More Subjects
Student Name:
PHI 1010: Introduction to Philosophy
Date: DATE \@ "yyyy-MM-dd" 2019-09-26
Why Thomas Aquinas is wrong
Saint Thomas Aquinas’s book “Summa Theologica” is the representation of his beliefs in the presence and existence of God. In his book, he presented four cosmological and one theological argument to prove the existence of God. The scope of this paper will cover the points presented in the book and then provide counter-arguments to those "5 ways" presented by Thomas Aquinas in general through philosophical and scientific reasoning.
Aquinas lived in a very unscientific time but the arguments he presented represents his understanding of physical evidence and science. In his first argument, he stated that everything in the universe is in the state of the motion and motion can only be caused by a mover that means something must have caused a motion in the first place. It is not possible for a thing to be both mover and moved at the same time, a motion must have a mover and there can’t be an infinite regress of movers. There has to be someone who started all the motion, the first mover is what everyone understands and call God ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"m8STMcgt","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Aquinas)","plainCitation":"(Aquinas)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":166,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/GUTSF7NN"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/GUTSF7NN"],"itemData":{"id":166,"type":"article-journal","title":"Summa theologica, vol. 1","container-title":"Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province). London: Burns & Oates","author":[{"family":"Aquinas","given":"Thomas"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1947"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Aquinas). His second argument is the argument of causation which also goes along his first arguments that for everything there must be a first causer who started this since nothing is caused by itself. His point is simple, that all effects have causes and if there isn't any cause there shouldn't be any effect of it ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"8ymRgM7k","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Aquinas & the Cosmological Arguments: Crash Course Philosophy #10 - YouTube})","plainCitation":"(Aquinas & the Cosmological Arguments: Crash Course Philosophy #10 - YouTube)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":167,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/KM9USL6B"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/KM9USL6B"],"itemData":{"id":167,"type":"webpage","title":"Aquinas & the Cosmological Arguments: Crash Course Philosophy #10 - YouTube","URL":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgisehuGOyY","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",9,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Aquinas & the Cosmological Arguments: Crash Course Philosophy #10 - YouTube). Most of Aquinas work is explained through infinite regression. The third argument is the argument of contingency, which also explains that for everything to exist there must also be something to create it because if it was not the case then there was also a possibility that nothing could have existed ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"0Yd9mXtq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Aquinas)","plainCitation":"(Aquinas)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":166,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/GUTSF7NN"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/GUTSF7NN"],"itemData":{"id":166,"type":"article-journal","title":"Summa theologica, vol. 1","container-title":"Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province). London: Burns & Oates","author":[{"family":"Aquinas","given":"Thomas"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1947"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Aquinas). His fourth point is based on the argument of degrees, for him, there must be something perfect against which everything is measured and that perfect one is God. His fifth point is theological and is related to the governance of the world. He states that all natural bodies act for an end but since anything without intelligence cannot act on its own that means there must be something or someone to guide them and that someone or something is God ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"9T5UKhaZ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Aquinas)","plainCitation":"(Aquinas)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":166,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/GUTSF7NN"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jpfyfVgo/items/GUTSF7NN"],"itemData":{"id":166,"type":"article-journal","title":"Summa theologica, vol. 1","container-title":"Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province). London: Burns & Oates","author":[{"family":"Aquinas","given":"Thomas"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1947"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Aquinas).
One can easily find flaws in his arguments, if a little consideration is made. These five arguments can be viewed in two ways i.e. philosophical consideration and scientific evaluation. The problem according to me lies in the points of itself. All the points presented are dependent on possibilities and not certainties and a possibility can go both ways. Aquinas’s arguments don’t points out towards the existence of any particular God. It can be anything a rock, an egg or anything else. Apart from that it also doesn’t point out towards the numbers of it. How can Thomas be certain that everything is caused by only thing? It can be two or three or any other number. One thing that Thomas said in his first two points is the starting point of all motions and causes. Aquinas’s starting fact is that, there is always a starting point. His arguments don't represent any assurances that effects and motions must always has a cause and mover. If this is true then how this law doesn't apply on God and why is he free from it. And if He isn't free from a certain exception then for His existence there should be a cause and a mover. What is the criteria that makes God immune to regression and time? If infinite regression is indeed possible then that means that Aquinas first two points are completely invalid. Then there are also the factors of emotions and love that comes into consideration when describing a God. Though in Aquinas point of view he discussed the existence of a God with his own understandings and knowledge. Yet how can that help us in believing that it is the same God who responds to our prayers, love, and emotions. Aquinas’s points only take us to unmoved movers and uncaused causers. Aquinas arguments also don’t rule out polytheism, so a case can be presented that there can be multiple someone’s who can be termed as Gods.
Let suppose that Aquinas points are correct and there is some outside source that doesn’t prove that God is the perfect and intelligent being. Then there is also the scientific point of view of looking at it from Big Bang theory and Darwinism. Which rejected his theory of regression and proved his points wrong by stating that life started from nothing. Though the response or issues that can be raised about my arguments is also that same that these are also based on hypothesis and assumptions and no historical or scientifically valid arguments are present to support it. Both Aquinas and my arguments are based on possibilities that can go in both directions. It can be wrong or right, depending upon the way one believes and look at them.
Conclusion
Aquinas five ways don't justify his views properly. There doesn't necessarily have to be a mover to move things and someone to cause an effect. His points don't justify one particular God, nor the God that theologians believe to cherish their needs or listen to their prayers and emotions. Scientifically it can be disregarded through Darwinism and Big Bang as well. In the end, it all depends on the individual nature of the interpreter and believer that how he sees these points and believe in them.
Work Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Aquinas & the Cosmological Arguments: Crash Course Philosophy #10 - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgisehuGOyY. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.
Aquinas, Thomas. “Summa Theologica, Vol. 1.” Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province). London: Burns & Oates, 1947.
More Subjects
Join our mailing list
© All Rights Reserved 2024