Religion Issue: On what grounds, if any, does it make sense to believe that God exists?

                Two major types of argument may be found—foundationalist and non-foundationalist. The foundationalist position may be represented by Descartes. Descartes concludes on logical grounds that God necessarily exists. He begins with the assumptions that a perfect being necessarily exists and God is a perfect being. After defending these assumptions, he concludes with logical necessity that God exists.

                STRENGTH: Many people who accept a dualist worldview and claim belief in God find support for their views in Descartes’ argument. They view Descartes’ position as conclusive proof that belief in God is logical and rational.

                WEAKNESS: The major criticism of Descartes’ argument comes from Kant. Kant points out that Descartes’ proof is true by definition, but that definitions tell us only how we define words. They do not tell us what sorts of things exist.

                The second type of argument for God’s existence is non-foundationalist. Thomas Aquinas provides a primary example of such an approach. If an analogy can be drawn between the world that lies within our experience and a world that may lie outside the boundaries of human experience, we may speculate on the world beyond our experience.

Among several speculative arguments that he gives, Aquinas presents a first-cause argument as well as an argument from design. The first-cause argument states that if something exists it probably had a cause; the universe exists; so the universe probably had a cause. The argument from design runs as follows: if something has design, it probably had a designer; the universe has design; so the universe probably had a designer.

                STRENGTHS: Aquinas builds on an analogy between the world we know and another world that we are curious to find out about—for example, a world that may lie beyond our experience. He contends that if a world that lies beyond our experience is anything like the world within our experience, it may have had a first cause and it may have had a designer.

                WEAKNESS: Aquinas’ arguments do not claim certainty for their conclusions, a feature that leaves many adherents of religion dissatisfied. The followers of Aquinas reply to this weakness that doubt is a feature of human existence, and Aquinas’ arguments concerning God reflect the widespread human experience of doubt.