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Cosmological Argument
A cosmological argument, in natural theology, is an argument which claims that the existence of God can be inferred from facts concerning causation, explanation, change, motion, contingency, dependency, or finitude with respect to the universe or some totality of objects. A cosmological argument can also sometimes be referred to as an argument from universal causation, an argument from first cause, the causal argument, or prime mover argument. Whichever term is employed, there are two basic variants of the argument, each with subtle yet important distinctions: ''in esse'' (essentiality), and ''in fieri'' (becoming). The basic premises of all of these arguments involve the concept of causation. The conclusion of these arguments is that there exists a first cause (for whichever group of things it is being argued has a cause), subsequently deemed to be God. The history of this argument goes back to Aristotle or earlier, was developed in Neoplatonism and early Christianity and late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Theology
Natural theology, once also termed physico-theology, is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics (such as the existence of a deity) based on reason and the discoveries of science. This distinguishes it from revealed theology, which is based on scripture and/or religious experiences, also from transcendental theology, which is based on ''a priori'' reasoning. It is thus a type of philosophy, with the aim of explaining the nature of the celestial motors, or gods, or of one supreme god, that are responsible for heavenly motion. Aristotle's tractate on metaphysics claims to demonstrate the necessary existence of an unmoved prime mover. For monotheistic religions, this principally involves arguments about the attributes or non-attributes of a deity, and especially the deity's existence, using arguments that do not involve recourse to revelation. The ideals of natural theology can be traced back to the Old Testament and Greek philosophy. Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Early life and studies Clarke was born in Norwich, the son of Edward Clarke, an alderman of Norwich and Member of Parliament, and brother of John Clarke. He was educated at Norwich School and Caius College, Cambridge. His tutor at Caius was John Ellis, a personal friend of Isaac Newton, but who in natural philosophy taught in line with the Cartesianism that prevailed in the university. Clarke, however, came to adopt the new physical system of Newton; he used the vehicle of an annotated translation of a work on physics in the Cartesian tradition to comment on the superiority of the Newtonian system. This textbook was published in 1697, and in the same year Clarke met the Newtonian William Whiston. It was a chance encounter in Norwich, but Whiston was then chaplain to John Moore, bishop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unmoved Mover
The unmoved mover ( grc, ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, ho ou kinoúmenon kineî, that which moves without being moved) or prime mover ( la, primum movens) is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cause) or " mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the moves other things, but is not itself moved by any prior action. In Book 12 ( grc-gre, Λ) of his ''Metaphysics'', Aristotle describes the unmoved mover as being perfectly beautiful, indivisible, and contemplating only the perfect contemplation: self-contemplation. He equates this concept also with the active intellect. This Aristotelian concept had its roots in cosmological speculations of the earliest Greek pre-Socratic philosophers and became highly influential and widely drawn upon in medieval philosophy and theology. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, elaborated on the unmoved mover in the . First philosophy Aristotle argues, in Book 8 of the ''Physics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primum Movens
The unmoved mover ( grc, ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, ho ou kinoúmenon kineî, that which moves without being moved) or prime mover ( la, primum movens) is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cause) or " mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the moves other things, but is not itself moved by any prior action. In Book 12 ( grc-gre, Λ) of his ''Metaphysics'', Aristotle describes the unmoved mover as being perfectly beautiful, indivisible, and contemplating only the perfect contemplation: self-contemplation. He equates this concept also with the active intellect. This Aristotelian concept had its roots in cosmological speculations of the earliest Greek pre-Socratic philosophers and became highly influential and widely drawn upon in medieval philosophy and theology. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, elaborated on the unmoved mover in the . First philosophy Aristotle argues, in Book 8 of the ''Physics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timaeus (dialogue)
''Timaeus'' (; grc-gre, Τίμαιος, Timaios, ) is one of Plato's dialogues, mostly in the form of long monologues given by Critias and Timaeus, written 360 BC. The work puts forward reasoning on the possible nature of the physical world and human beings and is followed by the dialogue ''Critias''. Participants in the dialogue include Socrates, Timaeus, Hermocrates, and Critias. Some scholars believe that it is not the Critias of the Thirty Tyrants who appears in this dialogue, but his grandfather, who is also named Critias. It has been suggested from some traditions (Diogenes Laertius (VIII 85) from Hermippus of Smyrna (3rd century BC) and Timon of Phlius ( 320 – 235 BC)) that ''Timaeus'' was influenced by a book about Pythagoras, written by Philolaus, although this assertion is generally considered false. Introduction The dialogue takes place the day after Socrates described his ideal state. In Plato's works, such a discussion occurs in the ''Republic''. Socrates fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering scientific, religious or philosophical aspects of the cosmos and its nature. Religious and philosophical approaches may include the cosmos among spiritual entities or other matters deemed to exist outside the physical universe. Etymology The philosopher Pythagoras first used the term ''kosmos'' ( grc, κόσμος, Latinized ''kósmos'') for the order of the universe. Greek κόσμος "order, good order, orderly arrangement" is a word with several main senses rooted in those notions. The verb κοσμεῖν (''κοσμεῖν'') meant generally "to dispose, prepare", but especially "to order and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array"; also "to establish (a government or regime) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Laws
