God and The Philosopher

When I was an undergrad at UCLA I took a philosophy of religion course (and a course on Leibniz) from a visiting professor. He was a fascinating man. A man of many Idiosyncrasies. He was impeccably dressed and well groomed. He wore only two or three suits, and all of them a mixture of green and black. He was one of my favorite professors. And I can’t remember his name.

He gave several arguments for the existence of God which I am passing on to you.

An argument from design:

Why does nature abide by the laws of nature?

1. If the laws of nature are mere cosmic coincidences (and properly thoughts so), then the seemingly lawful patterns hitherto observed are completely coincidental (and properly thought so).

2. If the seemingly lawful patterns hitherto observed are completely coincidental (and properly thought so), then it is not the case that we ought to expect them to continue.
a. the chances ought to be 50/50

3. However, we ought to expect the patterns to continue

therefore,

4. It is not the case that the laws of nature are cosmic coincidences (and properly thought so)

I will update this post with another of his arguments when time allows.

The Eldritch

Some time ago, on a different blog, I wrote:

A college campus can be a spooky place 10:30 at night. Last night it was very cold, but very clear at the college where I teach.

It was the last class of the semester and I ended up chatting with a few students, for about an hour, after class ended.

The campus sits high, near the base of some mountains (or foot hills). As I stood alone in the parking lot (shivering), I could see from L.A. to Riverside (or what I took to be Riverside). It was quite beautiful. But there was a spooky quality to the experience.

The cold, the breeze, the visibility, and the solitude all made for an eerie experience. But what does that mean? What does it mean for the atmosphere to be eerie, or spooky? And why should human beings have such moments?

I had a similar experience last night. The atmosphere about me was not quite right. I was anxious and alive to something in the air. Have you had such a moment?

But, again I ask, why should we have such moments? I’m suggesting that there is more to them than meets the eye. I am suggesting that they are not simply emotional reactions to our environment.

When all is well (physically and mentally) with oneself, and all is right with the world, one may awaken. But awaken to what?

I liken such moments to our love of music. Why should music affect us the way it does?

What is it in the air?

Have you had similar experiences?