Citation :

Remigius Mmadubugwu Obiora, 2023. "An Exposition and Evaluation of Thomas Aquinas’ Five Proofs of the Exitence of God" ESP International Journal of Science, Humanities & Management Studies(ESP-IJSHMS)  Volume 1, Issue 3: 49-56.

Abstract :

With a critical gaze on the intricacies, orderliness, harmonious functioning of the celestial bodies, interplay of natural laws and purpose in the universe, one would begin to ponder on the fundamental question about the creator of the universe, does God truly exist? This profound contemplation led Thomas Aquinas to propound his Five Proofs of God’s existence, which are based on motion, cause, contingency, design and gradation. Aquinas argues that these five proofs portray God as the First Mover, the Uncaused Cause, the Necessary Being, the Supreme Being and the Designer of the universe, respectively. These proofs have continued to generate fundamental arguments in both philosophical and theological debates about the existence of God. This work exposes and evaluates Aquinas’ five proofs of the existence of God, highlights their soundness, persuasiveness, strengths and weaknesses and shades new light on their significances in contemporary philosophical and theological thoughts on the existence of God.

References :

[1] Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. (New York: Benziger Bros., 1947). I Question 2, Art. 3.

[2] Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. I, Q. 2, Art. 3.

[3] Craig, William Lane. The Kalām Cosmological Argument. (Oxford University Press, 2014).109-112

[4] Kretzmann, Norman, and Eleonore Stump. The Metaphysics of Creation. (Oxford University Press, 1999).54-57

[5] Descartes, René. Meditations on First Philosophy. Translated by John Cottingham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.45-56

[6] Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by Paul Guyer and Allen Wood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 595-602

[7] Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. ()Benziger Bros., 1947. I, Q. 2, Art. 3.

[8] Anselm of Canterbury. Proslogion. Translated by M. J. Charlesworth. (Clarendon Press, 1965). Ch. 2.

[9] Descartes, René. Meditations on First Philosophy. Translated by John Cottingham. (Cambridge University Press, 1986). Meditation 5.

[10] Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man, and the Origin of Evil. Translated by E. M. Huggard. (Open Court, 1985). 144-146.

Keywords :

Profound Contemplation, Harmonious Functioning, Universe, Existence, Fundamental Arguments.