“Aquinas’ Cosmological argument proves that there is a God”. Discuss. Aquinas’ Cosmological argument, also known as the First Cause argument, is based entirely on sensory experience. In the argument, Aquinas states that things do not have to exist, but they do because something brought them into existence. He also says there are a chain of causes and effects leading back to the beginning of the Universe.
Examine the strengths of the cosmological argument for the existence of God (21) The cosmological argument is an argument in which its main point is that there must have been a first cause for the world to exist, God. The classic version of the cosmological argument originates from Thomas Aquinas’ summa theologica in which he proposed five ways to argue for the existence of God, the first three of these help form the cosmological argument. Aquinas’ first way is an argument taken from Aristotle that argues that everything that is moving or changing is moved or changed by something outside of itself. The instigator of the motion or change in a thing is also changing or in motion, this process cannot be of infinite length. Therefore, there must have existed a first mover independent of anything else, this being God – the prime mover.
This thing starting the motion or change could be equated to God when comparing the domino analogy to Aquinas’ argument. Aquinas’ second way of arguing for the existence of God is causation. He argues that everything must be caused by something as nothing can cause itself (this would mean that it existed before it began, which is impossible). This must therefore mean that there is a first cause, a force that was the initial cause, not depending on anything else to come into existence, to be caused, implying that it caused itself. This means that there must be a
a) Explain Aquinas’ cosmological argument. (25) Thomas Aquinas, a catholic philosopher, wrote of 5 arguments for the existence of God in his book Summa Theologiae. These five arguments are heavily influenced by the writings of Aristotle and Plato. The first three of these arguments are cosmological, meaning that they are arguing Gods existence based on a study of the universe. Aquinas’ first and second way are arguments for a first uncaused causer and unmoved mover.
The word “cosmos” means the universe is ordered and harmonious. Therefore the cosmological arguments argues for the existence of God a posteriori based on order in the universe. The cosmological argument claims that from looking at the fact the universe exists, you can work out the cause of it. The argument was derived but Aquinas who was understanding that we need evidence in establishing the reasonableness of belief in the existence of God. He presents the cosmological argument in the first three ways of his five ways: the argument from motion, cause and contingency.
Aquinas’ version was arguing from design qua regularity. He believed the world has to be designed because of the overall order of the universe that couldn’t have come about by itself or by chance, so therefore an intelligent being must have set in place, and the being must be God. In contrast, Paley believes someone designed the world because everything
i) The teleological argument comes from the Greek word ‘telos’, which means end or purpose. The teleological argument argues that the existence and the complexity of the universe including the order, beauty and purpose of the world cannot be an accident. Therefore, an intelligent and purposeful God must have designed the universe; therefore, this proves Gods existence. There are two forms of the design argument; the first is the analogical argument, which includes the parts of the universe and human design. The second is the inductive argument.
Analyzing Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Cosmological Argument Saint Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican Friar who lived from 1225 to 1274 AD. His Cosmological Argument for the existence of God remains to this day, one of the most well-known arguments of its kind. Aquinas’s argument is known as a Posteriori argument, which means that it is based on knowledge after an experience. The Cosmological Argument states that: 1) An empirical fact exists 2) Something cannot be the cause of itself 3) There cannot be an infinite regress of causes 4) Thus, God exists This argument has three premises (statements that the conclusion is based on), and one conclusion. Premise one, is that an empirical fact (a source of knowledge acquired by observation) exists, this premise proves itself true, in that almost all knowledge is acquired through observation.
Obviously, our reason cannot of itself provide us with complete knowledge of God, if it could we would ourselves would be God. Nevertheless, through our reason we are able to gain some certain knowledge of God. Thomas Aquinas theorized five different logical arguments to prove the existence of God utilizing scientific hypotheses and basic assumptions of nature called "The Five Ways". The First Way is Motion. Our senses prove that some things are in motion.
Cosmological Argument The cosmological argument is less a particular argument than an argument type. It uses a general pattern of argumentation (logos) that makes an inference from certain alleged facts about the world (cosmos) to the existence of a unique being, generally identified with or referred to as God. Among these initial facts are that certain beings or events in the world are causally dependent or contingent, that the universe (as the totality of contingent things) is contingent in that it could have been other than it is, that the Big Conjunctive Contingent Fact possibly has an explanation, or that the universe came into being. From these facts philosophers infer deductively, inductively, or abductively by inference to the best