Aquinas's Three Ways Flashcards
What does Aquinas claim about the idea of infinite regress?
He states that it is a logical impossibility and an absurd objection to use against an argument.
The idea of uncaused causes is simply impossible and he uses his three ways to attempt to overcome this.
What is Aquinas’s First Way?
Motion
Everything is moved by movers within our world so there must be an original mover who began this chain of movement. Nothing could have moved this one into motion to begin with and the only being that fits this prerequisite is God.
What is the problem with how Aquinas argues against an infinite series?
No evidence or sound logic is provided as to why an infinite series is a logical impossibility. Aquinas simply disregards the proposal as ridiculous which isn’t a strong way of deconstructing an objection to an argument.
Why does Aquinas create the three ways?
He wanted to create a cosmological argument without the flaws of previous formulations such as Kallam’s. A little more empirical data is provided to bolster his points but there still exists issues with his ideas.
What is Aquinas’s Third Way?
Contingency
A contingent being could’ve potentially not existed. It’s therefore impossible for an entire universe full of contingent beings to exist because they must have been originally created by a necessary being who’s not reliant on anything else. God is the only necessary being that can exist so must be the cause of the universe’s existence.
What is an issue with the Third Way?
If everyone else is subject to being contingent, why is God suddenly exempt from this condition?
Nothing tangibly separates his existence from anyone else’s which means Aquinas is making a false assertion about the existence of different beings and he isn’t maintaining logical consistency.
What is Aquinas’s Second Way?
Causation
Similar to Kallam’s claim, he argues that everything was originally caused by something and nothing can cause itself. The theory of infinite regress is absurd and only God could’ve started this original chain of causes so he must be the universe’s creator.
