Cosmology and Theology

Abstract

Cosmological results yield philosophical conclusions only with the help of extra-philosophical premises that must be grounded on non-question-begging arguments. I argue that in the cosmology case, the argument from cosmology to anti-theism is such that the philosophical juice would have to be supplied by an inference to the best explanation whose role is to justify the thesis that one may dispense with God in explanations of the existence of the universe. Problems abound with both in a case of extra-disciplinary transgression. My conclusion is accordingly negative: No genuine inference is provided here and no dispensability thesis offered an adequate ground. I argue that no additional premise may provide a bona fide argument with (i) either a scientific principle or some cosmological data among the premises, and (ii) an anti-theistic philosophical claim as a conclusion. The relevant details of converse arguments in favor of indispensability theses based on inferences to the best explanation are taken into consideration, and so are stronger reasons, put forward by Immanuel Kant and Gottlob Frege , to reject the theistic claim within the confines of philosophy. Concluding remarks are offered to the effect that a genuine philosophical challenge emerges from Lawrence Krauss’ and Robert Scherrer’s claim regarding the return to a static universe. If they are right, we know now that we would have held in the past the false belief that the universe is static and that we would be holding the very same false belief in the future, when we know, although only as a matter of sheer luck, that it is indeed expanding.

I have benefited enormously from a stimulating paper by Genco Guralp (Department of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University) for the writing of this paper. Guralp’s “Cosmology and the End of Weberian Science” (included in this volume) was presented at the International Graduate Summer School on Scientific Knowledge and the Transgression of Boundaries held at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain, from August 27 to August 31, 2012, in collaboration with the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT-ITAS). I was his assigned discussant on this particular occasion. I have also benefited from discussions on related topics involving lecturers and participants of the International Graduate Summer School.