Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Saint Thomas Aquinas on God's Existence - Papers Online

Saint Thomas Aquinas on God's Existence

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Since the beginning of time, man has been skeptical about the existence of God, causing many heated debates and philosophical discussions. Many philosophers have invested a great deal of time into proving the existence of God. Saint Thomas Aquinas is one such philosopher. During his lifetime, he succeeded in analyzing small pieces of information to ultimately develop a strong argument in support of God's existence.

In Aquinas mind, the question of proving the existence of God began with the question of how, and to what extent, humans can understand God at all. Before he undertook to prove the existence of God by reason, he found it crucial to demonstrate that ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

existence of God is the threat against the finite structure of being, against the unity of polar elements. This argument has also been called the argument from design.

According to Aquinas, the first and more manifest way to prove God's existence is the argument from motion. Because motion is certain, and evident to the human senses, we know that some things are in motion. According to Aquinas, "whatever is moved is moved by another, for nothing can be moved except it is potentiality to that towards which it is moved; whereas a thing moves inasmuch as it is in act. For motion is nothing else that the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality. But nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality, except by something in the state of actuality." Therefore, whatever is actually hot, such as fire, makes wood, which is potentially hot, to be actually hot, and hence moves and changes it. This proves that whatever is moved must be moved by another. This demonstrates ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login


CITE THIS PAGE:

Saint Thomas Aquinas on God's Existence. (2016, January 7). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas-on-Gods-Existence/105341
"Saint Thomas Aquinas on God's Existence." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas-on-Gods-Existence/105341>
"Saint Thomas Aquinas on God's Existence." Essayworld.com. January 7, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas-on-Gods-Existence/105341.
"Saint Thomas Aquinas on God's Existence." Essayworld.com. January 7, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas-on-Gods-Existence/105341.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 1/7/2016 05:43:15 AM
Category: Philosophy
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 563
Pages: 3

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» Gods Existence
» How Do We Know If God Exists
» Anselm's Ontological Argument A...
» Contemporary Thinkers: Plato, A...
» The First Cause
» Something Wicked This Way Come
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved