The Thomistic Institute Aquinas’s ‘First Way’ Argument: In What Way Does it Prove God’s Existence? | Prof. Gregory Doolan
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Mar 24, 2023 AI Snips
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Philosophy As Handmaiden Explains Aquinas's Method
- Aquinas treats philosophy as handmaiden to theology, using natural reason to prove a divine being without presupposing faith.
- He argues we can know the name God by effects (causes of things) even if we cannot directly know God's essence.
Dark Matter Analogy For Knowing By Effects
- Doolan uses 'dark matter' as an analogy: scientists name an unknown to search for something matching its effects.
- Likewise Aquinas says we can use the name God to mean a cause inferred from observed effects even if God's essence is unknown.
Aquinas's Five Ways Are Effects to Causes Arguments
- All five of Aquinas's ways reason from effects back to causes; if an effect exists, its cause must exist because effects depend on causes.
- The goal is to demonstrate a first uncaused cause as a minimal criterion for 'God'.