Transcript Bertrand Russell: “Why I Am Not a Theist”

Russell:
Why I Am Not a Theist
Bertrand Russell: “Why I Am Not a Theist”
The First-Cause Argument
(P1) For everything in the world, there is some cause.
(P2) Nothing can cause itself.
(P3) Therefore if the first thing in a series does not exist, nothing in
the series exists.
(P6) The series of causes cannot extend ad infinitum into the past, for
then there would be no things existing now.
(C) Therefore it is necessary to admit a first cause, and this cause is
God.
The Natural Law Argument
(P1) The universe obeys certain laws.
(P2) The laws of biology depend on the laws of chemistry, which
depend on the laws of physics, which depend on the laws of
mathematics, which depend on the laws of logic…
(P3) If the universe were merely accidental, there is no reason it
should obey orderly principles, or any principles at all.
(C) Therefore the universe is not accidental, and there is some lawgiver. This law-giver is God.
Modern (“Teleological”) Argument
(P1) X is too complex/orderly/purposeful/beautiful to have occurred
randomly or accidentally.
(P2) Therefore, X must have been created by some
sentient/intelligent/wise/purposeful being.
(P3) That being is God.
(C) Therefore God exists.
Argument from Design (Russell’s Version)
Everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live
in the world, and if the world was ever so little different, we could not
manage to live in it.
Moral Arguments for Deity (Kant)
(P1) Human virtue, in its purest form, consists in denying one’s own
happiness for the benefit of others.
(P2) The highest good consists in the distribution of happiness to all
people (according to their virtue).
(P3) But man, on his own, is unlikely to bring about this highest good.
(P4) This end being likely unattainable, acting morally seems to be
irrational.
(P5) To save morality from meaninglessness, we must postulate some
other source for meaning in morality.
(C) This source (Kant believes) is God.
Argument for the Remedying of Injustice
If there is to be justice in the world, there must be some punishment
and reward system beyond this world, for in this world the good
often suffer, and the wicked often prosper.
• So, there must be a God, a heaven, and a hell to redress the
balance on Earth.