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Precis: Aquinas subsequently revisited the various arguments of the Five Ways in much greater detail. The simple list in the Summa theologica is not written to be clear (to a 21st-century reader) and complete, and should be considered a sketch or summary of the idea, suitable for presentation in a lecture or a quick browse.
The argument from degrees, also known as the degrees of perfection argument or the henological argument, [1] is an argument for the existence of God first proposed by mediaeval Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas as one of the five ways to philosophically argue in favour of God's existence in his Summa Theologica.
The Summa includes five arguments for the existence of God, which are known as the "five ways" (Latin: quinque viae). [11] The five ways occupy only one of the Summa 's 3,125 articles. Reception
Thomas believed that the existence of God can be demonstrated. Briefly in the Summa Theologiae and more extensively in the Summa contra Gentiles, he considered in great detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways). Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion.
The argument from degrees, also known as the degrees of perfection argument or the henological argument, [104] is an argument for the existence of God first proposed by mediaeval Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas as one of the five ways to philosophically argue in favour of God's existence in his Summa Theologica.
Thomas Aquinas holds that the existence of God can be demonstrated by reason, [38] a view that is taught by the Catholic Church. [39] The quinque viae (Latin: five ways) found in the Summa Theologica (I, Q.2, art.3) are five possible ways of demonstrating the existence of God, [40] which today are categorized as: 1.
The second part, containing four essays, examines Aquinas' philosophy about metaphysics and the existence of God, including his Five Ways. [5] The third part consists of five essays on his thoughts, including those about the simplicity, omnibenevolence, impassibility, immutability, eternity and omnipotence of God. [6]
Importantly, Aquinas's Five Ways, given the second question of his Summa Theologica, are not the entirety of Aquinas's demonstration that the Christian God exists. The Five Ways form only the beginning of Aquinas's Treatise on the Divine Nature.