The Non-Existence of God

Is it possible to prove or disprove God's existence? Arguments for the existence of God have taken many different forms over the centuries: in The Non-Existence of God, Nicholas Everitt considers all of the arguments and examines the role that reason and knowledge play in the debate over God's existence. He draws on recent scientific disputes over neo-Darwinism, the implication of 'big bang' cosmology, and the temporal and spatial size of the universe; and discusses some of the most recent work on the subject, leading to a controversial conclusion.

Nicholas Everitt is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of East Anglia, UK.

Preface

xiii

1 REASONING ABOUT GOD

1

(16)

The central role of the existence of God

1

(1)

The need to appeal to reason

2

(1)

The claim that it is wrong to appeal to reason

3

(4)

The claim that there are no relevant reasons

7

(1)

The claim that reasons are inconclusive

8

(2)

Whether someone has good reasons v. whether there are good reasons

10

(3)

The variety of reasons

13

(1)

Theism (and its more specific varieties), atheism, agnosticism

14

(1)

How the term 'God' is to be understood

14

(2)

Further reading

16

(1)

2 REFORMED EPISTEMOLOGY

17

(14)

Introduction

17

(1)

Classical foundationalism

18

(2)

Plantinga's attack on classical foundationalism

20

(2)

The alternative view proposed by Reformed Epistemology

22

(4)

Assessment

26

(4)

Further reading

30

(1)

3 ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS

31

(28)

Introduction

31

(1)

Ansehn's version

32

(5)

Descartes and the ontological argument

37

(4)

Plantings and the ontological argument

41

(4)

The Malcolm/Anselm version

45

(2)

Hartshorne's version

47

(3)

Where ontological arguments go wrong

50

(5)

Can the ontological argument survive?

55

(2)

Further reading

57

(2)

4 COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS

59

(26)

Introduction

59

(1)

The First Cause argument

60

(1)

Clarifying the concept of infinity

60

(3)

Can there be an infinity of past events?

63

(3)

Can there be an infinity of past causes?

66

(2)

Does the Big Bang theory help the First Cause argument?

68

(5)

The Argument from Contingency

73

(1)

Assessment of the Argument from Contingency

74

(2)

Swinburne's argument

76

(3)

Can there be an explanation of the existence of the universe?

79

(3)

Has science discovered why the universe exists?

82

(2)

Further reading

84

(1)

5 TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS

85

(27)

Introduction

85

(1)

The argument from order as such

86

(5)

The Anthropic Principle: the argument from the kind of order

91

(5)

The argument to design: flora and fauna

96

(2)

Humean criticisms of the argument to design

98

(3)

The relevance of Darwin

101

(3)

Criticisms of Darwin

104

(2)

Modern defences of the argument to design

106

(4)

Further reading

110

(2)

6 ARGUMENTS TO AND FROM MIRACLES

112

(16)

Introduction

112

(1)

Hume on violation miracles

112

(5)

Assessment of Hume's argument

117

(1)

Two arguments for saying that violation miracles are impossible

118

(4)

Assessment of these arguments

122

(1)

Directly willed miracles

122

(1)

Inexplicable miracles

123

(1)

Coincidence miracles

124

(2)

Conclusion

126

(1)

Further reading

126

(2)

7 GOD AND MORALITY

128

(22)

Introduction

128

(1)

God as our creator

129

(2)

God as moral expert: the Euthyphro dilemma

131

(4)

The Kantian argument

135

(4)

Wards account

139

(3)

Trethowan and 'apprehending morality as apprehending God'

142

(1)

The supervenience of the moral

143

(4)

What does morality rest on?

147

(2)

Further reading

149

(1)

8 RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

150

(28)

Introduction

150

(1)

Experience: an alternative to argument?

151

(3)

Perceptual v. non-perceptual experience

154

(2)

Religious perception

156

(4)

Swinburne's additions

160

(3)

Should the Principle of Credulity be accepted?

163

(1)

Can there be privately perceivable objects?

164

(1)

Alston's appeal to 'mystical perceptual practice'

165

(2)

Assessment of Alston

167

(5)

The oddity of experiencing God

172

(4)

A more liberal conception of experience?

176

(1)

Further reading

177

(1)

9 NATURALISM, EVOLUTION AND RATIONALITY

178

(13)

Introduction

178

(1)

The argument against naturalism

178

(7)

Assessment of the argument

185

(5)

Further reading

190

(1)

10 PRUDENTIAL ARGUMENTS

191

(22)

Introduction

191

(2)

Pascal's Wager

193

(5)

William James and 'The Will to Believe'

198

(6)

The argument from solace

204

(2)

Assessing the argument from solace

206

(4)

Combining consequential and epistemic rationality

210

(2)

Further reading

212

(1)

11 ARGUMENTS FROM SCALE

213

(14)

Introduction

213

(2)

The argument from scale

215

(3)

Reply 1: modern science is fallible

218

(2)

Reply 2: theism is not committed to what science has disproved

220

(1)

Reply 3: there is a divine purpose in the scale of things

221

(1)

Reply 4: science uses the wrong criterion of significance

222

(1)

Reply 5: God is inscrutable

223

(2)

Conclusion

225

(1)

Further reading

226

(1)

12 PROBLEMS ABOUT EVIL

227

(28)

Introduction

227

(2)

The logical problem

229

(3)

Evil as a causal presupposition of good

232

(2)

Evil as logically presupposed by good

234

(3)

Must God create the best possible world?

237

(6)

Must God create a perfect world?

243

(2)

The free will defence

245

(1)

Assessment of the free will defence

246

(7)

Conclusion

253

(1)

Further reading

254

(1)

13 OMNIPOTENCE

255

(14)

Introduction

255

(1)

Divine power

256

(2)

The concept of omnipotence

258

(1)

A range of problem cases

258

(1)

Some possible replies

259

(2)

Can God sin?

261

(1)

Gods lack of a body

262

(1)

Can God destroy himself?

263

(1)

Omnipotence relativised to God

264

(4)

Conclusion

268

(1)

Further reading

268

(1)

14 ETERNITY AND OMNIPRESENCE

269

(17)

Introduction

269

(1)

A. Eternity

269

(13)

The temporal conception of eternity

270

(1)

The temporal conception, infinite time and creation

271

(3)

The timeless conception of eternity

274

(2)

Could a timeless God be a creator?

276

(3)

Could a timeless God be a person?

279

(2)

Could we combine the two views of Gods eternity?

281

(1)

B. Omnipresence

282

(3)

Omnipresence and omniscience

284

(1)

Conclusion

285

(1)

Further reading

285

(1)

15 OMNISCIENCE

286

(15)

Introduction

286

(1)

Divine knowledge

286

(1)

Omniscience

287

(2)

Can God foreknow future free actions?

289

(3)

Can God know the truth of indexicals?

292

(2)

An objection to the argument from indexicals

294

(3)

An extension of the argument from indexicals

297

(2)

A revised definition of omniscience

299

(1)

Conclusion

300

(1)

Further reading

300

(1)

16 CONCLUSION

301

(6)

Further reading

306

(1)

Notes

307

(6)

Bibliography

313

(8)

Index

321

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The Non-Existence of God

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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The Non-Existence of God

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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