Q&A: God as a Basis for Trust in Cognition
God as a Basis for Trust in Cognition
Question
Hello,
I tried to understand the argument about the reliability of cognition and its connection to God.
Is the goal to prove God, or to prove the reliability of cognition? The argument feels circular to me. If the argument is based on the assumptions: (a) if God exists, then cognition is reliable; (b) God exists; conclusion: cognition is reliable. Where does the trust in the second assumption, that God exists, come from? After all, aside from perhaps the ontological proof, the other proofs are based on the structure of cognition—which is precisely what we are trying to prove reliable. And if the argument is based on the assumptions: (a) if cognition is reliable, then God exists; (b) cognition is reliable; conclusion: God exists. Where do I get the second assumption, that cognition is reliable, from? Its reliability does not come from intuition; I place my trust in intuition because of belief in God. I would appreciate some clarification, and an explanation of why this is not circular.
Answer
The second formulation is the correct one. I clarified there that this is a revealing argument, not a productive one. The claim is that anyone who trusts cognition should believe in God. If you do not trust cognition, then not. This argument, like any argument, is based on assumptions. That is not circular in any sense.
Discussion on Answer
My intuition tells me that cognition is reliable. From that I infer that there is a God, because without Him there would be no basis for this trust. Intuition is a combination of thought and cognition, and it confirms itself. Every system of reasoning begins from a point that itself has no further justification.
The main point that interests me is how you get out of the graveyard of philosophy—how you come back to trusting causality and so on. Trust in cognition without God has no basis, okay, but how do I arrive at belief in God or in cognition?
The arguments in favor of God are based on assumptions that already place trust in the structure of our cognition (except for the ontological one, as I mentioned). Where does trust in cognition come from—from intuition? You wrote that intuition itself is a combination of thought and cognition, but cognition is exactly what I want to ground. It feels like a step is missing here; I’d appreciate clarification.