Cosmological Argument and St Thomas Aquinas

The word cosmological comes from the greek word cosmos, which means universe.

A priori = derived by logic, without observed facts

A posteriori = derived from observed facts

What is the Cosmological argument?

• another argument for the existance of God
• a posteriori argument. (which means it uses observed facts, eg the world around us)

The evidence this argument uses is the simple fact that the universe exists.

The argument in a nutshell.

The argument is based on the claim that everything existing in the universe exists because it was caused to exist by something, and that something was caused to exist by something else, and so on.

BUT, there has to have been something to start all of this off. Something that wasn't caused or created by something else. namely GOD.

St Thomas Aquinas

• He started studying religion when he was 5.
• He was taught by benedictine monks.
• He studies Logic and natural science at the university of Naples.
• In 1242 he became a monk, continuing in his religion life and teaching across Europe, despit his family trying to tempt him away from the monastic order.
• He wrote the summa theologica.
• the summa theologica is most famous for its 5 argument for the existance of God, the 5 ways, 3 of which are to do with the cosmological argument.
• 

 1st Argument.

The argument from motion/change

• Things that move must be moved by something.
• Things cannot move themselves.
• Things are evidently in motion.
• There cannot be an infinite chain for movers. (infinite regression)
• There must be a first unmoved mover that causes motion in all things.
• That first unmoves mover is God.

Aquinas was greatly influenced by Aristotle for…