An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Quantifier Shifts and the Gap Problem (Part 7)

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It is important to understand the background of the argument before undertaking an analysis of objections, so if you have not checked them out, I would suggest reading Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5, and Part 6. For each objection, I shall explicate the reasoning behind the objection, followed by an “assessment” section which evaluates the efficacy of the objection in question. Without further ado, let’s examine the fifth and sixth criticisms leveled against Aquinas. Read more “An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Quantifier Shifts and the Gap Problem (Part 7)”

An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: On Infinity (Part 6)

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It is important to understand the background of the argument before undertaking an analysis of objections, so if you have not checked them out, I would suggest reading Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4, and Part 5. For each objection, I shall explicate the reasoning behind the objection, followed by an “assessment” section which evaluates the efficacy of the objection in question. Without further ado, let’s examine the fourth criticism leveled against Aquinas. Read more “An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: On Infinity (Part 6)”

An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Metaphysical Bootstrapping (Part 5)

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It is important to understand the background of the argument before undertaking an analysis of objections, so if you have not checked them out, I would suggest reading Part 1Part 2Part 3, and Part 4. For each objection, I shall explicate the reasoning behind the objection, followed by an “assessment” section which evaluates the efficacy of the objection in question. Without further ado, let’s examine the third criticism leveled against Aquinas. Read more “An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Metaphysical Bootstrapping (Part 5)”

An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Quantum Mechanics Contra the Causal Principle? (Part 4)

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It is important to understand the background of the argument before undertaking an analysis of objections, so if you have not checked them out, I would suggest reading Part 1Part 2, and Part 3. For each objection, I shall explicate the reasoning behind the objection, followed by an “assessment” section which evaluates the efficacy of the objection in question. Without further ado, let’s examine the second criticism leveled against Aquinas. Read more “An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Quantum Mechanics Contra the Causal Principle? (Part 4)”

An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Eternalism Contra Act and Potency? (Part 3)

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In the following parts of the series, I will present and assess the merits of a number of objections to Aquinas’ argument. It is important to understand the background of the argument before undertaking an analysis of objections, so if you have not checked them out, I would suggest reading Part 1 and Part 2. For each objection, I shall explicate the reasoning behind the objection, followed by an “assessment” section which evaluates the efficacy of the objection in question. Without further ado, let’s examine the first criticism leveled against Aquinas. Read more “An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Eternalism Contra Act and Potency? (Part 3)”

An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Introduction (Part 1)

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1. Introduction

The Five Ways of demonstrating God’s existence were given systematic treatment by arguably the most renowned and respected Christian philosopher of all time, St. Thomas Aquinas. Born in Italy in the thirteenth century, Aquinas sought to synthesize an Aristotelian framework with a Christian worldview. One integral aspect of this synthesis was Aquinas’ use of Aristotelian metaphysical notions in his arguments for God’s existence — notions such as actuality, potentiality, essence, efficient causation, natural teleology, and so on. In fact, Aquinas goes so far as to characterize his First Way as the more “manifest” way, indicating the centrality of Aristotelianism in his thought.1 Read more “An Appraisal of Aquinas’ First Way: Introduction (Part 1)”

Evaluating the Aristotelian Argument for God’s Existence: JH Sobel, Sustaining Causes, and Pure Actuality

None of the stuff in this post is meant to be ridiculing Feser or the Aristotelian argument. I just really want to understand the argument better, and I hope Feser is able to reply to the concerns raised! Without further ado, let’s get into it!

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Read more “Evaluating the Aristotelian Argument for God’s Existence: JH Sobel, Sustaining Causes, and Pure Actuality”