The Kalām Cosmological Argument: A Reassessment, 1st ed. 2018 Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures Series, Vol. 25

This book offers a discussion of the kal?m cosmological argument, and presents a defence of a version of that argument after critically evaluating three of the most important versions of the argument. It argues that, since the versions of the kal?m cosmological argument defended by Philoponus (c. 490?c. 570), al-Ghaz?l? (1058? 1111), and the contemporary philosopher, William Lane Craig, all deny the possibility of the existence of an actual infinite, these arguments are incompatible with Platonism and the view that God foreknows an endless future. This conclusion, however, is not a problem for the proponents of the kal?m cosmological argument, for the book shows how the argument can be defended without denying the possibility of the actual infinite.

Jacobus Erasmus is currently a postdoctoral researcher at North-West University, South Africa. He received his PhD in 2016 from North-West University and was awarded the Merit Prize in 2015 by the university’s School of Philosophy for superior performance for his doctoral dissertation. Jacobus Erasmus also holds an Honours Degree in IT and he is a part-time computer scientist and programmer. His main research interests include Natural Theology, Philosophy of Religion, and Metaphysics. 

Offers a refreshing discussion of the kalam cosmological argument

Advances a detailed critique of the argument based on the impossibility of an actual infinite

Presents a unique analysis of Platonism and of temporal becoming

Draws on very recent and first English translations previously unavailable to scholars