Plato and Aristotle

Philosophy of Religion: The Existence of God

In this course, Professor John Cottingham (University of Reading) explores some of the classic arguments for the existence of God – and their criticisms. In the first module, we think about some of the Classical antecedents to later Christian arguments for the existence of God, focusing in particular on Plato's concept of the Form of the Good and Aristotle's Prime Mover. After that, in the second module, we explore the three cosmological arguments for the existence of God made by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, as well as some objections to his arguments. In the third module, we turn to Anselm's ontological argument and its criticisms, particularly those of Thomas Aquinas and – much later – Immanuel Kant. Finally, in the fourth module, we turn to the teleological argument for the existence of God, including William Paley's famous watchmaker analogy, before considering some of the possible objections to this argument, including those of David Hume and Richard Dawkins.

Plato and Aristotle

In this module, we think about some of the Classical antecedents to the Christian theologians of the Middle Ages and beyond, focusing in particular on Plato's concept of the Form of the Good and Aristotle's Prime Mover.