. (P2) Therefore, X must have been created by some sentient/intelligent/wise/purposeful being. (P3) That being is God. (C) Therefore God exists.

  5. Argument from Design (Russell’s Version) Everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live in the world, and if the world was ever so little different, we could not manage to live in it.

  6. Moral Arguments for Deity (Kant) (P1) Human virtue, in its purest form, consists in denying one’s own happiness for the benefit of others. (P2) The highest good consists in the distribution of happiness to all people (according to their virtue). (P3) But man, on his own, is unlikely to bring about this highest good. (P4) This end being likely unattainable, acting morally seems to be irrational. (P5) To save morality from meaninglessness, we must postulate some other source for meaning in morality. (C) This source (Kant believes) is God.

  7. Argument for the Remedying of Injustice If there is to be justice in the world, there must be some punishment and reward system beyond this world, for in this world the good often suffer, and the wicked often prosper. • So, there must be a God, a heaven, and a hell to redress the balance on Earth.

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