Essay on Aquinas Fifth Way Of Proving - 1134 Words

Aquinas Fifth Way of proving the existence of God Question:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Briefly summarize Aquinas’ Fifth Way of proving the existence of God. What counter-argument does Hume cite in answer to this argument from Design? What is John Hick’s answer to Hume’s argument from Evil? Is he right? 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 â€Å"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.†¦show more content†¦Further, even if we do experience great ecstasy and pleasure, it is often a fleeting moment until out muscles relax or until our hunger is nourished or the like. Even the greatest men in history with unbelievable riches and power have small amounts of happiness compared to the pain it took to achieve such riches and power, Hume explains. A modern day example of such a man might be President William J. Clinton. President Clinton is arguably the most powerful man in the modern world with a large home, bank account, an extensive education, a closely knit family and countless friends and colleagues. On the other hand, to gain these things he has been the center of sexual scandal subject to embarrassing public scrutinies into his personal affairs. Further, he himself has inflicted much disappointment, pain and suffering on his loved ones. One would guess he is not a happy man. Hume summarizes that if God is omniscient than He knows everything and so He surely knows about the existence of human suffering and pain. Further, if God is omnipotent, then He has the power to end human misery and suffering. Lastly, if God is also benevolent, than how could He know about our pain, be able to stop it, and choose not to do so? How could He let young infants die in fires, allow menShow MoreRelatedThe Five Ways Of Proving God s Existence790 Words   |  4 PagesEdward Tajchman Intro to Philosophy 29 October 2014 Reflections on The Essay, The Five Ways of Proving God s Existence, by Thomas Aquinas Aquinas proposes that there are five ways of proving the existence of god. The first way is motion. Things in motion are not put in motion of their own accord, so they must have been put in motion by another force. This takes a thing from potentiality into the realm of actuality. Because this thing cannot be the mover and also the thing being moved, another forceRead More Thomas Aquinas Work to Prove the Existence of God Essays1013 Words   |  5 PagesBeing a devout Christian, Thomas Aquinas naturally believed in God, but he wanted to prove Gods existence to those who could not accept things on faith alone. As a result he made five proofs, which he claims, prove the existence of God. With each proof there is always a beginning, a starting point, Aquinas claims it must be God that is the beginning of each. The first proof does not do complete justice to Aquinas’s claim that God exist, while the fifth proof could be used alone to prove Gods existenceRead MoreThe Five Ways Of The Existence Of God1557 Words   |  7 PagesThis short paper will analyze â€Å"The Five Ways†, from Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). We cannot prove that God exists, merely by considering the word God, for that strategy work, we would have to presume to know God s essence. According to Aquinas, the existence of God can be proved. This paper will discuss what each of the five ways are that Thomas Aquinas introduced to show the existence of God. The Argument from Change: To begin with, one way to prove that God exists is to contemplateRead MoreBombardier Aerospace: An Overview1590 Words   |  6 Pageswith which people attempt to prove His existence varying in significant (and sometimes contrasting) ways. Although there have been myriad methods for proving Gods existence, a central dispute concerns whether or not to use a rational approach or a more Biblically-grounded approach. This paper examines three theories that are germane to the rational approach the Five Proofs issued by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, the central premise of St. Anselms Proslogion, and Augustines premise fromRead MoreAnselm And Aquinas On How God Exists1277 Words   |  6 Pageswhile reading Anselm and Aquinas’ views on how God exists, these important philosophers spent much of their time looking and searching for the idea that God actually exists. Therefore, of course there would be some mishaps along the way and people would try to argue against their idea of God’s existence. In this paper will be explained the proof of God and of course some objections against them that will make you wonder. With Anselm s ontological argument and Aquinas’ ways, we can use that to helpRead MoreThe Five Ways By St. Thomas Aquinas996 Words   |  4 PagesFor centuries The Five Ways, drawn from St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica have been studied, scrutinized, and at the epicenter of heated debate. When St. Thomas wrote this section of his ground breaking essay what he ultimately was claiming, was that through philosophy and observation, there is a way to see how the natural world points to there in fact being a God. Although to some it may seem absurd, modern day science based upon observation and experimentation, does not completely discreditRead MoreDoes God Exist1483 Words   |  6 Pagesincluding examples from life and the movies we watched in class. St. Thomas Aquinas had many arguments for the existence of God and one of those was the fifth way. In the argument of the fifth way Aquinas says â€Å"The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that they achieve theirRead More The Existence Of God Essay1399 Words   |  6 Pagesunderstanding the concept of what a God is, you are proving his existence. This is because if you understand who God is, you can also accept his existence, and therefore cannot conceive that he does not exist. Therefore making him that which nothing greater can be conceived of, and which cannot be conceived not to exist which we have already defined as God. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The second argument for a God comes from St. Tomas Aquinas, who argues for the cosmological point of view. TheRead MoreOntological Arguments for the Existence of God Essay1603 Words   |  7 PagesIn the fifth Meditation, Descartes presents his second argument for the existence of God. Descartes holds that existence is perfection and so, it can be a predicate for God. I will first explain what is the ontological argument for the existence of God. Next, I will discuss why Descartes decides to bring God into His method of philosophy. I will then try to argue that existence is a perfection and that as a predicate for God, existence reveal certain true about God. Ontological argument tries toRead MoreExplain the Teleological Arguments for the Existence of God Essay1268 Words   |  6 Pagesit is completely rational. Nevertheless, one may argue that if we are to believe in God, nothing is coincidental, but predestined by divinity; proving the teleological argument to be logical. Plato, Paley and Hume all forwarded arguments for design. Firstly, Plato said that mind orders all things; this is shown through the fifth of Aquinas’ five ways. An analogy was made between the universe and a man-made machine; Paley used this through his philosophy of the watch. He claimed that anyone finding