#452 Does the Vastness of the Universe Support Naturalism?

Q

I am a Christian theist and working towards a doctorate in philosophy. I have a question that I think is relevant for both laymen and academics, and I would really appreciate your thoughts.

I often find myself "gestalt-shifting" between naturalistic and supernaturalistic (especially theistic) worldviews. When I consider certain things, the theism to which I assent seems eminently reasonable, but when I consider other things naturalism (or at least non-theism) also seems plausible, and it is understandable to me why so many philosophers and scientists are naturalists (or at least non-theists).

For some time I have tried to understand what specifically makes naturalism (or at least non-theism) seem plausible to me (and others), and I think part of it is the following.

Put briefly, so much about the history of the universe and our planet seems arbitrary or random. More precisely, much of natural history seems to lack rational explanation. The universe is billions of years old, and human existence is a mere blip on the cosmic timescale. There are vast, vast numbers of galaxies, and thus tremendous numbers of stars, planets, and other astronomical entities. Moreover, the earth itself is billions of years old, and humans have only existed here for a relatively brief period of time. Great numbers of other species have existed, and many have been extinct for millions of years. Humans seem *so small* relative to the vastness of the universe. As I reflect on these facts and others like them, I can't help but wonder why. Why is the universe and our planet this way rather than some other way? It seems that if the God of traditional (Christian) theism exists, then there should be some rational explanation for these types of facts. There should be some reason why God has created the universe this way, rather than another, these states of the universe, rather than other states. But many of these facts seem pointless and without rational explanation.

Put like this, the ideas are largely rhetorical, but I think they motivate a precise argument. The argument can be put something like this:

1. If God were to exist, then every state of the universe would be rationally explainable.

2. It's not the case (or at least it's likely that it's not the case) that every state of the universe is rationally explainable (alternatively, some states of the universe are not rationally explainable).

3. Therefore, God does not exist.

Important for this argument is a distinction between rational/personal explanation and natural/causal explanation. Natural/causal explanation is the sort of explanation provided when, for example, one explains weather patterns by reference to various natural states and laws of nature. Rational/personal explanation is the sort of explanation provided when one gives a person's reasons for performing some action. For example, what explains my eating a PB&J sandwich is that I like PB&J sandwiches, what explains God's creation of humans is his munificent love, etc. Part of the distinction is that natural/causal explanations are necessitating (in some sense), whereas rational/personal explanations are not.

This distinction is important for premise (2) because the claim is *not* that there are states that lack *any* explanation. In other words, I think the argument is consistent with some form of the principle of sufficient reason (such as the one you use in the Leibnizian Cosmological Argument).

With this in mind, let me mention some of the rationale for the premises. The main support for premise (1) is, roughly, that (a) God is sovereign over every part of the universe, and (b) God is not frivolous. Sovereignty implies control over the universe and the course it takes (except, perhaps, over personal free actions). God not being frivolous implies that God acts for good reasons and not arbitrarily. But these jointly imply that God has control over the states of the universe (i.e. the states are ultimately, or at least partially, explained by God's actions), and God acts to bring about these states for good reasons. Premise (1) seems to follow from these considerations. This is not as precise as it could be, but I trust you can see the thrust of these claims in support of (1).

The main support for premise (2) is, roughly, that we humans cannot see any rational explanation of various states (like the examples given above). And if we cannot see any rational explanation, then it's likely that there isn't one. One might question the move from "we don't know of any" to "there likely is none," but this move is clearly justified in some cases. One might object that it is not justified in this case (i.e. take something like a skeptical theist view with respect to the problem of evil). This is not implausible, but it seems to me that we should at least expect to be able to *conceive* of some good reason for various states of the universe, and I have a hard time of conceiving of good reasons in many cases.

There's a lot more that could, and probably should, be said, but this question is getting long. Since I'm a Christian, I obviously don't think this argument is conclusive. But it seems worthy of serious reflection, and I find it fairly plausible. I suspect also that something like this reasoning is why many (especially scientists and philosophers) find theism implausible. Perhaps they are influenced more by the rhetorical ideas than the precise argument. But I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you for your work.

Best,

D