Aquinas' Cosmological Arguments 0.0 / 5 ? PhilosophyIdeas of godsASAQA Created by: jaaaz_vCreated on: 21-01-16 10:12 Aquinas' Cosmological Argument : CAUSATION The is an order of efficient cause (every event has a cause). Nothing can be the cause of itself. Imagine this order of causation goes back infinetely -> then there would be no first cause. (This is a reductio ad absurdum) Without a first cause there would be no subsequent causes, but this is false. Therefore there must be a cause which is the source of all causes, and this we call God. 1 of 3 Aquinas' Cosmological Argument : MOTION Things in the world change -> they're in motion. Nothing can move or change itself. Imagine everything was a secondary mover -> in other words that it was being moved by something else. If this is true then there would be no prime mover (unmoved mover), and hense nothing would be in motion. But this is false (reductio ad absurdum). Therefore there must be an unmoved prime mover, whom we call God. 2 of 3 Aquinas' Cosmological Argument : CONTINGENCY Things in the world are contingent. Imagine everything was contingent, then there would be a time when everything had passed out of existance -> that there was nothing. (Reductio ad absurdum). If this were correct then there would be nothing now, but this is false. Therefore there must be at least one thing that is necessary (not contingent) For everything that is necessary it either has the cause of its necessity in itself or outside itself. Imagine every necessary thing has that cause of its necessity outside of itself. (Reductio ad absurdum) If this were true than there would be no ultimate cause of necessity. Therefore there must exist a necessary being which causes and sustains all other necessary and contingent beings -> this thing we call God. 3 of 3
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