1A Cosmological Argument Flashcards
(36 cards)
Who put foreword the cosmological argument
St Thomas Aquinas
what book did aquinas write
summa theologica
who was aquinas’ book aimed at
theology students and believers
what are inductive arguments
an assertion that uses specific premises or observations to make a broader generalisation
what is an example of an inductive argument? why is it inductive?
‘I sneezed, therefore I have a cold’
it is reasonable to assume my sneeze is because of a cold; although there are many other possibilities that could have caused a sneeze.
what does a posteriori mean
arrive to conclusions after evaluating empirical data
what empirical data does the cosmological argument rely on
information from the cosmos and the pheonomena within it to come to its conclusions
what did aquinas believe it was necessary to find out
how Aristotelian and Christian thought could be comparable; as well faith and reason could work together, so that people didn’t have to depend on doctrine faith seeking understanding
out of revelation and reason what did aquinas believe was of higher merit and why
revelation was stronger because humans can make mistakes
what was aquinas’ first way called
the unmoved mover
how does aquinas define motion
‘The reduction of something from potentiality to actuality’.
what does aquinas beleive about things being in motion? give a quote
everything is in a state of motion
‘whatever is in motion is put in motion by another’
summarise aquinas’ first way
o The change in motion can only happen if something that possessed a state of actuality acted on that in a state of potentiality.
o If you trace the sequence back, there must be a starting point because it can’t infinitely regress
o The starting point must be outside the universe and must not have been moved by anything else.
o Aristotle called it the Prime Mover, but Aquinas called it that Unmoved Mover.
o ‘that which all men call God’
what analogy did aquinas use to show his first way
wood
a piece of cold wood in the state of potentiality can change motion from being cold to hot (on fire) if acted upon by something in the state of actuality
what was aquinas’ second way called
the uncaused causer
when referring to the chain of causes what kind of series does it follow, according to aquinas
hierarchical series, not a temporal series
what are the stages of causes
First/efficient cause.
Intermediate cause.
Ultimate cause.
what does aquinas’ second way focus more on compared to his first way?
cause and effect
concerns how things come into existence rather than how they change state and aquire different properties
what does aquinas say about things being the efficient cause of itself
‘There is no case known, neither is it indeed possible, in which the thing that is found to be the efficient cause of itself.’
sumarise aquinas’ second way
everything that exists has a cause, and that cause has its own cause
the cause of a child is its parents and the cause of the childs parents are their parents
the chain of causes cannot infinitely regress and there has to be an uncaused causer that caused everything
things cannot come into being ex nihlio
for aquinas the efficient cause of the universe is God
what analogy does aquinas use for his second way
dominos
dominos do not fall unless the first one is pushed, causing a chain reaction of the rest falling
what was aquinas; third way called
contingency and necessity
what does contingency mean
Contingency means to be dependent on something else.
what does necessity mean
something that is everlasting, permanent, or non-transitory
