Cosmological Argument
An argument for the existence of God based on the observation that the universe exists and requires an explanation for its existence.
The cosmological argument reasons from the existence of the universe to the existence of a cause or explanation beyond the universe itself.
**Key versions:** - **Kalam** (Al-Ghazali / William Lane Craig): Everything that begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a cause. - **Thomistic** (Aquinas): There must be a first unmoved mover and a necessary being. - **Leibnizian**: The universe requires a sufficient reason for its existence.
Different worldviews engage differently: Materialists deny the need for an external cause; Theists affirm it; Buddhists consider it irrelevant to liberation.