''The Kalām Cosmological Argument'' is a 1979 book by the philosopher
William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig (; born August 23, 1949) is an American Analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, author, and theologian. He is a professor of philosophy at Houston Christian University and at the T ...
, in which the author offers a contemporary defense of the
Kalām cosmological argument and argues for the
existence of God
The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...
, with an emphasis on the alleged
metaphysical impossibility of an infinite regress of past events. First, Craig argues that the universe began to exist, using two philosophical and two scientific arguments. Second, Craig argues that whatever begins to exist has a cause that caused it to begin to exist. Finally, Craig argues that this cause is a personal creator who changelessly and independently willed the
beginning of the universe.
[Guminski, A. T]
The Kalam Cosmological Argument: The Question of the Metaphysical Possibility of an Infinite Set of Real Entities
Philo, Volume 5, Number 2.[ Craig, W. L.(1979). ''The Kalām Cosmological Argument'' (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press][Morriston, W]
A Critique of the Kalam Cosmological Argument
, God Matters: Readings in the Philosophy of Religion, Raymond Martin and Christopher Bernard (eds), (Longman, 2002), 95-108[Morriston, W]
Causes and Beginnings in the Kalam Argument: Reply to Craig
, Faith and Philosophy, Vol. 19, No. 2 (April 2002), 233-244
Contents
The book is divided into two parts.
*Part I:
Al-Kindi
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ; ; ) was an Arab Muslim polymath active as a philosopher, mathematician, physician, and music theorist
Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understandin ...
,
Saadia
Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, gaon, Jewish philosopher, and exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic. Known for his works o ...
and
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...
.
*Part II: A modern defence of the Kalām cosmological argument. (Contains two appendices)
**Appendix 1: The Kalām cosmological argument and
Zeno's paradoxes
Zeno's paradoxes are a series of philosophical arguments presented by the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (c. 490–430 BC), primarily known through the works of Plato, Aristotle, and later commentators like Simplicius of Cilicia. Zeno de ...
.
**Appendix 2: The Kalām cosmological argument and the thesis of
Kant’s first antinomy.
Part I provides a brief history of the
Kalām cosmological argument as stated by the
Kalām
''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...
tradition, with special attention to al-Kindi, Saadia and al-Ghāzāli. Part II moves to defend in length the substance of the argument.
Basic argument
#Whatever begins to exist, has a cause of its existence (i.e. something has caused it to start existing).
#The universe began to exist. i.e., the temporal regress of events is finite.
#Therefore, the universe has a cause.
Following Al-Ghāzāli, Craig argues that this cause must be a personal will.
[Wainwright, W. J., ''Review: The Kalām Cosmological Argument by William Lane Craig'', Noûs Vol. 16, No. 2 (May, 1982), pp. 328-334. Blackwell Publishing]
First sub-set of arguments
Argument based on the impossibility of an actual infinite:
#An actual infinite cannot exist.
#An infinite temporal regress of events is an actual infinite.
#Therefore, an infinite temporal regress of events cannot exist.
Second sub-set of arguments
Argument based on the impossibility of the formation of an actual infinite by successive addition:
#A collection formed by successive addition cannot be an actual infinite.
#The temporal series of past events is a collection formed by successive addition.
#Therefore, the temporal series of past events cannot be actually infinite.
The first is that a) an actual infinite cannot exist in the real world; and b) an infinite temporal series is such an actual infinite.
The second is that a temporal series cannot be an actual infinite, assuming than an actual infinite can exist in the real world, because: a) a temporal series is a collection formed by successive addition; and b) a collection formed by successive addition cannot be an actual infinite.
Editions
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See also
*
In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalam Cosmological Argument (book)
1979 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Books by William Lane Craig
English-language non-fiction books
Philosophy books
Philosophy of religion literature