Transcendental argument for the existence of God

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The Transcendental Argument for the existence of God (TAG) is an argument that attempts to prove the existence of God by appealing to the necessary conditions for the possibility of experience and knowledge. [1]

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A version was formulated by Immanuel Kant in his 1763 work The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God. C. S. Lewis's argument from reason is also a kind of transcendental argument.

Most contemporary formulations of a transcendental argument for God have been developed within the framework of Christian presuppositional apologetics and the likes of Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen. [2]

Transcendental reasoning

"Transcendental" in this case is used as an adjective specifying a specific kind of argument, and not a noun. Transcendental arguments should not be confused with arguments for the existence of something transcendent. Rather, transcendental arguments are arguments that make inferences from the ability to think and experience.[ citation needed ]

Transcendental arguments take the form of modus ponens with modal operators:

If possibly P, then necessarily Q.
Actually P.
Therefore, necessarily Q.

They are also sometimes said to be distinct from standard deductive and inductive forms of reasoning, although this has been disputed, for instance by Anthony Genova [3] and Graham Bird. [4]

The argument

There are many variants of the transcendental argument for the existence of God, but they generally proceed as follows: [5]

  1. There are necessary conditions and categories for the possibility of experience and knowledge (the existence of truth, goodness, meaning, laws of thought).
  2. These conditions cannot be negated or reduced to the human intellect without entailing deductive explosion.
  3. Therefore, God exists.

It is said that the conclusion follows from premise 2 because the only rational way to know that these conditions and categories exist independent of the human mind, is if it originates from a Divine mind. Thus, the transcendental unity of apperception entails that theism is true.

The TAG differs from thomistic and evidentialist arguments, which posit the existence of God in order to avoid an infinite regress of causes or motions.

Ash'ari

Medieval Ash'ari Islamic theologians formulated a type of transcendental argument based on the notion that morality, logic, etc. cannot be fully understood apart from revelation and thereby, belief in the Quran and the Islamic truth claims were necessary in order to interpret the external world. For al-Ashari and others, it does not make sense to argue against religion using a priori assumptions about morality or scientific probabilities when these can only be understood in light of divine revelation. [6]

Criticism

Barry Stroud has criticized transcendental arguments, distinguishing between epistemic and metaphysical transcendental arguments. The former says the belief in God (which might be false) is necessary to make sense of the world, while the latter says the existence of God is necessary to make sense of the world. Stroud argues transcendental arguments often only establish the former, but assert the latter. [7]

Presuppositional apologetics

Internet Infidels co-founder Jeffery Jay Lowder has argued that the presuppositional apologetics' version of TAG is fatally flawed for numerous reasons. [8] First, Bahnsen fails to defend the necessity of Christianity instead of the mere sufficiency for the rational justification of the laws of logic, the laws of science, and the laws of morality. In other words, such reasoning affirms the consequent. Second, Bahnsen conflates "atheism" with "materialism" and has really presented an argument against materialism, not an argument for Christianity. Third, Bahnsen believed that the laws of logic, laws of science, and laws of morality are abstract objects, but Christianity arguably underdetermines the relationship between God and abstract objects. Some Christian philosophers, such as Peter van Inwagen, affirm Platonism and the compatibility of God and abstract objects. But other Christian philosophers argue that Platonism is incompatible with divine aseity. William Lane Craig urges Christian philosophers to consider anti-realist theories of abstract objects. [9]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Michael Martin (1997). "Does Induction Presume the Existence of the Christian God?". Infidels. Retrieved 21 April 2011. But what about The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (TAG)--the argument that logic, science, and objective ethical standards presuppose the existence of God?
  2. ↑ Martin, Michael (1997). "Does Induction Presuppose the Existence of the Christian God?". Skeptic. 5 (2): 71–75.
  3. ↑ Anthony C. Genova, "Transcendental Form," Southwestern Journal of Philosophy 11 (1980): 25-34.
  4. ↑ Graham Bird, The Revolutionary Kant: A Commentary on the Critique of Pure Reason (2006).
  5. ↑ Meister, Chad V.; Mittelberg, Mark; McDowell, Josh; Montgomery, John F. (2007). Reasons for Faith: Making a Case for the Christian Faith. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books. ISBN   978-1-58134-787-6.[ page needed ]
  6. ↑ Roy Jackson (2014-02-05). What is Islamic Philosophy?. Routledge. pp. 32–33. ISBN   9781317814047.
  7. ↑ Stroud, Barry (1968). "Transcendental Arguments". The Journal of Philosophy. 65 (9): 241–256. doi:10.2307/2024395. JSTOR   2024395.
  8. ↑ The Verdict Is In: Assessment of the 1985 Bahnsen-Stein Debate, "Does God Exist?", 22 May 2023, retrieved 2023-05-23
  9. ↑ God Over All, by William Lane Craig
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