causality

An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 09 – God 1 (Theism) – Part 3: Which came first – the chicken or the God?

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The cosmological argument begins with an undeniable intuition: everything that begins has a cause. From the origins of the universe to the first domino falling, there must be a first cause – a push that set everything else in motion. This first cause, while not necessarily a personal deity, is where we begin to speak of “God.” The argument doesn’t prove a personality or intention; it simply points to the necessity of something that began the chain. The question is: what does that uncaused cause look like?

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 07  Metaphysics 4  (Metaphysical Determinism) –  Part 4: What is your favorite color?

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Our strongest preferences often arrive without our permission. We don’t choose what feels familiar, comforting, or compelling; we notice it after the fact. Determinism invites us to see preference as discovery rather than decision, shaped by histories we didn’t author. Philosophy asks whether freedom lies in choosing our reactions, or in understanding the forces that formed them.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 07  Metaphysics 4  (Metaphysical Determinism) – Part 1: Introduction – What’s the first thing you remember?

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Determinism invites us to notice that our lives begin long before we become aware of ourselves as choosers. By the time memory appears, patterns are already in place shaping how we think, feel, and respond. Philosophy asks whether freedom means acting without causes, or whether it means understanding the forces that formed us. Sometimes the most unsettling question isn’t whether we are free, but how much of who we are was decided before we ever noticed we were deciding.

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