The document discusses several philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God. It outlines the moral, ontological, cosmological, teleological, causal, and pragmatic arguments for God's existence. It also discusses empirical, subjective, and problem of evil arguments against God's existence. The problem of evil argues that the co-existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God with evil in the world is unlikely or impossible.

1. Existence of God

3. MORAL ARGUMENT
The moral argument appeals to the existence of moral laws as evidence of God’s
existence. According to this argument, there couldn’t be such a thing as morality
without God; to use the words that , “If there is no God, then everything is
permissible.” That there are moral laws, then, that not everything is permissible,
proves that God exists.
This arguments refers to the claim that God is needed to provide a coherent ontological foundation
for the existence of objective moral values and duties. The argument can be summarised in the
following syllogism:
Case 1: If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist.
Case 2: Objective moral values and duties do exist.
Conclusion: Therefore, God exists.

4. ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
The first ontological argument in the Western Christian tradition was proposed by Anselm . Anselm defined God
as "that than which nothing greater can be thought", and argued that this being must exist in the mind, even in
the mind of the person who denies the existence of God. He suggested that, if the greatest possible being exists
in the mind, it must also exist in reality. If it only exists in the mind, then an even greater being must be
possible—one which exists both in the mind and in reality. Therefore, this greatest possible being must exist in
reality.
Anselm's argument
Case 1 :It is a conceptual truth that , the greatest possible being that
can be imagined
Case 2: God exists as an idea in the mind
Case 3: Thus, if God exists only as an idea in the mind, then we can
imagine something that is greater than God.
Case 4 :But we cannot imagine something that is greater than God
Conclusion : Therefore, God exists.

5. COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
God exists as the first cause of this world.
Any finite object is the effect of a cause.
This cause is the effect of a further cause.
This again is the effect of a more ultimate cause.
Cosmological Proof
 Every event in the observable world is caused by some event prior to it
 Either the series of causes is infinite, or the series of causes go back to a first cause, which is itself
uncaused
 But an infinite series of causes is impossible
 Therefore, a first cause exists outside the observable world; this first cause is God

6. CAUSAL ARGUMENTS
God exists as the cause of the idea of God
 Idea of God is an idea of perfect being. Causality
demands that the ultimate cause of an idea must
be a substance which contains at least as much
perfection as contained in the idea. But man or
finite being is imperfect.
 We can not be created by ourselves, by our parents
or by any being less perfect than God.

7. Causal Proof
 As man or any finite being is imperfect so perfection can be found only in
God. Hence the cause of the idea of God must be God Himself.
 Ultimate causality does not belong to any finite and imperfect being, but
to God alone.
 The full idea of causality involves the notions of power, efficiency, energy,
direction etc. Such causality is directly experienced only within our mental
life. Hence there must be a self-existent and conscious mind as the cause
of the world and all that happens in it. This mind is God.

8. Teleological argument
 The teleological or physico-theological argument, also known as
the argument from design, or intelligent design argument is an
argument for the existence of God .
 It comes from the Greek word telos, meaning end or purpose.
The argument claims that the world displays God’s purpose or
end-goal.
 It is an argument in natural theology.
 This argument has applied notably by Thomas Aquinas, Berkely,
Leibniz. But mainly explained by William Paley with his version
of the watchmaker analogy and the first use of the phrase
"argument from design".

9.  In its general form, it contends that such things as design,
purpose, adaption etc. can be initiated only by a mind;
hence there must be a God or a universal mind as the
source of this qualities in the workings of nature.
 William Paley argued that from the evidences of design in a
watch we can infer that it has been fashioned by an
intelligent craftsman. There are marks of design in nature,
which suggest that the machine of the world has been
fashioned by a super human watchmaker.

10. Pragmatic argument
 Pragmatic arguments have often been employed in support of theistic belief. Theistic
pragmatic arguments are not arguments for the proposition that God exists; they are
arguments that believing that God exists is rational.
 Pragmatic arguments are practical in orientation, justifying actions that are thought to
facilitate the achievement of our goals, or the satisfaction of our desires.
 The most famous theistic pragmatic argument is Pascal's Wager. Though we touch on
this argument briefly below, this entry focuses primarily on the theistic pragmatic
arguments found in William James, J.S. Mill, and James Beattie.

11. • According to
pragmatists, the
existence of God
is proved by the
fact that belief in
God is highly
useful in our life.
William James
contends that the
option between belief
in God and going
without that belief is a
genuine option, which
cannot be avoided. If
we belief in God and
God exists, we gain
much; if God doesn’t
exist we loss little.
• Ideas are
verified by their
workability and
satisfactoriness.

12. existence of God
Arguments against the

13. Each of the arguments below aims to show that a
particular set of gods does not exist—by demonstrating
them to be inherently meaningless, contradictory with
known scientific or historical facts—or that there is
insufficient proof to say that they do exist.

14. Empirical arguments
The following empirical arguments rely on observations or experimentation to yield
their conclusions:
The argument from poor design contests the idea that God created life on the
basis that lifeforms, including humans, seem to exhibit poor design.
The argument from nonbelief contests the existence of an omnipotent God who
wants humans to believe in him by arguing that such a god would do a better job
of gathering believers.
The analogy of Russell's teapot argues that the burden of proof for the existence
of God lies with the theist rather than the atheist; it can be considered an
extension of Occam's Razor.

15. Subjective arguments
 The witness argument gives credibility to personal witnesses, contemporary and
from the past, who disbelieve or strongly doubt the existence of God.
 The conflicted religions argument notes that many religions give differing
accounts as to what God is and what God wants; since all the contradictory
accounts cannot be correct, many if not all religions must be incorrect.
 The disappointment argument claims that if, when asked for, there is no visible
help from God, there is no reason to believe that there is a God.

16. Proofs for not existing God
Pain:
Because God allows pain, disease and natural disasters to exist, he cannot be all-
powerful and also loving and good in the human sense of these words.
Multiplicity:
Since the Gods of various religions differ widely in their characteristics, only one of
these religions, or none, can be right about God.
Simplicity:
Since God is invisible, and the universe is no different than if he did not exist, it is
simpler to assume he does not exist.

17. PROBLEM OF EVIL
The problem of evil refers to the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil
with an omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent God .
An argument from evil attempts to show that the co-existence of evil and such a
God is unlikely or impossible.
The problem of evil acutely applies to monotheistic religions such as Christianity,
Islam, and Judaism that believe in a monotheistic God who is omnipotent,
omniscient and omnibenevolent; but it has also been studied in religions that are
non-theistic or polytheistic, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.

18. The problem of evil is often formulated in two forms:
 The logical problem of evil:
The logical form of the argument tries to show a logical impossibility in
the coexistence of God and evil.
 The evidential problem of evil:
while the evidential form tries to show that given the evil in the world, it
is improbable that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good
God.

19. Logical problem of evil:
Originating with Greek philosopher Epicurus,
the logical argument from evil is as follows:
 If an omnipotent, omniscient, and
omnibenevolent god exists, then evil does
not.
 There is evil in the world.
 Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and
omnibenevolent god does not exist.

20. Evidential problem of evil:
A version by Paul Draper:
 Gratuitous evils exist.
 The hypothesis of indifference, that if there are supernatural beings
they are indifferent to gratuitous evils.
 Therefore, evidence prefers that no god exists, as commonly
understood by theists.