ST.

THOMAS OF AQUINAS

● The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that the desire for God is written on
every human heart (CCC #27).
● We can see this in every person we encounter, whether they believe in God or not,
and regardless of which religion or spirituality they practice (CCC #28).
● Everyone, in some way or another, is seeking truth and the meaning of life, however
wayward it may seem to others. This is all driven by the desire God wrote into
humanity to seek Him out, which is all largely rooted in our human reason.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109)

● was the outstanding Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century.
● “Faith Seeking Understanding”
● Faith is a gift, and having faith is not the end of a journey but the start of a new one.
St. Anselm teaches us that we must use our faith to seek understanding of the world
around us and of the God who created us!

● One of the greatest theologians of all time is St. Thomas Aquinas

(1224-1274). One of the things that made him so great was the way he used
reason to get to the bottom of things pertaining to matters of God and of faith.
● He left behind volumes of his written philosophical and scholastic works which we still
use regularly today. Today we will look at St. Thomas’ five proofs or ways for the
existence of God.

St. Thomas’ five proofs or ways for the existence of God.

1. The First Way – An Unmoved Mover

● St. Thomas observes that the world is in constant motion. His definition of motion is
broad and includes change in any object, inanimate or animate.
● However, nothing changes by itself without something else causing the change.
● There has to be an unchangeable first mover to start the whole thing in motion which
St. Thomas calls God.

2. The Second Way – The First Cause

● Everything in existence was caused by something else and did not just appear out of
thin air.
● There has to be an uncaused cause after which everything else comes, which St.
Thomas calls God.

3. The Third Way – Contingency or Necessary Being

● It is not necessary for anything in the world to exist at all. Anything animate or
inanimate in the world can cease to exist at any time, whether by death or
destruction.
● It is also true that nothing and no one exists forever.
● In other words, the reason the world hasn’t just vanished by now is because God, the
one necessary being, continues to hold it in existence.
 4. The Fourth Way – GRADATION
● There are different degrees of goodness in different things. Following the “Great
Chain of Being,” which states there is a gradual increase in complexity, created
objects move from unformed inorganic matter to biologically complex organisms.
Therefore, there must be a being of the highest form of good. This perfect being is
God.
● That standard by which everything else is judged is God.

a. a series of systematic stages; gradual progression

b. (often plural) a stage or degree in such a series or progression
c. the act or process of arranging or forming in stages, grades, etc, or of progressing
evenly
d. (Art Terms) (in painting, drawing, or sculpture) transition from one colour, tone, or
surface to another through a series of very slight changes
e. (Linguistics) linguistics any change in the quality or length of a vowel within a word
indicating certain distinctions, such as inflectional or tense differentiations. See
ablaut.
f. (Geological Science) geology the natural levelling of land as a result of the building
up or wearing down of pre-existing formations

5. The Fifth Way – DESIGN

● St. Thomas observed that there is an intelligent design to the way the world works,
particularly in the forces of nature and science.
● However, these things, in and of themselves, lack the intelligence to operate the way
they do.
● Just as an arrow needs an archer to reach its target, the world needs an intelligent
designer for everything to work properly.

HOLY TRINITY

- When do we usually mention the Holy Trinity?

1. Sign of the Cross

2. The Prayer…Glory Be
3. The Prayer…The Creed
4. We ask this in the Name of the F, S and the HS..
5. I now Baptize you, in the name of the F, S, and HS..

- The Holy Trinity in the Teaching of Faith

● CCC 252: The Church uses (I) the term "substance" (rendered also at times by
"essence" or "nature") to designate the divine being in its unity, (II) the term "person"
or "hypostasis" to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction
among them, and (III) the term "relation" to designate the fact that their distinction lies
in the relationship of each to the others.
● CCC 53: The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three
persons, the "consubstantial Trinity." "Each of the persons is that supreme reality,
viz., the divine substance, essence or nature.
 ● CCC 54: The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "God is one but not
solitary." The divine unity is triune.
● CCC 55: The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide
the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in
the relationships which relate them to one another.
● The Blessed Trinity: Mystery of Personal Loving Communion

Blessed Trinity states there is ONE GOD, who is EQUAL and DISTINT
PERSONS. (CFC 1326)
● ONE- Each person is the WHOLE GOD (consubstantial)(one divine nature) (CFC
1327)
● EQUAL- God does not come first, then the Son, then the Holy Spirit. ALL three divine
persons are equally eternal, without beginning or end. (CFC 1328)
The Blessed Trinity: Mystery of Personal Loving Communion
● DISTINCT- “The Father and I are One”(Jn. 10:30), but they are not identical but
rather UNITED. (CFC1329)

WHAT IS TRUTH?
● Equate truth with scientific truth
● Factual when scientifically proven(backed up with data-gathering, analysis, and
repeated verification)
● Scientist point out that the scientific truths are part of just one among the many ways
of understanding the truth.
● Latin- veritas
● Enlightens man’s intelligence and shapes his freedom. Leading him to know and love
the Lord. - Veritatis Splendor (JP II)
● Philosophy has been aware that the truth about truth remains to be a question for
thousand years now.

DOMAINS OF TRUTH
1. OBJECTIVE/SCIENTIFIC DOMAIN OF TRUTH
● scientific truths, scientific domain of life
2. SOCIAL DOMAIN OF TRUTH
● is analogous with (not the exact equivalent) a general agreement or consensus on
what is right as opposed to what is wrong.
● Analogous - comparable in certain respects, typically in a way which make clearer
the nature of the things compared
● The truths in social domain are mostly product of and “agreement” in society that has
been established over time. (norms & laws)
3. Personal domain of truth
● where truth is analogous to
● our statements are consistent with our inner thoughts and intentions.

TRUTH and JUSTIFICATION

● Truth can be understood as what has passed “procedures of justification” ---Rorty,
1989
 ● Justification means the process of proving the truth or validity of a statement. This
process is made up of ways of critically testing a claim against certain criteria.
● ***In scientific/objective domain- truths are tested against empirical( exact) evidence
● +++ In social domain- truths are against their acceptability to a particular time in
history
● ### In personal domain- truth are tested against the consistency and authenticity of
the person who claims it.

TRUTH and OPINION

● All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal of robust, sophisticated and
well supported in logic and arguments than others. ---Douglas Adams

How can we distinguish fact/truth from opinion?

● John Corvino offers to us THREE DISTINCTION of TRUTH AND OPINION.

1. Belief and Reality Distinction - reality is unarguably seen and felt by the human
senses. Whereas, belief is a by-product or a manifestation of reality.
2. Subjective and Objective Distinction - Perspective is what makes fact as possibly
opinion or opinion as potentially a fact. This can vary according to one’s experience
and making position judgement as either subjective or objective. What makes your
viewpoint subjective is when you rely much on your perception as dictated by your
mind.
● subjective insofar as it is mind-dependent
● objective insofar as it is mind-independent
● and when something appears to you objectively that means reasons outside of the
mind that make thing true.
3. Descriptive and Normative Distinction - descriptive statements simply narrates
what happens while Normative Statements which evaluate according to the
perspective of the people, a certain culture and law.
● Descriptive statements simply narrates what happens
● Normative Statements which evaluate according to the perspective of the people, a
certain culture and law.
What are the advantages of those distinctions in distinguishing truth
from opinion?

● First, they capture some of the concerns that lead people to insist on the fact/opinion
distinction in the first place – in particular, the concern that claims not be accepted
without good evidence.
● Second, they explain why some objective matters – in particular, controversial
matters such God’s existence or predictions about the future – get placed in the
category of opinion, despite their objective content.
● And third, they avoid the sloppiness of some of the earlier proposals.