Explain the cosmological argument including how Aquinas five ways theory attributed to it
Explain the cosmological argument including how Aquinas five ways theory attributed to it
St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) was a Dominican priest, theologian, and philosopher.
The cosmological argument is a classical argument for the existence of God. It is also known as the first cause
argument. Unlike the ontological argument, it derives the
conclusion that God exists from a posteriori premise. The
argument is a posteriori because it is based on what can be seen
in the world and the universe.
The cosmological argument is based on the belief that there
is a first cause behind the existence of the universe (cosmos).
In its simplest form, the basic cosmological argument is based
on contingency and states that:
• things come into existence because something has caused
them to happen
• things are caused to exist, but they do not have to exist
• there is a chain of causes that goes back to the beginning
of time
• time began with the creation of the universe
• the universe came into existence about 15 billion years
ago
• there must have been a first cause, which brought the
universe into existence
• this first cause must have necessary existence to cause the
contingent universe
• God has necessary existence
• therefore God is first cause of the contingent universe's
existence