Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Problem of Infinite Regress

One particular argument for the existence of God is as follows: Given that the universe exists, there must be something that created it. So if God is defined as the creator of this universe, then God must exist.

There are two problems with this argument. The first problem is infinite regress. If the universe exists, then God exists. If God exists then a God of God exists. And this argument can go on forever. This question of "Who created God?" is the problem of infinite regress.

Consequently, some people would argue that the statement: "If X exists, there exists something that created it." is itself false. And consequently, the concept of "The God of God", becomes unnecessary. The problem with this argument is that the concept of "God of the universe", is also unnecessary in this particular view.

In other words, if we are willing to accept that God exists without a creator, why not accept that the universe exists without a creator as well?

9 comments:

kinzi said...

HI DM! Good to see you back.

Maybe the logic of the Creator God is beyond the understanding of the created human?

Devil's Mind said...

This is an illusive answer. To claim that God is somehow immune to reasoning does not make a good argument. Quite the contrary, it shows that the belief is unfounded and has no justification.

Natalie said...

What is your solution, DM?

Devil's Mind said...

Not everything that exists must have had something that created it. That's the philosophical solution, luckily recent advances in science support this claim. Recent physics discoveries suggest that the world can scientifically speaking, come into existence from a state of nothingness.

Naddoush said...

I like discussing religion - but the discussions always end in the same place. They end with faith. And you cannot argue against faith. The leap of faith is against all reason - believing in something you have absolutely no proof of. That is the strength of faith - and the fall for logical reasoning.

Devil's Mind said...

I agree, Nadia, but there are limits to how far you can apply faith. We cannot prove or explain everything. However, there is a difference between "blind" faith, and "enlightened" faith. You might have good, maybe even very good, reason to believe that something is true. In that case, your belief is no longer "blind".

Even logic and science has an element of faith in it.

But in my opinion it is very important that we justify our beliefs; to have good reasons to believe they are true.

And I think you will be surprised how many things you might think have no good reasons to believe in, that your only solution is to have blind faith, yet it turns out that there is lots of good reasons to believe in them.

People usually underestimate the power of reasoning.

Ziad El Kashawy said...

U reminded me of a Tricky question , Can God create a rock so heavy that he can't move ?!
an answer-less question , that would lead to the endless loop , of faith discussions !

Anonymous said...

The question "If God created the universe, then who created God?" has been answered in an article published in the online journal Scientific God Journal volume 1, Issue 8 (http://www.scigod.com).
H. S. Pal

odrareg said...

Devil's Mind said...
Not everything that exists must have had something that created it. That's the philosophical solution, luckily recent advances in science support this claim. Recent physics discoveries suggest that the world can scientifically speaking, come into existence from a state of nothingness.

11/2/11 6:42 AM


You get it wrong there, it is not everything must have a cause, but everything with a beginning must have a cause.

As regards the world coming from a state of nothingness, the nothingness here is not genuine nothingness but a nothingness that is redefined as a somethingness, and you are supposed to wink both eyes and claim that it is nothingness.