Working through my menu, I've had some good tastes of ancient philosophers. This month I've been dabbling in a little Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. I'll leave Augustine for a different time, although I did find the discussion of God and evil fascinating. I wanted a quick refresher of Aquinas' 5 Ontological proofs for God (that is proving God exists). So in quick succession:
1. MOTION - Everything in motion requires a mover that put it in motion. You can't have an infinite chain of movers or else nothing would be moving, therefore you require a primary mover. This initial mover is God.
2. EFFICIENT CAUSE - Everything that exists requires an efficient cause outside of itself. You cannot have an inifinite causes or else there would be no primary cause, intermediate effects or ultimate effect. Therefore there is a primary cause and it is God.
3. EXISTENCE - All things can both exist and not exist. Then at one time in the infinite of time nothing existed. But if this were the case nothing could ever exist again, b/c nothing cannot create something. Therefore there was something that always must exist and brought everything else into existence. This is God.
4. GRADATION - Every trait has a perfect from to which it can be compared, ex. hottest, truest, etc. This perfection is the cause of all the other lesser grades. The perfection of all that is good is God.
5. GOVERNANCE - All things that lack knowledge need to be directed to move to an end. Therefore some intelligent being exists that directed everything natural to its end. This intelligent being is God.
Now don't you feel a little smarter now? At least it got you to think.
HRP
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