Taylor - argument for God from contingency & necessity ~ slide

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Richard Taylor’s argument for God from contingency & necessity

• 1. Basic datum - the very existence of anything requires an explanation– The Principle of Sufficient Reason:

There must be some sort of explanation for everything.

• 2. The universe exists. There must be some reason for this.

Taylor - argument for God from contingency & necessity ~ slide

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Richard Taylor’s argument for God from contingency & necessity

– To say that it has always existed does not solve the problem. We are asking why it exists at all.

• 3. The reason for the existence of the universe may be from within the universe or outside of it.

• 4. But all that we encounter within the universe is contingent.

Taylor - argument for God from contingency & necessity ~ slide

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Richard Taylor’s argument for God from contingency & necessity

– Contingent - may or may not exist.– Necessary - exists by its own nature;

cannot not be; is eternal and indestructible.

• 5. Contingency cannot explain the very existence of the universe.

Taylor - argument for God from contingency & necessity ~ slide

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Richard Taylor’s argument for God from contingency & necessity

• 6. Thus the universe must be dependent on something else outside of the universe.

• 7. If this something else is contingent, would have an infinite regress of contingent beings.

• 8. Thus the something else must be necessary and this is God.

Taylor - argument for God from contingency & necessity ~ slide

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Richard Taylor’s argument for God from contingency & necessity

• Critique– 1. Could challenge the P. of Sufficient

Reason– 2. The scientific materialist might

argue that the future of science will uncover explanations for the very existence of the universe. The scientific materialist has faith that science can explain all.

Taylor - argument for God from contingency & necessity ~ slide

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Richard Taylor’s argument for God from contingency & necessity

•Reply: Perhaps “why anything exists at all” is not an empirical question, not a question which can be answered by science.