Hume's refutation of the cosmological argument

✍ Scribed by Joseph K. Campbell

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 874 KB
• Volume: 40
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7047
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00140439

✦ Synopsis

Either all necessary truths are analytic or some are not. 2. If all necessary truths are analytic, then the cosmological argument does not establish that God exists. 3. If some necessary truths are not analytic, then the universe is either a contingent entity or a necessary entity. 4. If the universe is a contingent entity, then the cosmological argument does not establish that God exists. 5. If the universe is a necessary entity, then the cosmological argument does not establish that God exists. 6. Therefore, the cosmological argument does not establish that God exists.

At least three of the criticisms from the Dialogues support the main premises -(2), ( 4) and ( 5) -of Hume's dilemma. It is not enough, then, to respond to each particular criticism presented in Part IX for they are much stronger as a unit. In fact, a consistent response cannot be given to the criticisms as a whole, so when taken together they yield a refutation of the cosmological argument that is conclusive. In the ensuing sections, Hume's dilemma is defended.