We can cut out god. The purpose of this piece is to prove, not God’s existence, but solely that no proper causal regression to infinity is possible. Aquinas, Atheism, Existence of God, Metaphysics, Natural Theology, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Theism, Thomism. Nobody is exempt from the philosophical tangle of infinite regress. God created time vs singularity created time. It can't be infinite because that would create an infinite regression of causation, which is a fallacy and therefore impossible, which leaves us with a finite universe that needs a cause. The regress relies on the premiss that a designer must be more complex than the thing designed. The common objection to the concept of skepticism is that one would have to be "skeptical of skepticism", and "skeptical of being skeptical of skepticism", and possibly into an infinite regression.Since that cannot occur, the series must terminate in God. Distinction is made between infinite regresses that are "vicious" and those that are not. There is no a-priori reason why an infinite regress cannot occur. Link to post. To a finite mind, it is impossible to entirely wrap you head around such questions. a fallacy in which the argument proposes an explanation, but the mechanism proposed stands just as much in need of explanation as the original fact to be explained — and indeed it stands in need of the same kind of explanation. This raises the question of what set the original chain in motion--in short, what was the "first cause." Disallowing an infinite regress of causes is, technically speaking, an ... What this means is that long before God is ever purported to have said "Let there be light! 10. Therefore, no one created God. Think of it this way: a light bulb casts beams of light; it is their cause and explanation, and they depend for their existence on it. It occurs in some philosophical concepts and is sometimes considered an unwanted or absurd implication. If we are allowing that God is infinite, thus accepting that infinity is a real possibility, then we should accept the possibility that there is an infinite regress. Dawkins says that God presents an infinite regress that he cannot help us escape. In this context, God is thought to ‘uphold’ the world in existence from moment to moment, even if the world never ‘came into’ being. Question The problem with an eternal universe, or the absence of a starting point/finite past/creator God, is the fact that it is impossi for there to be an infinite amount of events in the past. It centers on the following: proof for the existence of God and the infinite regress argument that so often accompanies it. If God exists without beginning, God is an infinite regression. What you can say is that the infinite regression sits in a bubble of time, and outside of this bubble of time sits a prime mover who is without time. God is, necessarily, the single uncaused cause and it was he who created the universe in which we dwell. Where Infinite Regression is possible. God does not do away with the problem on infinite regression. Whether all things must have a "first cause" or not, is a subject of debate. ", the universe was already filled with light, and God is rendered quite the Johnny-come-lately. If god in infinite, then the universe can be infinite as well and we have no need of moving to a god. A very common and very fallacious objection to the philosophical conclusions of the cosmological argument for God’s existence is the rebuttal of “who created the creator?” Prominent atheist and popular author Richard Dawkins responds to the idea of a first cause by assigning the fallacy of an infinite regression to God himself. One is evolutionary and scientific; the other is a philosophical infinite regress argument. An Infinite regression is a loop of premises that continue on in ad infinitum. He was always in existence, and He is the one who created space, time, and matter. dances around ontological conflicts by permitting infinite regress of finite causes only. God created universe vs singularity created universe. Two Further Arguments against an Infinite Regress in Per Se Ordered Causal Series. The idea of an infinite regress God is a problem for two reasons, which I’ll get into below. Spiritual life after death (in heaven) vs vacuum state. Both believe everything that exists has an explanation -- the atheist posits an infinite regress of explanations and the theist posits that the explanations eventually terminate with God whose explanation is the necessity of His own nature. I think the atheist objection is a rejection to premise 2 as stated above. God is eternal, uncreated, independent of the universe, and noncontingent. Separates Water & Dry Land; Members; 1,128 1,698 posts; Gender: Male; … 2. Therefore, there has not been an infinite regression of creations. The following is a exploration of eternality. The problem of the creator of God is the controversy regarding the hypothetical cause responsible for the existence of God, presuming God exists.It contests the proposition that the universe cannot exist without a creator by asserting that the creator of the universe must have the same restrictions. The absurdity of such a theory is quite plain to anyone who gives it sincere and honest reflection. 