THE CLASSICAL COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
contingent or necessary.
Thomas Aquinas
 The first argument: the argument from
motion
o Things are moving
o Bearing of fruits from trees – in
motion
o Student nurses are potentially
registered nurses when helped by
The fourth argument: The gradations to be
CIs/teachers
found in things
o Wood is potentially hot when burned
o Wood cannot be potentially hot when
already burned because it is already
hot
o Nothing can make something move
from potentiality to actuality by itself
(so naay dapat mag trigger)
o Where is the starting point???
o Ex. A domino would have to start
somewhere to cause the domino
effect, therefore it is necessary to
believe there is a mover or a starting
point
o The first mover who is unmoved is
God
 The second argument: the argument
from efficient causes
o Cause of us – our parents
o Cause of a table – carpenter
o Nothing is the efficient cause of itself
o Cannot create oneself
o Pero if dli real si God then wala ta kay
si God atong efficient cause
 The third argument: the argument
from contingency/possibility and
necessity
o Possible for us to exist: born
o Possible for us not to exist: if we die
or if wala nag torjak imo mama ug
papa ew
Elise
o Every being that exists is either
o Not every being can be contingent.
o Therefore, there exists a necessary
being on which the contingent beings
depend.
o A necessary being, on which all
contingent things depend, is what we
mean by “God”.
o “more or less”
o Degrees to things
o The reason why we can say one thing
is more or less than another is
because we have a reference point or
standard
o Something is “tall” because it
resembles something “taller”
o Something is “taller” because it
resembles something that is the
“tallest”
o We compare something to its
maximum
o God is “most being” because He is the
perfection we prefer to
 The fifth argument: The argument from
design
o Everything has a purpose
o Birds has wings particularly to serve
its purpose to fly
o Our bodies don’t have any knowledge
or intelligence but if we get a cut or
wound, our bodies will heal itself
because it is a natural response
o There is an intelligent being that exist
by whom all natural things are
ordered to their end; and this being
we call God
Elise
PHILO 25

FINAL EXAM

1. What is Aquinas’ third way or proof for God’s existence?

Aquinas’ third proof for God’s existence is the Argument from possibility and necessity. He
stated that there is a possibility for beings to exist and to cease to exist. The former one can be
seen when a baby is born, it signifies that there is new life and the baby is in existence and the
latter one, when the baby dies, or even if it’s parents never conceived the baby in the first place.
There is the assumption that every being in existence is a contingent being, this concluded to be
false. Though there is a time where a being did not exist, which is before their birth, it leads to
the assumption that us contingent beings always existing is impossible. There has to be a
necessary being in existence for us contingent beings to exist. This necessary being doesn’t need
another being to cause its existence rather it causes the existence of beings, and we call him
God.

2. David Hume provided numerous objections for the argument from design. Cite one of these and
discuss.

Trying to explain, in our own image, the universe. To know that the universe is designed, we
would have to have some knowledge of how universes are made. Since we have no experience
at all of universe-making, we have no idea what it takes to design one, or what the designer
would be like. The human experience of design is limited to the machines we designed
ourselves, that is why we can imagine God as a designer of humans. We cannot just assume that
we can incorporate the little experience of life we on this world to the universe as a whole. It is
just anthropomorphism to make an analogy between the designers of human machines and the
creator of the universe.

3. A theodicy is a justification for the existence of a good and loving God in view of the existence of
evil in the world. How does Irenaean theodicy describe our current world? How does this
Irenaean conception of the world explain the existence of a good and loving god in view of evil,
specifically non-moral evil, in this world?

The Irenaean theodicy describes our world today not as a paradise but as “soul-making.” Our
world is an environment at allows us to grow towards a similarity to God, albeit limited. The
value of this soul-making process resides in our own choice to do good, since the only valuable
actions are those that are done freely; without being forced to. In the process of “soul-making,”
suffering and pain is necessary in order for us humans to learn and grow from our mistakes and

Elise
 challenges we face in life. God willed the world for both good and bad to exist for it is It is in
suffering are we able to acknowledge the feeling of love and compassion.

4. Referring to St. Anselm, can God exist merely in the mind? Why or why not?

God is defined by

5. What is a miracle? Is it, for David Hume, a good basis for the existence of God and/or the belief
in Him? Why or why not?

A miracle, according to David Hume, is a violation of natural law.

Elise