Locke and the God Term Paper

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God

Locke in his argument that God must be a thinking being starts off by outlining an idea that "all matter, every particle of matter, thinks" he explicitly puts it that "matter as matter is cognitive" Locke bases this argument in the assumption that not only does every particle thinks, but every particle is eternal and thinking in the manner that at least one of them has supposedly been proved to be" he adds ". . . then there would be as many eternal thinking beings as there are particles of matter, and so an in-nity of Gods." His writings point at the fact that every bit of matter is eternal and thinks. Moreover, the reasoning that there is a common source for all the thought in the universe is impossible since it has always been equally distributed all over the world. Locke contends that if this is the way things are and not as god's possession, the conclusion would be that there is no god.

In addition, Locke examines the possibility of God as a single 'cogitative' atom. He argues that since all the other things come from an atom, there exists a "creation of matter by a powerful thought, which is that the materialists stick at." He also argues that all atoms are eternal, but only one is cognitive and that one is God. He states that "… is without any the least appearance of reason to frame any hypotheses apparently meaning that it is too obviously absurd to be worth discussing.
" On this point he claims that "Every particle of matter, as matter, is capable of all the same ?gures and motions of any other; and I challenge any one, in his thoughts, to add anything else to one above another."

Immaterial God

Locke in his delivery on the physical nature of God holds that God is immaterial. He out rightly opposes any idea that God is material, but agrees that God is an eternal knowing being. He writes, 'Let it be so; it equally still follows that there is a GOD. For if there be an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent being, it is certain that there is a GOD, whether you imagine that Being to be material or no." He also states that "It only remains that it is some certain system of matter duly put together that is this thinking eternal being." To further this argument, Locke eludes….....

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