So occam's razor stipulates, always make the fewest possible number of assumptions for any given hypothesis. If you add a second assumption with 10:1 odds against, your hypothesis is now 100:1. For example, if you make a single assumption with 10:1 odds against it happening, your hypothesis is 90% likely to be wrong. The concept is: Every assumption one must make has a multiplicative effect on the margin of error for the hypothesis.

Occam's Razor is a rule of logic meant to reduce the number of highly unlikely propositions. And science certainly cannot tell us the answer. In any event, there are only two possibilities in this regard: Either there is a 'first cause', or there is an infinite regress of causes. It's very possible we cannot, but we do not know that. I reject one of the premises of all of them - the idea that we cannot have infinite regress. This includes three of Thomas Aquinas' 'Five Ways' (Argument from First Cause, Argument of the Unmoved Mover, and Argument from Contingency), as well as the Kalam cosmological argument.įirst of all I want to clarify, i don't consider these good arguments.

While they are subtlely different, they all have a need for 'first cause' as a primary component. 4 common logical arguments for the existence of God are essentially based on the same element.

Ockham against aquinas existence of god