Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding was required reading. I was very disappointed that Hume wanted to throw all of Metaphysics into the "flames". I think aprior knowledge is possible and Kant proved it in the forms of Space and Time.
Ultimately, the cosmological argument is rooted in the Ontological argument. The Ontological argument, as I understand it, is rooted in the idea of Perfection. I have this idea of Perfection. But I'm not perfect and neither is any human. So, how did I get the idea? The idea came from the Perfect being, God. Thus, God is proven to exist from the idea of Perfection.
The Lutheran refutation of the Ontological Argument was very simple: it is impossible for a human to form an idea of Perfection. Thus, God cannot exist from the idea of Perfection.
Moreover, to reason from effect to cause is invalid. Classically speaking, the Modus Ponens argument (Law of Detachment), says that it is possible to reason from cause to effect:
Premises:
p
p implies q
Conclusion
q
P is assumed to be true because statements are statements of Truth like stars are stars of the sky. This comes from the Greek word, Logos. Now p cannot be false because if it were then Truth would imply Falsity, which is False. After all, we all know how pure and wholesome Truth is. LOL.
The whole idea or purpose behind therapy and counseling is that once a person is aware of the cause of his destructive or negative behavior, he will then cease to perform that act. Of course, some people are so strung out or extremely sick that even when they are aware of their destructive behavior, they cannot stop from performing it over and over again. But still the whole premise behind therapy and counseling is valid and many people are helped.
The Cosmological Argument is invalid because it tries to derive a specific cause from an effect. Just because the effect is true does not mean a specific cause follows.
Premises:
q
p implies q
Conclusion:
p
Invalid Cosmological Argument
If q is true then p may be either true or false and still have p implies q be a true statement. But this means that if I substitute q for creation and if q is true, then p or not p may be true. That is to say, if I substitute p for Creator, then I can say that a Divine creator implies creation is true and No Divine Creator implies Creation is also true.
I know a number of people who were lying on their death bed and remained quite down to earth and intellectually honest.
Like I said before, we are here for a relatively short period of time and the point is to live life fully, to be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming while giving to others and making the world a better place to live in.
The miserable wretches of this world will always create other worldly gods for themselves. It takes guts and courage to die a Happy Death. But many have done it. |
