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A Cosmological Argument Against Metaphysical Naturalism

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A Cosmological Argument Against Metaphysical Naturalism A COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT AGAINST METAPHYSICAL NATURALISM Ossi Hyvärinen Master’s thesis in Systematic theology April 2018 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO HELSINGFORS UNIVERSITET Tiedekunta/Osasto Fakultet/Sektion Laitos Institution Teologinen tiedekunta / Systemaattisen - teologian osasto TekijäFörfattare Ossi Hyvärinen Työn nimi Arbetets titel A cosmological argument against metaphysical naturalism Oppiaine Läroämne Uskonnonfilosofia Työn laji Arbetets art Aika Datum Sivumäärä Sidoantal Pro Gradu 19.4.2018 72 Tiivistelmä Referat Tutkielman ensimmäisessä osassa käydään läpi kosmologisten jumalatodistusten historiaa ja nykypäivänä käytävää keskustelua. Ensimmäisessä osassa tuodaan myös ilmi tutkielman argumentin taustalla vaikuttavat taustaoletukset, sekä esitellään filosofisen naturalismin eri muotoja, ja määritetään tarkalleen mitä otsikon ”metafyysisellä naturalismilla” tutkielmassa tarkoitetaan. Metafyysinen naturalismi määritellään näkemykseksi, jonka mukaan vain materiaalinen universumi on olemassa, eikä mitään kirjaimellisesti yliluonnollista ole olemassa. Tutkielman pääasiallinen tarkoitus on esitellä siis argumentti tätä metafyysistä naturalismia vastaan ja puolustaa näkemystä, jonka mukaan jotain muutakin kuin materiaalinen universumi on olemassa. Argumentti on pääpiirteissään seuraavanlainen: 1.1 Tyhjästä ei tule mitään. 1.2 Siispä, joko jotain on aina ollut olemassa, tai mitään ei ole koskaan ollut olemassa. 2.1 Jotain on olemassa. 2.2 Siispä, jotain on aina ollut olemassa. 3.1 Universumi ei ole aina ollut olemassa. 3.2 Siispä, jotain muuta kuin universumi on aina ollut olemassa. 4. Siispä metafyysinen naturalismi on epätosi. Argumentti on loogisesti validi, joten argumentin puolustajan on enää osoitettava premissit tosiksi. Tähän pyritään vetoamalla metafyysiseen järkeilyyn sekä esittämällä empiiristä evidenssiä erityisesti premissin 3.1 tueksi. Premissejä myös puolustetaan empiirisiä ja metafyysisiä vasta-argumentteja vastaan. Huolimatta argumentin yhteyksistä klassisiin jumalatodistuksiin, sen eksplisiittinen tarkoitus ei ole todistaa Jumalan olemassaoloa, vaan kumota metafyysinen naturalismi yksinkertaisimmalla mahdollisella argumentilla. Tutkielman kolmannessa osassa arvioidaan argumentin tulosten merkitystä uskonnonfilosofian eri kysymyksille. Onnistuessaan argumentti ei anna vahvaa tukea esimerkiksi metafyysisen sielun olemassaololle, mutta argumenttia on mahdollista kehittää myös kohti suuntaa, jossa se voisi olla relevantti myös tällaisille kysymyksille. Argumentti pohjaa vahvasti William Lane Craigin Kalaam kosmologiseen argumenttiin, joka on nykyajan kenties merkittävin argumentti Jumalan olemassaolon puolesta. Tämän tutkielman argumentin käyttäminen luonnollisen teologian tarkoituksiin ei siis vaadi edes argumentin itsensä muuttamista, vaan johtopäätösten viemistä tarpeeksi pitkälle. Avainsanat – Nyckelord Jumalatodistukset, luonnollinen teologia, metafysiikka, maailmansyntyteoriat Säilytyspaikka – Förvaringställe Helsingin yliopiston kirjasto, Keskustakampuksen kirjasto, Teologia Muita tietoja 2 Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………. 4 PART ONE 1. Cosmological arguments: A historical survey………………………….... 6 1.1 Characteristics of cosmological arguments.….………………….... 6 1.2 Plato and Aristotle…………………………………………………………...... 7 1.3 Abu Hamid al-Ghazali…………………………………………………..…….. 10 1.4 Thomas Aquinas…………………………………………………………..…….. 12 1.5 William Lane Craig………………………………………......................... 15 1.6 Conclusion and motivation……………………………………….………… 17 1.6.1 A new argument…………………………………………..…………… 18 2. The presuppositions and nature of my argument.………..……….…. 19 2.1 Cosmological arguments as metaphysics……………………………. 19 2.2 Answering the Kantian objection………………………………………… 21 2.3 Becoming and the nature of time…………………………..………….. 23 2.3.1 B-theory and the Universe……………………………..…………. 25 2.3.2 The case for the A-theory………………………………………….. 26 2.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………… 2 8 3. Defining naturalism………………………………………………………..………… 2 9 3.1 Methodological naturalism………………………………………........... 29 3.2 Epistemological naturalism………………………………………………….30 3.3 Naturalism in the philosophy of mind………………………………….31 3.4 Ontological naturalism…………………………………..…………….........3 3 3.5 Conclusion and clarification……………………………………….......... 3 4 PART TWO 4. The formulation and logical form of the argument……………..……. 37 5. The first premiss………………………………………………………………………..38 5.1 Material and efficient causation…………………………………......... 38 5.2 The challenge of quantum physics……………………………………… 39 5.3 Absurdity and necessity………………………………………….………….. 40 5.4 The implications of nothing…………………………………………………42 5.5 The first conclusion……………………………………………………………..43 6. The second premiss………………………………………………………………….. 