نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسنده English
The cosmological arguments constitute an important category of arguments for the existence of God and enjoy considerable acceptance among monotheists. The common claim of all these arguments is that “the universe requires a creator.” These arguments have faced various objections and criticisms from their opponents. One of the most influential criticisms in contemporary philosophy of religion is Bertrand Russell’s objection to these arguments. Russell argues that it is not unlikely that each individual component of the universe is contingent and in need of a cause, while the universe as a whole may not require a cause, since extending a judgment from each individual component to the whole constitutes a fallacy. This article seeks to answer the following question: Given the importance of cosmological arguments in Islamic philosophy, how have Muslim philosophers responded to this objection? By examining the history of Islamic philosophy, we discover that Muslim philosophers were aware of this objection and sought to avoid it. In their cosmological arguments, they attempted to establish the existence of the Creator of the universe through alternative ways. These ways are: conditionally extending the judgment concerning the parts to the whole; directly demonstrating the dependence of the universe as a whole; regarding conventional the existence and unity of the whole universe and demonstrating the Creator through the individual contingent beings; and unity-in-multiplicity of the universe as a whole.
کلیدواژهها English