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The Seven Ways

Udayana argues that there are "Seven Ways", or proofs, that not only does a god exist but an "all- knowing, imperishable God" exist. The first of these "Ways" is fairly straight forward. He argues that the earth must have a cause, or creator, because it is an effect. He also compares existence to a pot; the pot had to come from somewhere and was created with a purpose. All of his subsequent arguments relate back to this first one, which justifies existence by saying that it had to come from somewhere or else it simply wouldn't be. For example, his second arguments states that atoms act the way they do because someone must have caused it and they simply wouldn't behave this way on their own, "Such a combination is always consequent on the activity of a conscious agent."

I myself don't believe that Udayana's "Seven Ways" justify the existence of an "all-knowing, imperishable God" because they all seem to boil down to the belief that nothing can come from nothing. This passage reminds me of an argument I've heard before that says that God must exist because the sun rises everyday. It also reminds me of the belief that if God didn't exist than there would be nothing stopping people from doing as they please. It seems to me that these "Seven Ways" fail to account for not just people's autonomy but the Universe's as well.

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