Overall I think it was a good review. Some criticisms on writing:
1) It wasn't clear that you were addressing the first argument until I reached your counterargument to the second.
2) I don't think you clearly established why the referenced works refuted the first argument like you did with the last three. This could be because I'm not very familiar with physics, more specifically, physical cosmology.
"The regularities or "laws" of Nature can only be explained by a divine mind."
This makes no sense. The "regularities of laws" are due to logic (identity + causality). But God cannot create logic, since in order to do so, God would need to exist outside of logic, which is... logically impossible, as both identity and causality are by-products of logic.
Let me explain: To exist, God must be God and not not-God. (A must be A and A cannot be Not-A) These are the laws of identity. This means that in order for God to be God, he needs to exist _within_ a logical frame, for in an illogical one, it would not follow that God must be God (or that A must be A), since that would be a logical conclusion.
Not only that, but in order to create, it must _follow_ that the intent to create X must result in the creation of X, which too requires that the act of creation must take place within a logical frame. Again, within an illogical frame, it would not follow that the intent to create X (provided the creator is capable of creating X) must lead to the creation of X.
Put simply: To exist, a being requires the laws of identity, and to create, a creator needs the laws of causality. Since both these set of laws are logic-based, it follows that logic cannot logically be created.
This means that logic is the ultimate axiom. It is irreducible. Logic is self-explanatory by necessity. This means that logic is a "necessary being" while God, if he exists, is contingent - without logic, there is no law of identity and no causality, and therefore no existence possible. And, of course, no god.
3 comments:
Overall I think it was a good review. Some criticisms on writing:
1) It wasn't clear that you were addressing the first argument until I reached your counterargument to the second.
2) I don't think you clearly established why the referenced works refuted the first argument like you did with the last three. This could be because I'm not very familiar with physics, more specifically, physical cosmology.
- Mike
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the pointers. The physics can be difficult to understand, but I have tried to explain it on my website, godriddance:
www.godriddance.com
Simply click on "Answering the Big Questions" and then on "Where do the Laws of Physics Come From?"
This has also been delved into by Victor Stenger, whose book you can download by searching this blog:
http://atheistmovies.blogspot.com
"The regularities or "laws" of Nature can only be explained by a divine mind."
This makes no sense. The "regularities of laws" are due to logic (identity + causality). But God cannot create logic, since in order to do so, God would need to exist outside of logic, which is... logically impossible, as both identity and causality are by-products of logic.
Let me explain: To exist, God must be God and not not-God. (A must be A and A cannot be Not-A) These are the laws of identity. This means that in order for God to be God, he needs to exist _within_ a logical frame, for in an illogical one, it would not follow that God must be God (or that A must be A), since that would be a logical conclusion.
Not only that, but in order to create, it must _follow_ that the intent to create X must result in the creation of X, which too requires that the act of creation must take place within a logical frame. Again, within an illogical frame, it would not follow that the intent to create X (provided the creator is capable of creating X) must lead to the creation of X.
Put simply: To exist, a being requires the laws of identity, and to create, a creator needs the laws of causality. Since both these set of laws are logic-based, it follows that logic cannot logically be created.
This means that logic is the ultimate axiom. It is irreducible. Logic is self-explanatory by necessity. This means that logic is a "necessary being" while God, if he exists, is contingent - without logic, there is no law of identity and no causality, and therefore no existence possible. And, of course, no god.
Robert M.
PS: Excellent blog.
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