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. 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.

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. Lenin (through Marx’s framework) argued that the God concept originated from the desire to legitimize economic possessions and oppression; divinity exists to justify the divine right of kings.