Kant's Argument for the existence of God - Admission/Application Essay Example

Kant’s argument for the existence of God The concept of God is one of the most perplexing ideas that human mind has everthought about. If God does not exist, then the concept of God probably remains the single most significant and strong concept to have been established by human mind. It offers a basis for a whole perspective to face reality. Therefore, the arguments about God’s existence come in distinct forms in that some are drawn on reason and moral philosophy. There are many questions concerning how people believe that there exist a supreme spiritual being. In real sense, the supreme spiritual being exists. Throughout human history, they have always thought of the existence of God. There is sufficient evidence to belief and proof that God exist. For a long time, human beings have tried to offer support for that belief. In place of ontological, cosmological, and metaphysical assertions, Kant came up with a new theory to argue for the existence of a Supreme Being or God that he believed would influence people’s perception and understanding of God. His moral argument for the existence of God is endowed with practical validity since Kant does not include the aspect of absolute proof as traditional approaches did. Kant argued that the existence of God could never be explained by teleological or cosmological happenings. Kant asserted that in order to explain the existence of God, it is vital to get rid of teleological and Cosmological arguments. Kant based his arguments on belief rather than reason. People have come up with various arguments to argue for the existence of God. For instance, if an individual sees a person being beaten, in most cases, the after mentioned person would feel the responsibility to assist the victim. This results to a general sense of ethics or morality in the entire world. Despite the fact that it is hard to prove this morality, it shows the existence of God. Kant’s aim is on the obligation that an individual feels obliged to do good understanding that it will bring happiness and more good to his life. Kant states that for his argument to be feasible, then there must be a universal moral law that an individual must fin via the application of reason. Once the universal moral law is acquired and accomplished then an individual feels the obligation to adhere and follow it. The moral law eventually becomes categorical and that every person has the obligation to adhere and follow it. A person should always strive to attain highest good or happiness via moral perfection. According to Kant, evil is perceived as affixation or dysfunctional in that nobody desires to achieve evil. Kant argues that human beings by their own ways cannot acquire happiness. The highest tenets of human being is unable to obtain the aim, disagreement over moral matters would lead to confrontation and conflict, and hence unhappiness. The inner desires of human beings cannot be satisfied by human attempts. Therefore, humanity must comprehend the existence of a perfect and higher being (God) that brings human happiness and a life within which this happiness can be obtained. Kant’s moral arguments for the existence of God cannot be defended because the traditional approaches convincingly explain the existence of God. In objection to Kant’s moral argument about the existence of God, the ontological argument tries to show the existence of God using the laws of logic. St. Anselm used ontological argument in the 17th century. Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, later endorsed this argument as a perfect way to explain God’s existence. It is based on the argument that once people mentally understand and grasp the idea of God; they will realize that the notion of non-existence of God is vague and impossible. It explains God’s existence as a perfect spiritual being that could not fail to live or exist. The other proof of God’s existence is the first cause or cosmological argument. This argument tries to explain God’s existence from the concept that the universe exists. This argument is based on the argument that the universe existed before in the distant past. It asserts that nothing come into being or existence unless there is a force or something else to bring it into being. Therefore, a supreme being brought the world or universe into existence since the universe could not have emerged from nothing. This assertion illustrates God’s existence who is powerful, has existed in distant past, and is beyond human understanding. The second argument is more convincing because it talks about cosmological events that human beings cannot explain how they happen. Rene Descartes needed two proves regarding God’s existence because they played a significant role in his meditations. From the two proves, he was able to convince himself that something powerful and beyond himself existed. Descartes evaluates his thoughts to differentiate them into kinds. He established that there are three types of operation of human thought: the passions, judgments, and wills. One cannot say that the will and passion are true or false but it is from judgment that people can identify thoughts that represent something outside of us. In his second preliminary, he assesses his ideas in an attempt to establish aspects of judgments. He recognizes three kinds of ideas: fictional, adventitious, and innate. The adventitious and fictional ideas are Descartes ideas but not conformity to his will. He also established innate ideas in order to find solution to questions he required in analyzing about the nature of ideas. Descartes concludes that all ideas have an objective and formal reality. In addition, they adhere to metaphysical tenets. Descartes argues that there is a hierarchy or an order of beings with God being the perfect and powerful being. In his first proof, he proofs God’s existence using logic. He states that he is an imperfect being as evidenced in his meditation and he has a different notion of perfect being (God). Therefore, an innate being exists formally from where he derives his innate ideas. In the second proof, his existence depends on existence of a perfect being. He argues that even his parents are unable to cause his existence because they did not create him. As such, God has to exist and regularly recreating him. Descartes arguments are convincing because people derive their innate ideas from a perfect being that has existed and still exists. This perfect being controls all human activities. Kant’s argument fails to explain the criteria in which human institution of morality can enhance human character in order to enable humanity to live virtuous lives. Further, traditional approaches argue that human happiness can be attained using other things that are not inclined to morality or virtuous life. Work Cited Kant, Immanuel. Kant: Critique of Practical Reason. New York: CreateSpace, 2010. Print. Read More