Argument from the Idea of God

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Descartes’ Cosmological-Ontological Argument (“The COA”) states that God exists because the idea of a God exists in human minds. This even applies to the minds of atheists; while they don’t believe this idea is true, they still possess the idea.[1] The argument goes, as follows:

Every event has a cause, including thoughts. An infinite, perfect being must then exist to give people the concepts of perfection and infinity. Otherwise, something infinite and perfect was created by finite, imperfect beings.[1]

However, Freud argued that wishful thinking allows humanity to dream of all sorts of things more perfect than ourselves, by imaginatively extending our desires to infinity -- including the desire for an immortal father-figure.[2] Lenin (through Marx’s framework) argued that the God concept originated from the desire to legitimize economic possessions and oppression; divinity was created to justify the divine right of kings.[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 P. Kreeft, Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion (Recorded Books, 2005).
  2. S. Freud, Totem and Taboo (W. W. Norton & Co., 1990).
  3. Marxists Internet Archive, Socialism and Religion, [Online]. Available: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1905/dec/03.htm. [Accessed 4 MAY 2017].