The ''Laws'' (Greek: Νόμοι, ''Nómoi''; Latin: ''De Legibus'') is Plato's last and longest dialogue. The conversation depicted in the work's twelve books begins with the question of who is given the credit for establishing a civilization's laws. Its musings on the ethics of government and law have established it as a classic of political philosophy alongside Plato's more widely read ''Republic''. Scholars generally agree that Plato wrote this dialogue as an older man, having failed in his effort to guide the rule of the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse, instead having been thrown in prison. These events are alluded to in the '' Seventh Letter''. The text is noteworthy as Plato's only undisputed dialogue not to feature Socrates. Summary Setting Unlike most of Plato's dialogues, Socrates does not appear in the ''Laws'': the dialogue takes place on the island of Crete, and Socrates appears outside of Athens in Plato's writings only twice, in the '' Phaedrus'', where he i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning on the European continent. Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Ancient Greek philosophy and the Western and Middle Eastern philosophies descended from it. He has also shaped religion and spirituality. The so-called neoplatonism of his interpreter Plotinus greatly influenced both Christianity (through Church Fathers such as Augustine) and Islamic philosophy (through e.g. Al-Farabi). In modern times, Friedrich Nietzsche diagnosed Western culture as growing in the shadow of Plato (famously calling Christianity "Platonism for the masses"), while Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanzio 01 Plato Aristotle
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Renaissance Neoplatonism, Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. His father was court painter to the ruler of the small but highly cultured city of Urbino. He died when Raphael was eleven, and Raphael seems to have played a role in managing the family workshop from this point. He trained in the workshop of Perugino, and was described as a fully trained "master" by 1500. He worked in or for several cities in north Italy until in 1508 he moved to Rome at the invitation of the pope, to work on the Vatican Palace. He was given a series of important commissions there and elsewhere in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Pruss
Alexander Robert Pruss (born January 5, 1973) is a Canadian philosopher and mathematician. He is currently a professor of philosophy and the co-director of graduate studies in philosophy at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. His best known book is ''The Principle of Sufficient Reason: A Reassessment'' (2006). He is also the author of the books, ''Actuality, Possibility and Worlds'' (2011), and ''One Body: An Essay in Christian Sexual Ethics'' (2012), and a number of academic papers on religion and theology. He maintains his own philosophy blog and contributed to the Prosblogion philosophy of religion blog. Biography Pruss graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and physics. After earning a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of British Columbia in 1996 and publishing several papers in ''Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society'' and other mathematical journals, he began graduate work in philosophy at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Koons
Robert Charles ("Rob") Koons () (born February 22, 1957) is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas (UT), noted for his contribution to metaphysics and philosophical logic. Koons has also advocated for academic freedom and courses on Western civilization. Koons was born in St. Paul. Son of Charles Bruce and Margaret Constance (Suter) Koons. Bachelor in Philosophy, Michigan State University, 1979. Master of Arts in Philosophy and Theology, Oxford University, England, 1981. Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy, University of California at Los Angeles, 1987. Koons was Assistant professor philosophy University Texas, Austin, 1987-1993, associate professor, 1993-2000, professor, since 2000. Koons was faculty affiliate Christian Leadership Ministries, Dallas, 1987. Member American Philosophical Association, Association Symbolic Logic, Society Christian Philosophers. He was named Claude R. Lambe fellow, Institute Humane Studies, 1986; recipien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist University and research professor of philosophy at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology. Craig has updated and defended the Kalam cosmological argument for the existence of God. He has also published work where he argues in favor of the historical plausibility of the resurrection of Jesus. His study of divine aseity and Platonism culminated with his book ''God Over All''. Early life and education Craig was born August 23, 1949, in Peoria, Illinois, to Mallory and Doris Craig. While a student at East Peoria Community High School (1963–1967), Craig competed in debate and won the state championship in oratory. In September 1965, his junior year, he became a Christian, and after graduating from high school, attended Wheaton College, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
