There are only three possible ways of proving the existence of God by means of speculative reason. All the paths leading to -this goal begin either from determinate experience... or they start from experience which is purely indeterminate ... or finally they abstract from all experience, and argue completely a priori, from mere concepts, to the existence of a supreme cause. Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, A59O/B618
Kant tells us that there are exactly three ways of proving the existence of God by speculative reason. In the first, we begin from "determinate experience and the specific constitution of the world" and ascend from there to a supreme cause. "The world presents to us so immeasurable a stage of variety, order, purposiveness, and beauty" (A622/B650) that we may infer a sublime and wise cause (A625/B654). This is the physico-theological proof or argument from design. In the second, we begin from indeterminate experience or "experience of existence in general" and proceed......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 11067
Approximate Pages: 43 (260 words per double-spaced page) |