Bridging the Gap

Granting that the Cosmological Argument is successful and that we can reach the conclusion that there is a first cause of the universe, what reason do we have for identifying this first cause with God?  This is what Alexander Pruss calls the Gap Problem. 

There are a few arguments that attempt to bridge this gap and identify the first cause with God, or at least attempt to show that the first cause has at least some of God’s attributes.  Here’s 5 of them: 

1.  The Causal-Likeness Principle

The idea here is that a cause cannot give to its effect that which it itself does not have. The universe contains intelligent creatures. So the cause of the universe must also be intelligent.  Once a popular principle in the Medieval period, this principle is now highly contentious, but it has its defenders. Samuel Clarke argued for it from the ex nihilo principle. Perhaps it can be given a probabilistic spin?

2.  Disjunctive-Explanation; Personal or Scientific Explanation

This suggestion stems from Swinburne. Scientific explanation works from prior physical facts to explain subsequent physical facts. Given that we're concerned in the Cosmological Argument with the beginning of the universe, there are no prior physical facts to explain the subsequent ones. So scientific explanation is ruled out. Personal explanation is the only other sort of explanation we have, so we should opt for it. So the first cause is a person.

3.  Plausible Candidates: Abstract Objects or Disembodied Minds

This stems from William Lane Craig.  Given that the cause of the universe is the cause of all physicality, the cause cannot be physical.  But our lists for possible non-physical objects is quite small: Either abstract objects or disembodied minds.  Abstract objects are things such as numbers or propositions.  But abstract objects cannot enter into causal relations (that's what makes them abstract), so they cannot have caused the universe.  This leaves disembodied minds as the only thing left on our list that could plausibly cause the universe.

4.  The Teleological Argument

This one is straightforward.  It makes the Cosmological Argument work in a cumulative way with the Teleological Argument.  The universe exhibits design, design implies intelligence, so whatever caused the universe is probably intelligent.  

5.  Simplicity-Style Arguments

Swinburne inspired suggestion. These arguments are given their best up-to-date treatment by Calum Miller. It goes like this: The properties we ascribed to God are actually more simple than arbitrarily limited properties. So instead of ascribing to God limited intelligence, we should ascribe to him infinite or full intelligence. Limited intelligence is less simple as it requires a reason to posit the intelligence as well as a reason to posit the limit to the intelligence.