Argument from the Hartle-Hawking Model

by Francois Tremblay

The cosmology behind it may be disproven in the future, but the Hartle-Hawking model is supported by a plethora of observations, including :

• the COBE satellite observations of the density fluctuations in the background radiation
• the observed large-scale homogeneity and isotropy of the universe
• the evidence for an early inflationary era (Big Bang theory)
• the evidence that the critical density is near to one (although this is still under debate, and may not be settled for a long while, with current estimations being that it is somewhere between 0.1 and 2)

For more background on how the Hartle-Hawking model applies to atheism, see for instance Quentin Smith’s site.

(1) The Hartle-Hawking wave function model of the universe demonstrates that there is a near-1 unconditional probability that the universe comes to exist in its current form.
(2) If a god exists, then it created the universe by infinitely powerful divine will.
(3) If divine creation is true, the unconditional probability of the universe coming to exist in its current form is 1. (from 2)
(4) Therefore gods cannot exist. (from 1 and 3)

An objection can be raised against (3), by saying that God willed the near-1 unconditional probability to obtain. But in such a case, God is not the creator of the universe, only of the possiblity of the universe coming to exist in its current form, and falls to Occam’s Razor. Therefore this is an insufficient objection.

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