Q&A: The Physico-Theological Proof from Experience?
The Physico-Theological Proof from Experience?
Question
Hello to our rabbi, Michi.
Is the physico-theological proof established from experience—that complex things do not come into being on their own—or from logical necessity?
And is begging the question to say that there is no complex thing without something that composes it? You argue that it isn’t—why not?
Answer
It is not a logical necessity, but rather a logical-statistical argument. Indeed, there is an assumption here that a complex thing does not come into being without something that composes it. But that is not begging the question; it is just a normal and reasonable assumption. From it one infers that there is always something that composes. If there are those who think that something complex can come into being randomly, then this indeed proves nothing to them, as with any logical argument. But in my view, their claim is not reasonable.