The Kalām Cosmological Argument: Scientific Evidence for the Beginning of the Universe

Description

Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 7 Foreword......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 Versions of the cosmological argument......Page 11 Chapter summaries of The Kalām Cosmological Argument: Scientific Evidence for the Beginning of the Universe......Page 17 Notes......Page 19 2.3 Scientific confirmation......Page 21 Section III Summary......Page 53 IV Quantum gravity......Page 54 Notes......Page 78 References......Page 84 1 Introduction......Page 89 2 The doctrine of creation and its warrant......Page 91 3 Cardinality and sizes of infinity......Page 95 4 Modern cosmology and creation......Page 96 5 Tolerance or intolerance toward singularities?......Page 99 6 Leibniz against incompetent watchmaker?......Page 101 7 Induction from earlier theories’ breakdown?......Page 102 8 Stellar collapse implies theistic destroyer......Page 103 9 Stacking the deck for GTR......Page 105 10 Quantum gravity tends to resolve singularities......Page 106 11 Vicious God-of-the-gaps character......Page 107 12 Fluctuating or inaccessible warrant......Page 108 13 Big Bang cosmology not especially congenial to faith......Page 109 References......Page 111 1.0 Introduction......Page 119 2.0 The singularity argument formulated......Page 120 3.0 The singularity argument assessed......Page 122 4.0 Physical evidence for premise (2)......Page 126 5.0 The beginning of the universe......Page 146 Acknowledgments......Page 149 Notes......Page 150 References......Page 154 The Penrose singularity theorem......Page 159 Eternal inflation......Page 160 The Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem......Page 161 God’s proof......Page 162 Appendix: Mathematical details......Page 164 Notes......Page 166 I Introduction......Page 168 II The end of conventional stellar evolution......Page 169 III Death of the galaxy......Page 179 IV Long-term fate of degenerate stellar objects......Page 192 V Long-term evolution of the universe......Page 210 VI Summary and discussion......Page 228 References......Page 236 1 The Problem of Heat Death: A Historical Introduction......Page 241 2 The ancient solution......Page 242 3 The modern solution......Page 244 Bibliography......Page 251 2 Alternative answer to the heat death problem......Page 252 3 Modern cosmology and some errors in Kutrovátz’s account......Page 255 4 Discussion: Physical eschatology and open systems......Page 258 Bibliography......Page 259 1 Introduction......Page 261 2 The Second Law of Thermodynamics......Page 263 3 Generalized Thermodynamics Theorems......Page 269 4 Applications......Page 280 5 Does It Still Work for Quantum Gravity?......Page 291 6 Conclusion......Page 295 Appendix......Page 297 Notes......Page 299 References......Page 301 Conclusion Therefore, the Universe Has a Cause......Page 306 Chapter 9 Libertarian Agency and the Craig/Grünbaum Debate about Theistic Explanation of the Initial Singularity......Page 308 Notes......Page 318 2 Causal definitions and the notion of an originating divine cause......Page 321 3 Causes and logically sufficient conditions......Page 326 4 Analogical and literal descriptions......Page 331 5 Objections to the arguments that God cannot be a cause......Page 332 6 Conclusion: Cosmological and teleological arguments for God’s nonexistence......Page 337 Notes......Page 339 The Alternatives Before Us......Page 342 The supernaturalist alternative......Page 345 Naturalistic objections......Page 346 Conclusion......Page 354 Notes......Page 355 Bibliography......Page 357 Permissions......Page 362 Index......Page 365