12. An infinite regress is an infinite series of occurrences or concepts. The uncreated Christian God must still deal with the problem of an infinite past, as must the secular Big Bang theory. If God can have an infinite regression, there is no issue with an infinite regression for reality. The Bible, when declaring that God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), verifies the logic which negates the possibility of an infinite regression of impersonal causes. Let me copy/paste some of the stuff he has said. By definition, the Christian God never came into existence; that is, He is the uncaused cause (Psalm 90:2). This form of the argument is a variant of the cosmological argument.. An alternative form states that, since the series would never … How is it that God has always existed? 11. In philosophy, the infinite regression … That is, since each premise is contingent on some reason, we then require another premise to justify that reason. An infinite regress is a series of propositions that arises if the truth of proposition P 1 requires the support of proposition P 2, the truth of proposition P 2 requires the support of proposition P 3, and so on, ad infinitum. Physical-only death vs annihilation. Occam's Razor says we do not need to move further than the evidence suggests. The Infinite Regress of Gods An infinite regress occurs when the solution to a proposition re-introduces the same problem the initial proposition had that required an answer in the first place. Nofear 1,128 Posted January 18, 2011. From this it seems clear that Joseph Smith’s evolving God could not be the God of Isaiah, the God of the Bible, or the God of Christianity. Aristotle. so it is tempting to apply the explanation to itself. Reason #1: The earth is not infinite, and a naturalist God wouldn’t be, either. Without a creator God, how does Buddhism solve the problem of an infinite regress? For that cause he names the solution God and says that there are certain things that God would have to be in order to be that answer. 9. Be that as it may, it is good to consider it. Infinite Regression. Dawkins says that the infinite regress proves that while God is not technically disprovable makes it highly highly unlikely. Aristotle. Causal infinite regress is featured in the uncaused cause and cosmological argument. Who Made God: The Infinite Regress. Mormonism’s infinite regression of Gods is also absurd for the simple reason that Mormonism teaches that all Gods must have existed as humans who were tempted and tried in a mortal existence, prior to their eventually achieving godhood. Nofear . But any cosmology you come up with also results in an infinite regress. An infinite regression is a proposed chain of causation in which each purported cause itself requires another event of exactly the same type to cause it.. If we demand who created us, then a God complex enough to create musk ask the same question: who created him? Disentangling them makes Dawkins' views clearer. When Aquinas rejects the possibility of infinite regress, thus forming the most important plank of his argument, the objection arising simply argues the opposite, that is, accepting the possibility of infinite regress. Enjoy. An infinite regress or homunculus fallacy is when an argument relies on a series of never-ending propositions, where the validity of one proposition depends on the validity of the one which follows and/or precedes it. In a recent post I outlined an argument against the possibility of an infinite regress in a per se ordered causal series. In contrast, a merely accidentally ordered regression, such as the procreative one leading back through all our ancestors, could potentially go on to infinity – as Aristotle appears to say with respect to the possible eternity of species. The infinite regress is generally based on the idea that the universe has an initial cause. ‘If there is a God at all, then that God is not the God of this earth only, that God is the God of the entire universe. Infinite regress is for the chain of regression to never end, i.e., the idea that each creator was created by an earlier creator, and it by an earlier creator, ad infinitum. An excellent reply to those who use a variation of the "infinite regression" argument against LDS theism can be found in Blake T. Ostler, "Review of The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis by Francis J. Beckwith and Stephen E. Parrish," FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 99–146. An infinite regress of causes is impossible. This post outlines two further such arguments. 8. God was in an “infinite regression” in the past vs singularity was in an “infinite regression” in the past. In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins gives, but runs together, two criticisms of the argument from design. This is called the “infinite regression argument,” which refers to the need to regress backward to an infinite number of designers of the designer. 13. In regards to the nature of the infinite regression of created beings and a solution for the existence of God After a certain point in the ladder of realities, you reach a point where beings aren’t created, they manifest and do not take on a material or created form, but take on a manifestant form, which is the way immortal beings express themselves. However, there an equally logical argument that the possibility of an infinite regression is also the cause of a prime mover. Explaining an enigma with a greater enigma is no explanation at all. Since each premise is contingent on some reason, we then require another premise to justify that.!, Philosophy of Religion, Theism, Thomism proof for the existence of God, Metaphysics, Natural,! “ infinite regression, there an equally logical argument that the infinite regress argument have... Of Religion, Theism, Thomism consider it God exists without beginning God. 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