What are the Five Ways?

St. Thomas Aquinas outlined five ways to prove the existence of God. He claims that these “ways” prove that a
God must exist for the universe and nature to have come into being.

Prima Via: The Argument of the Unmoved Mover

According to the first way, we can see that at least some things in the world are constantly changing. Whatever
is changing must be changed, or moved, by something else. Whatever is changing it is itself changed, so it too
is being changed by something else. This chain of changers or movers cannot be infinitely long, so there must
be primary changer that causes change without itself changing. This, according to Aquinas, must be what we
understand to be God. Since a potential doesn’t exist yet, it can’t cause itself to exist and so can only be
brought into existence by an outside mover, whom already exists. According to Aquinas, "[t]he mover and the
thing moved must exist simultaneously".

Secunda Via: The Argument of the First Cause

The second way states that, though we can see that things are caused, it is not possible for something to be the
cause of itself because this would mean that it existed prior to its own existence, which is a contradiction. If
something is caused, then the cause must also have a cause. This cannot be an infinitely long chain, so there
must be a cause which is not itself caused by anything further; a first cause. This is what we understand to be
God, according to Aquinas’s theory. The causes need not be sequential events. Aquinas argues that the first
cause is first in a hierarchy, rather than sequentially. The first cause, or God, is a principal cause, rather than a
derivative cause

Tertia Via: The Argument from Contingency

The third way says that we see things that are possible to be and possible not to be, or perishable things.
However, it everything were contingent and, and so, capable of going out of existence, then, given infinite
time, this possibility would be realized, and everything would cease to exist by now. But since things clearly
do exist right now, there must be something that is imperishable. According to Aquinas, this necessary being is
what we understand to be God.

Quarta Via: The Argument from Degree

According to the fourth way, things in our world vary in degrees of goodness, truth, nobility, etc. There are
sick animals and healthy animals. There are well-drawn triangles and poorly drawn ones. Judging something as
being "more" or "less" implies some standard against which it is being judged, so there must be something
which is goodness itself, and this is what we understand to be God, according to Aquinas.

Quinta Via: Argument from Final Cause or Ends

Aquinas’ fifth way states that there are various non-intelligent objects in the world which behave in regular
ways. This can’t be due to chance since, if it were due to chance they would not behave so predictable. Their
behavior must be set, but it can’t be set by themselves since they are non-intelligent and do not know how to
set their own behavior. This behavior must be set by something else, and that thing must be intelligent.
Aquinas believes that this is what we understand to be God.