Aquinas Cosmological Argument Essay

St. Thomas Aquinas’s first cosmological argument, the prime mover, defines things in the world as being either in a state of potentiality or in a state of actuality. Those things that are in potentiality are things that have the capability of being reduced to another form. Such as a boy is potentially a man, or tree is potentially a house. Things that are in a state of actuality are things that are currently reaching their potential; such as that boy becoming a man, or that tree becoming that house. Aquinas observed that all things in a state of actuality had to have been put into that state by something that was already in actuality. In thinking about this he concluded that there would have to be an infinite regress of actual things making potential things actual. He concluded that this would be impossible because given that, there would be no first mover. He instead, postulated that there must be a first mover. A being that never had potential but only has existed in a state of infinite actuality. That what we call God.

After reading Article 1, Aquinas for Armchair Theologians by Timothy M. Renick most can automatically acquire that Thomas Aquinas was a very influential thinker amongst others when explaining his theological views. His religious views may have differed from others during his time, however, it did influence and encourage others on the different topics of God vs. Satan, and why God has not all the answers, and powers when making sure every human being should not face evil. Aquinas believed that Christians needed to view their basic beliefs in another way to make sense of their own faith when questioning all that God did for each individual. The real question to all this, which a lot of people even question today is “Why is their evil in the World?”

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God The cosmological argument seeks to prove the existence of God by looking at the universe. It is an A posteriori proof based on experience and the observation of the world not logic so the outcome is probable or possible not definite. The argument is in three forms; motion, causation and being. These are also the first three ways in the five ways presented by Aquinas through which he believed the existence of God could be shown.

In an attempt to justify the existence of God, Christian Philosopher, St Thomas Aquinas, has developed an argument which derived from his observation of the physical world. He evidently observed that everything in the universe is moving and that which is moving is certain that it must have been moved by something else which has also been moved by something else. However, he realizes that by tracing back who has caused the very first movement, he believes that there must

Comparing Aquinas and Descartes they both in a way have arguments for cause in proving the existence of God. Aquinas in that "nor indeed it is possible, that anything is the efficient cause of itself" (The Second Way, 2) and there needs to be a first cause that is the cause of all

Therefore the universe (cosmos) has a cause c) That cause is God d) Therefore God exists. For this to follow Aquinas has to exclude the possibility of infinite regression; i.e. events with their previous causes going back in time forever).

Aquinas argued the existence of God with five main points. Aquinas began by saying that nothing can be a cause of itself; rather every event was caused by some prior event. Therefore event A causes event B that leads to event C and so forth. He believed in this cause and effect relationship but believed that there must be a first cause as a starting point. When contemplating this starting point Aquinas rejected the possibility of an infinite series of events. This means that the universe has not existed forever and there must have been something from which every single event stems. There must be an uncaused first cause, which Aquinas concluded to be God. The first cause is called the unmoved mover. The unmoved mover is what set all other events and beings in motion.

The Cosmological Argument attempts to prove that God exists by showing that there cannot be an infinite number of regressions of causes to things that exist. It states that there must be a final uncaused-cause of all things. This uncaused-cause is asserted to be God. Arguments like this are thought up to recognize why we and the universe exist.

“When there is more than one aspect under which a given item can be known, there will be more than one science concerning it” (Aquinas 5). This pertains to the relationship between nature and grace and how it impacts the relationship between church and culture in that nature is the philosophical view and grace is theological. Thomas Aquinas had a cunning way of uniting the ideas until the Reformation and the Renaissance.

In the second quote, Anselm tells us that to understand, we have to have faith. We cannot find the truth by just studying, reading books, or thinking. We have to have faith. However, once we believe we were created by a higher power, we can see the world in a different light, and begin to understand God. Both quotes are important today.

In the "Proslogion," Anselm states that God is "something greater that which we can conceive of nothing." This very confusing statement, which is likely

There are many philosophers that had questioned Aquinas’s theory of making his conclusions too fast and the God he is talking about seems ambiguous. There are two problems with his proof that I will be discussing. One of his major problem with his proof is that he jumps to the conclusion to God way too fast. He concluded that everything that started it begin with God. It could have been the Big Bang Theory that happened, and that started the first cause. Which caused the planets, stars, and the universe to expand. As he mentions in his five ways, he ends up saying, God caused these things to happen, and God is the first omni-being started the first cause. Aquinas does not mention who this God is, and it can be anything or anyone. There is not enough substantial evidence who God can be, and he jumps to the conclusion too fast that God is the first cause of the beginning to happen.

Thomas Aquinas claims Christianity is a science with the use of the writings of Aristotle on scientific knowledge. Aquinas also makes the claim that theology, or the study God, is a science accepted through Revelation. Faith provides ammunition for Aquinas to state that believers of Christianity have the affirmation of God already inside of them. This claim considered that divine writings were inspired by God. Aquinas stated, "The principles of any science are either in themselves self-evident, are reducible to the knowledge of a higher science are the principles of sacred doctrine." Once these documents had God’s authority approved by faith, they became indemonstrable knowledge,

Thomas Aquinas believes theology is a science, consisting of raw material data of which consists of written scripture and the tradition of the Catholic Church. Aquinas believes that both faith and reason are both necessary for one to obtain true knowledge of God. Thomas blends Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine by suggesting that rational thinking and study of nature, are valid ways to understand truths pertaining to God,

Thomas Aquinas theorized five different logical arguments to prove the existence of God utilizing scientific hypotheses and basic assumptions of nature. In the fifth of his famous “Five Ways”, Aquinas sets forth the assumption that all natural bodies move toward an end. Since bodies are constantly moving in the best way possible to achieve that end, the path must be designed. God, of course, is the ultimate designer of the universe.