REASONING ABOUT THE COSMOS
The philosopher David Hume was the first to raise the Problem of Induction. Hume points out that we have no rational basis for expecting the future to resemble the past. Just because causes have always produced certain effects in the past doesn't mean we can be sure they will produce them in the future. The expectation that causes produce predictable effects is a 'habit' or a 'custom' of mind, according to Hume.
Hume's criticism of induction amounts to a major criticism of the scientific method, which is entirely based on observing things and making the assumption these things will keep happening. Hume himself offers no solution to this (beyond having a drink and playing backgammon). If inductive reasoning is not trustworthy, then inductive arguments for the existence of God are weakened too. |
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YES
The Cosmological Argument leaves room for doubt, which is important for reasonable faith. Only fanatics and bigots believe with total certainty. Reasonable people have doubts about things. If it is an inductive argument, the Cosmological Argument reassures believers that their faith is reasonable but it leaves a place for questioning and mystery in life.
Inductive reasoning is good for religious belief as it inspires religious people to take an interest in science to support their beliefs rather than dismiss science. Scientific discoveries that show contingency strengthen the Cosmological Argument. For example, the "Big Bang Theory" changed the way we thought about the universe in the 1920s, because it claimed there was a real beginning, 14 billion years ago.
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NO
Religious belief is supposed to be about certainty, not probability. Jesus talked about faith moving mountains. The great saints and religious reformers didn't think that God "probably existed": they knew God existed. The Cosmological Argument is irrelevant for religious faith if it's only an inductive argument.
Religious belief based on inductive reasoning is at the mercy of changes in scientific understanding. The "Big Bang Theory" strengthened the Cosmological Argument, but the theory of Multiple Universe (the "Multiverse Theory") weakens it. A religious belief based on inductive reasoning is built on very shaky foundations. The Problem of Induction makes this argument even weaker.
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