Single Idea 5598

[catalogued under 28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / a. Cosmological Proof]

Full Idea

If one begins the proof cosmologically, by grounding it on the series of appearances and the regress in this series in accordance with empirical causal laws, one cannot later shift from this and go over to something which does not belong to the series

Gist of Idea

If you prove God cosmologically, by a regress in the sequences of causes, you can't abandon causes at the end

Source

Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781], B484/A456)

Book Reference

Kant,Immanuel: 'Critique of Pure Reason', ed/tr. Guyer,P /Wood,A W [CUO 1998], p.492


A Reaction

Badly expressed, but it is the idea that if you start from 'everything has a cause', you can't use it to prove the existence of an uncaused entity. Better to say: an uncaused entity is the only explanation we can imagine for a causal sequence.