1A- Cosmological Flashcards
(4 cards)
Who was Aquinas
Aquinas= 13th century catholic monk- summa theologica- theologised Aristotle’s ideas- as a xtian monk wanted to show faith and reason can work alongside each other
Influenced by Aristotle- the Greeks pointed towards a prime mover
Explain his 1st way of motion and change
Aquinas believed the GOCT was the first mover to set everything into motion
Aquinas rejected the idea of an infinite regress- so there must be a first changer
Influenced by Aristotle’s term of ‘unmoved mover’ where believed a 3rd party moves things from a states of potentiality (can be changed) to actuality
Aquinas gives the example of a piece of wood that can start cold but can be made hot by another object touching it
Aristotle gave example of block of marble having potential to become a statue but only when acted upon by the sculptor
‘It is necessary to arrive at a first mover’
Explain his second way of Cause and effect
Aquinas argued its a universal law that every effect in the universe has a cause, so must be a first causer- first efficient cause
For example of a line of dominoes there needs to be a first efficient cause for others to fall
Aristotle called uncaused causer- he suggested 4 causes- material, formal, efficient, final (cosmological is efficient and teleological is final)
Aquinas believed this chain of events cannot have infinite regress as ‘nothing comes from nothing’
Explain his 3rd way of contingency and necessity
Everything is contingent- comes and goes, is finite and dependant
As ‘nothing comes from nothing’ there had to be a necessary being who was the source of all contingent beings
