A summary of the Cosmological argument according to Thomas Aquinas and Copleston.

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Tom Smolen

A summary of the Cosmological argument according to Thomas Aquinas and Copleston.

The Cosmological argument is basically an argument that begins with the existence of the Universe and tries to prove God’s existence. Cosmos means the Universe. In order to argue the Cosmological argument one must already believe that the Universe is there for a reason and be willing to ask: ”Why is there a Universe?” The first step in the argument is the premise- there is a Universe. We know there is a Universe because we are constantly experiencing it.

St Thomas Aquinas put forward five proofs for the existence of God and the first 3 are Cosmological arguments. The first argument is that everything in the Universe is moved by something else. Unless we can go back in time forever, with things being constantly moved by something else, there must be a point where movement started. Aquinas says there must be a Prime mover that began movement in the Universe, when there was nothing, and this is God. The second way is very similar, but argues that every event is caused by an event before it. At some point there was a first cause that triggered more events, which began the chain of causes that brings us to the present day. These to arguments are both similar to Aristotle’s ideas about cause and purpose in relation to God. He too said that there must be a Prime, or Unmoved Mover.

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The Third argument however, is the argument that was refined by Copleston and often monopolies the phrase “Cosmological argument”. It is an argument based on the contingency of the Universe. Everything around us is contingent, or dependant upon something else for is reason for existence. For example, a child’s cause is the meeting and the actions of their parents. That is not to say however, that one factor in the cause of an event is a sufficient reason, it is only a partial reason. A reason for the existence of anything is a combination of all the causes of ...

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