Thomas Aquinas: The Five Ways

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Thomas Aquinas The Five Ways
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Argument from Change

• Potential Actual requires something
  to cause the state change.

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Argument from Causation

• There cannot be an infinite number of causes.

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Argument from Contingency

• If something is a contingent thing, then it is
  capable of being and not being.
• If it is capable of not being then it must have
  not been at some time.
• Thus, there must be a necessary thing, since
  without such a being there could be no universe.

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Argument from Degrees of Excellence

• There must be a source of excellence such that
  excellences themselves do not end in an infinite
  regress.
• Example "Fire which is hot in the highest degree
  must be the source of all things hot."

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Argument from Harmony

• All things in nature appear to work toward a goal
  or purpose, even when they have no knowledge of
  that purpose. This indicates a divine mind
  directing all things to their goal.

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William Lane Craig The Kalam Cosmological
Argument and the Anthropic Principle

• 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause
• 2. The universe began to exist
• 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause

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Whatever begins to exist has a cause

• Intuitively obvious proposition
• creatio ex nihilo
• Is the idea that God exists timelessly before
  creation and in time subsequent to creation
  sensible?

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The Universe Began to Exist

• Confirmation from the Big Bang Principle

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Philosophical Argument against actually infinite
things.

• Actually infinite number of things is impossible
  since it lead to the sort of contradictions found
  in the hotel example.
• Actual infinite through addition --gt classes that
  are infinite are given all at once.

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The Universe Has a Cause of Its Existence

• Philosophic Argument - cosmic cause cannot have a
  prior cause.
• If the cause is eternal wouldn't the effect be
  eternal as well?
• 'Agent causation' accounts for the beginning of
  the universe and also implies a chooser.

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Anthropic Principle
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Question1 Human beings genome may be rare, but
is intelligent life in the universe statistically
rare? Drake's Equation (50,000 planets with life
on them x 10 that are willing to make
contact5,000)
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Question2 Why "He" pp.71-72