by Catholic Editor, Faith Addington
In honor of St. Thomas Aquinas week, what better way to prepare for the commemoration of our beloved namesake than by learning one of his most monumental contributions to Christian theology: Aquinas’ five proofs for the existence of God.
The first argument is “The Argument from Motion.” In this first proof, Aquinas argues that everything in the world is in a state of motion/change, whether it be displacement, growth, or any form of change, and for anything to change, there must be a cause of that change. A candlestick does not simply fall off the table without something causing it to fall. Because this chain of motion cannot regress infinitely, Aquinas states that there must be an Unmoved Mover; in other words, a being that is the cause of all change without being subject to change itself: identified as God.
The second argument is “The Argument from Efficient Causes.” Similarly to The Argument from Motion, Aquinas asserted that everything has a cause. Because there cannot be an infinite regress of causes, there must be a First Cause: identified as God.
The third argument is “The Argument from Contingency.” Aquinas begins this argument by differentiating contingent beings (beings whose existence is not necessary) and necessary beings; everything observed in this world is a contingent being. Because contingent beings have the possibility of non-existence and currently exist, there must be something whose existence is necessary to provide the foundation for their existence: this contingent being identified as God.
The fourth argument is “The Argument from Degree.” In this argument, Aquinas contends that everything in the world lies on a spectrum of qualities, e.g. goodness, truth, beauty. For each of these qualities to exist in a degree, there must exist an ultimate standard of perfection in which all of these qualities exist to the fullest/most perfect degree. This Perfect Being is identified as God.
Aquinas’ fifth and final argument for the existence of God is “The Argument from Design.” Aquinas notes the detail in which the world was created – functionality of the world, complexity of organisms, etc. – and argues that this order could not have been created by chance, rather by an Intelligent Creator. Using an example of a watch, Aquinas states that a watch implies the existence of a watchmaker due to its complexity and arrangement of parts. The pieces of a watch did not simply fall into place on coincidence, rather, were placed purposefully in each part of the watch. This Intelligent Creator of the world is identified as God.
Aquinas’ theories of the Unmoved Mover, the First Cause, a contingent being, the Perfect Being and the Intelligent Creator strike at the truth of the existence of God.
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The Saint 