Phil 347 Final Exam Questions with 100% Correct Answers

Omnipotence Correct Answer - God can do anything that is intrinsically (non-contradictory) possible for God to do Omniscience Correct Answer - God knows the future - God is immutable, so foreknowledge is nonexistent > *obj*: God would "change his mind" depending on what an agent chooses to do The Kalam Cosmological Argument Correct Answer (1) everything that begins to exist has a *cause* (2) the universe began to exist > the number of past events is continuously augmented, so not infinite, so there is a *beginning* (3) so, the universe has a cause that is *distinct from itself* Why is the cause from the cosmological personal? Correct Answer (4) a cause is either *mechanical* or *personal* (5) mechanical entails order and laws of nature, which did NOT exist *before* the universe (6) the universe then must have a *distinct, personal* cause (7) so, the universe has a cause that is *distinct from itself* W.L. Craig on the Kalam Argument Correct Answer - the Big Bang model predicts the absolute beginning of the universe, which gives evidence for this argument > further support f. Second Law of Thermodynamics "Possibility" objections to Kalam Correct Answer - *obj 1*: anything conceivable is possible, x starting to exist w/o a cause included - *obj 2*: anything that is non-contradictory is possible, x starting to exist w/o a cause included Counter-objection to Kalam "possibility" objection Correct Answer - it is NOT evident that conceivability or consistency imply possibility Quantum objection to Kalam Correct Answer - subatomic particles have been observed to appear w/o observed causes in vacuums > things can begin to exist w/o a cause Quantum objection counter Correct Answer - an absence of an observed cause is NOT the same as absence of a *real cause* Kraal's objections to Kalam Correct Answer - "everything that begins to exist must has a cause distinct f. itself" does NOT mean a creator, instead: > multiple, simultaneous causes > a cause distinct f. *our universe* > a cause not of "omni-nature"