The principle of preference for the specific
Times of great joy,
I’m in the middle of studying the book on the physico-theological view, and I came across a question.
It is explained there that there is a contradiction between two assumptions: A. A. A. being in infinite regression. on. Every complex thing has a designer, and this should include God Himself (who is also complex, otherwise He could not design our complex world).
And you explained that the choice to qualify the second premise and exclude God stems from the principle of preference for the specific, which says that it is better to qualify the broader rule so that both rules remain meaningful (even if qualified).
But I couldn’t understand why this is true here. Even if we exclude the issue of infinite regression with respect to the design of complex things, we will still have two rules that have (qualified) significance, since we have remained with assumption B in full, and we will also apply assumption A in all other places where we encounter infinite regression.
I would appreciate it if you could explain to me where I am wrong, thank you.
I didn’t understand what you were suggesting: what to exclude? In complex things, an infinite chain of creation is possible. What would you gain from that?
But beyond that, there is a difference between these two principles. It’s not that infinite regression is impossible, but that there is no such thing (it’s a fiction of concrete infinity). Therefore, no exception is possible here.
A. I would assume from this the existence of the two principles that seem logical, with one exception (as there is one exception according to your proposal).
B. If you say that there can be no exception to infinite regression, it is no longer related to the principle of specific preference, but that you chose not to exclude it because it is impossible, right?
A. This exception, even if it were possible (in section B I said it was not possible), is completely improbable. Why could the creation of a complex thing be done in infinite regression? What is called complex for this matter? It is like saying that the creation of anything that begins with the letter ay”n (=world) can be done in infinite regression. This is completely illogical. There is no mathematics here that counts the number of exceptions. One must look at the logic and reasonableness of the exception.
B. See above. God's exception is not only reasonable but necessary. The entity that stops the regression must be its own cause. This follows from the very nature of the contradiction. Therefore, there is a preference for the specific here.
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