There is a good reason for thinking that the existence of a strictly uncausable thing (the sort of thing that composes any First Cause of the Universe) would have to be atemporal, beyond the limits of time. Any time-bound entity would be the sort of thing that could change and that could conceivably even beginContinue reading “Strictly Uncausable Things”
Category Archives: First Cause
Defending Universal Causation
The argument for an uncausable First Cause sketched in earlier posts relies on a principle of Universal Causation. The principle of Universal Causation is a fundamental principle of reason. As such, its truth cannot be demonstrated from more fundamental principles. However, I can argue for the principle dialectically, pointing out the unacceptably high price ofContinue reading “Defending Universal Causation”
The Pluralization Argument
My second argument for a First Cause relies on the Pluralized version of the principle of Universal Causation. Let’s assume again that the Universe exists, that is, that there are some broadly causable things. Is the Universe itself broadly causable? Each member of the universe is broadly causable (by definition). So, we can conceive ofContinue reading “The Pluralization Argument”
Infinite Regresses: The Unsatisfiable Pair Diagnosis
This is a follow-up to a previous post, in which I presented an argument against the conceivability of infinite regresses. Some critics (Schmid and Malpass, forthcoming) have argued that the Patchwork Principle too strong. Perhaps we should add an exception: Revised Patchwork Principle. If (i) a certain causal structure S is conceivable, (ii) a finiteContinue reading “Infinite Regresses: The Unsatisfiable Pair Diagnosis”
The Anti-Regress Argument for a First Cause
This is the first of two new arguments for a first cause. Check out an earlier post that contains the relevant definitions. Therefore, everything in the universe is caused by one or more strictly uncausable things. Consequently, there is a plurality of one or more strictly uncausable things (the First Cause) that jointly causes theContinue reading “The Anti-Regress Argument for a First Cause”
Some New Arguments for a First Cause
I’m going to start a new series of posts in which I present some of my most recent thoughts on the classic First Cause arguments. In this post, I will lay out some explications and definitions for some key terms that will appear in my arguments. Some of the terms are so fundamental that theyContinue reading “Some New Arguments for a First Cause”
The Analytic Thomist 