Why the Big Bang Singularity Does Not Help the Kalām Cosmological Argument for Theism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8397648 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J Brian Pitts (0000-0002-7299-5137, University of Notre Dame, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 675-708 |
| Publication date | 2008-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axn032 |
| OpenAlex | W2136401729 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 85 |
The cosmic singularity provides negligible evidence for creation in the finite past, and hence theism. A physical theory might have no metric or multiple metrics, so a ‘beginning’ must involve a first moment, not just finite age. Whether one dismisses singularities or takes them seriously, physics licenses no first moment. The analogy between the Big Bang and stellar gravitational collapse indicates that a Creator is required in the first case only if a Destroyer is needed in the second. The need for and progress in quantum gravity and the underdetermination of theories by data make it difficult to take singularities seriously. The singularity exemplifies the sort of gap that is likely to be closed by scientific progress, obviating special divine action. The apparent irrelevance of cardinality to practices of counting infinite sets in classical field theory and Fourier analysis is noted.1. Introduction2. The Doctrine of Creation and Its Warrant3. Cardinality and Sizes of Infinity4. Modern Cosmology and Creation5. Tolerance or Intolerance toward Singularities?6. Leibniz against Incompetent Watchmaker?7. Induction from Earlier Theories' Breakdown?8. Stellar Collapse Implies Theistic Destroyer9. Stacking the Deck for GTR10. Quantum Gravity Tends to Resolve Singularities11. Vicious God-of-the-Gaps Character12. Fluctuating or Inaccessible Warrant13. Big Bang Cosmology Not Especially Congenial to Faith
Argument (complex analysis) · Cosmology · Epistemology · Initial singularity · Physics · Quantum mechanics · Singularity · Theism · Theoretical physics · Universe · Chemistry · Cosmology and Gravitation Theories · Mathematics · Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories · Philosophy · Relativity and Gravitational Theory
Matter and Spirit in the Universe
Laws and Symmetry
Warranted Christian Belief
Exceeding Our Grasp
Scientific Realism
Physical Relativity
Must Metaphysical Time Have a Beginning?
Absolute objects and counterexamples
The structure and interpretation of cosmology
Einstein and Singularities
Scientific change
The Concepts of “Beginning” and “Creation” In Cosmology
A Critical Look at Inflationary Cosmology
Strange Couplings and Space-Time Structure
The Pseudo-Problem of Creation in Physical Cosmology
Refusing the Devil's Bargain
Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology
Foundations of Space-Time Theories
The Sciences and Theology in the Twentieth Century
Science and Christian Belief
Inventing the Flat Earth
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,27 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2022 (12) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |