A Critical Review: Examining Aquinas's Proofs for the Existence of God

This essay delves into St. Thomas Aquinas's arguments for the existence of God, focusing on two of the five ways presented in his *Summa Theologica*. The author examines the argument of possibility and necessity, critiquing its premise that everything in nature will eventually cease to exist, leading to a time when nothing existed, thus requiring a non-physical being (God) to bring beings into existence. The essay then discusses the fourth way, the gradation found in natural beings, arguing that the existence of varying degrees of perfection implies a being of uttermost perfection, identified as God. The author concludes by reflecting on the impact of Aquinas's work on Western thought and how different perspectives, such as those of atheists, might interpret these arguments.

1Running head: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
The Existence of God
Name of Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

2Running head: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Theology is most commonly defined as the study of God and relevant religious belief
(McGrath). The Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas has been separated into three
parts, and each of these parts contain many subdivisions (Aquinas). St. Thomas Aquinas was
a renowned philosopher and prestigiously crowned by the Catholic Church as a saint and an
excellent teacher to those trying to study priesthood (Davies). The works of Aristotle and
many other well-known philosophers heavily influenced his theological work. For the
purpose of this essay, the concentration will be on the first part of the book that is dealing
with the existence and the subsequent nature of God (Aquinas and Sullivan). In the book,
Aquinas elaborates on the five ways that can prove the existence of God and for this essay, I
will only be focusing on only two of the ways – one that I am going to agree with and another
that I do not completely agree with.
In the book, the third way to prove the existence of God is the argument of possibility
and necessity (Aquinas and Sullivan). It is said every being in nature will either exist or not
exist, because we see them appearing and then going extinct. Therefore, according to the
theory given in the book, it is possible for something to not exist so then there would have
been a time where nothing exists. This is because according to the theory, when nothing
existed there had to have been a non-physical being to bring them into existence – and that is
who we call God. The problem herein lies in the premises that it can be logically proved
otherwise. Since this proof considers that God’s existence has been there forever, this
argument can be refuted if considered the first two arguments. According to the first two
proofs given by Aquinas, there cannot exist an infinite series as nothing exists before itself,
so there had to have been something before God, when I look at it logically. Richard Dawkins
points out in his book; omnipotence is mutually incompatible omniscience so with that theory
then God will not be able to be all-powerful and also all knowing (Dawkins). This in turn
means that God knows how he will intervene at a point in history to put beings in existence,

3Running head: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
but that also means he would not have been able to change anything about the moment he
intervenes and that shows us that, logically, he cannot also be omnipotent.
The fourth way that Aquinas talks about in the book is about the gradual gradation
that is found in all natural beings and things. In this way, something that is said to be hot can
exist because there exists something that is hottest and in the same manner, there are beings
which is “truest, something best, something noblest and, consequently something which is
uttermost being” (Aquinas and Sullivan). In this way, we take fire as having the maximum
heat and is in turn, the sole cause of all things that is hot. Therefore, the cause of all things
good must be the truest being responsible for being the most good. This is because that
something only exists in a limited scale of degree, where the being’s maximum and minimum
are the two ends on the spectrum. Perfections exists in unlimited quantities and these perfect
beings have their source from something that is truly perfect in nature. This tells me that there
are beings in existence which have zero degree of goodness and another that intrinsically is
goodness in the purest form – and this is being who is absolutely perfect is known as God.
The Summa Theologica still remains as one of the most well argued and is able to
retain a great level of respect in Catholic and Christian religions in present time. This book
contains numerous amount of sections and many sub-sections that make it one of the most
detailed arguments that had been published in Western history. Aquinas had a reasonable
impact on the Western way of thought, and this book has developed into many modern
philosophy works that are being written today. If an Atheist read the book, he/she would view
the arguments presented differently, as I have analysed my first argument. However, for
someone seeking more knowledge into religion and the existence of God can find valid
justifications like my second argument to consolidate their belief.

4Running head: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
References:
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa theologica. Authentic Media Inc, 2012.
Davies, Brian. "Thomas Aquinas: A Historical and Philosophical Profile by Pasquale
Porro." The Catholic Historical Review 103.3 (2017): 575-576.
Dawkins, Richard. The god delusion. Random House, 2016.
McGrath, Alister E. Christian theology: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.