The Kalām Cosmological Argument: A Reassessment

by Jacobus Erasmus

This book offers a discussion of the kalām cosmological argument, and presents a defence of a version of that argument after critically evaluating three of the most important versions of the argument. It argues that, since the versions of the kalām cosmological argument defended by Philoponus (c. 490–c. 570), al-Ghazālī (1058– 1111), and the contemporary philosopher, William Lane Craig, all deny the possibility of the existence of an actual infinite, these arguments are incompatible with Platonism and the view that God foreknows an endless future. This conclusion, however, is not a problem for the proponents of the kalām cosmological argument, for the book shows how the argument can be defended without denying the possibility of the actual infinite.



In order to offer a comprehensive analysis of Philoponus and al-Ghazālī’s cosmological arguments, the book draws on recent English translations of some of their works. Next, the book advances a detailed argument against the popular argument based on the impossibility of an actual infinite. Finally, the book offers a unique defence of the kalām cosmological argument by defending philosophical arguments for a beginning of time that do not deny the actual infinite, evaluating which hypothesis best explains the discoveries of modern cosmology, and offering an argument in support of the premise that, if the universe came into existence, then God brought it into existence.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 8, 2018

Reviews

[Josiah Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this volume, Jacobus Erasmus offers a novel Kalam Cosmological argument that does not rely on the argument against the existence of concrete infinities, which enables the argument Erasmus holds, to be compatible with Platonism and the standard definition of omniscience as well as ridding the argument of the controversial notion of the argument’s metaphysical intuition. His argument is as follows:
(1) The universe came into existence.
(2) If the universe came into existence, then God brought it into existence.
(3) Therefore, God brought the universe into existence.
In defense of premise 1, Erasmus appeals to modern cosmology and three philosophical, again excluding the infinity argument, arguments: first, the argument from traversing an actual infinite; second, the argument from uncaused causal chains; and third, the argument from paradoxes.
If you are interested in Kalam arguments, I highly suggest this book, for it offers unique insights and is highly thought-provoking.