The Kalamity of the Kalam Cosmological Argument
Towards the end of my book on the Kalam Cosmological Argument (Did God Create the Universe from Nothing?: Countering William Lane Craig's Kalam Cosmological Argument [UK]), I set out to succinctly list the issues I find in the three-line syllogism:
Let me, for ease of reference, lay out my main points of the book so far in a concise manner: The Formthe first premise is inductive and thus the argument can only be as strong as its inductive premisePremise 1Causality as the universe itself (making the syllogism incoherent or circular)Everything being the universe itself (making the syllogism incoherent or circular)No things begin to exist since things are subjective abstracta which are causally inertPremise 2the second premise is inductive and thus the argument can only be as strong as its inductive premiseex nihilo nihilo fit is a bare assertion with no guarantee it would apply to non-spatiotemporal dimensionsIncoherence of even God creating ex nihiloConflation of infinite density with ‘nothing’Universe as brute fact is more probable, given Ockham’s Razor, than God as a brute factThat the initial singularity on the Standard Big Bang Theory and the BGV are correct in order to imply a definite beginning, and that alternate theories have explanatory powerIt is more appropriate to remain agnostic over cosmology in this period of theoretic nascenceNaturalism is a safer bet then theism for explanatory power and scope in line with prior probabilitiesThe ConclusionCausality in an a-temporal framework is incoherentSimultaneous causation is not possibleIntentionality in an a-temporal framework is incoherentSimultaneous intentionality and action to change a state of affairs is not possibleA perfect good would not intend to create and thereby degrade perfectionSimultaneity is itself a temporal idealIn setting out the objections in such a manner, it prompts amazement that so many problems can be associated with three such short lines!
I list them continuously here for ease of reference. The KCA certainly packs a problematic punch for its pint-sized premises.
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