43 6.1 Zero-energy universe…………………………………………………...……..44 6.2 The Universe as nothing………………………………………………..…… 45 6.3 Other objections……………………………………………………………..…. 45 6.4 The second conclusion……………………………………………………….. 46 7. The third premiss……………………………………………………………….…….. 46 7.1 The argument from thermodynamics………………………………….47 7.2 The impossibility of an infinite regress of events…………………48 7.3 Standard Big Bang cosmology and its competitors………………50 7.3.1 Hartle-Hawking no-boundary model.………………………… 51 7.3.2 Oscillating model………………………………………………………. 52 7.3.3 Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem…………………………………….53 7.4 Multiverse theories……………………………………………………….......54 7.5 The temporal finitude of the Universe……………………………...…55 8. The summary and conclusion of the argument………………………….5 6 8.1 Further analysis of the conclusion……………………………………….5 8 8.2 Refuting metaphysical naturalism……………………………………….6 1 PART THREE 9. The consequences of the argument…………………………………………..6 4 9.1 Naturalism and the soul………………………………………………………6 4 9.2 Ontological naturalism reconsidered…………………………………..6 5 9.3. Atheism, theism, and natural theology…………………………..…. 66 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………. 68 3 Introduction What exists? What is it like? How did it come to be? These are, in my opinion, some of the superlative questions of philosophy. Other questions do have their value, but almost all of them are logically subsequent to these monumental questions of existence. It is these questions we will be concerned with in this master’s thesis. I will attempt to give my own answer through an argument which represents my thinking at its most mature up until this point in my philosophical education. My treatment of the argument will involve metaphysics, logic, and empirical science. Introductory chapters leading up to the argument will concern history of philosophy, metaphilosophy, as well as some metaphysical questions that must be settled before going into the argument proper of this thesis. As the title suggests, the argument will be one against metaphysical naturalism. The term is somewhat ambiguous, but I will make sure to give it an unambiguous definition before attempting to refute it. The other part of the title, “cosmological argument”, will be given a historical treatment in the very beginning of this thesis, after which the reader will hopefully see how my own argument is a continuation of that tradition. As for the argument itself, the ideas expressed by the premisses will be ancient, but the objections against them will be contemporary, and most of them scientific. We will therefore touch on subjects such as cosmology, quantum physics, and thermodynamics. While I am not an expert on these subjects, I hope that the philosophical treatment of these subjects will be satisfactory. The purpose I have myself set for this master’s thesis, as a philosophical exercise, is to refute metaphysical naturalism with the most persuasive argument possible and with the minimal effort required. Therefore, even if I begin with a historical survey of cosmological arguments for God’s existence, the explicit purpose of this thesis is not to demonstrate the existence of God. But by the end of this thesis, if one accepts my argument, one might also want to adopt my argument for their defence of a theistic or non-naturalist worldview. I have divided this master’s thesis into three parts. Part one is introductory, where I will study the argument’s history and presuppositions, and give some essential definitions and clarifications. Part two contains the exposition of my own argument against metaphysical naturalism. Part three, although brief, will contain an important discussion about the implications and impact of my argument, if successful. 4 PART ONE The background 5 1. Cosmological arguments: A historical survey I begin these introductory chapters with an overview of the cosmological argument for God’s existence. The domain of inquiry I have myself set for this thesis stops me short of arguing for the existence of the theistic God, but as the reader will find by the end of this first part of the thesis, the label of a cosmological argument is quite appropriate for my argument. Shedding light on the background of my project therefore means surveying these arguments – both classical and contemporary – for God’s existence. I will include in this catalogue not only Christian and ancient Greek thinkers, but also an important glimpse into the world of Islamic philosophy. We will begin with, as it often happens, with Plato and Aristotle. But before that, it is good to start with some definitions and clarifications. First of all: What makes a cosmological argument? 1.1 Characteristics of cosmological arguments A cosmological argument for God is always an a posteriori argument. Being such an argument, the cosmological argument
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