1. Aquinas III: The Cause of God and the Argument from Contingency

2. Business  Homework for Jan. 23 Read pp. 59-68 Answer SQ 1,4,5,7, p. 59  Notice we are one day behind. This is not a problem.

3. Overview  More on the Argument from Causation  The Argument from Contingency Aquinas’ Version A problem and a solution  [Beginning with Edwards]

4. More on the Argument from Causation  Mill’s Problem  What if God has been around forever?  What is the basis for the God exemption?

5. The Argument from Contingency: Background  Contingency Something is a contingent truth when it is true, but might not have been. Something is a contingent being when it might not have existed. Examples?  Necessity Something is a necessary truth when it is not only true, but could not possibly have been false. Something is a necessary being when it not only exists, but could not possibly have failed to exist. Examples?

6. The Argument from Contingency 1. There are contingent things. 2. There was a time when no contingent things existed. 3. Ex nihilo nihil fit. 4. Therefore, there is a necessary being responsible for the existence of all contingent things – God.

7. Premise Two: A Problem 1. Each contingent being can fail to exist. 2. For each thing that can fail to exist, there is a time when it does fail to exist. 3. So, there was a time when there were no contingent things.  The troubling inference  The tense mistake

8. A Possible Solution  The Principle of Sufficient Reason: For every contingent truth, there is some sufficient reason why it is true rather than false.  How might this principle let us fix up the Argument from Contingency? Why is there something rather than nothing?