Majesty of Reason Philosophy Podcast The Kalam's Causal Principle: An Analysis
Feb 23, 2024
Stephen Woodford, a collaborator with Joseph Schmid on the Kalam series, dives deep into the nuances of the Kalam cosmological argument. They debate whether everything that begins to exist truly has a cause, exploring implications of time, existence, and causality. The discussion tackles criticisms of intuition in philosophical reasoning and examines the complexities of free will versus determinism within the context of quantum mechanics. With rich insights, they challenge traditional notions of causation and spark a critical reevaluation of foundational beliefs.
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Key Terms in Kalam's Principle
- The Kalam's causal principle includes three key terms: existence, begins to exist, and cause.
- Each term requires careful consideration for proper evaluation.
Defining Existence
- Existence is a difficult concept to define precisely.
- Roughly, something exists if it's in reality or part of a comprehensive list of things.
Understanding 'Begins to Exist'
- Something 'begins to exist' when it appears at a time and didn't exist before, either temporally or explanatorily.
- This excludes things that transition from timelessness or non-metric time.