Aquinas' first way cosmological args.

what kind of arg is aquinas’ first way

deductive - if prmises are true then the conclusion must also be true

how can aquinas’ first way arg also be referred to

arg. from motion

what is meant by motion

transition from potential to actual

what is meant by actual

describes a property that something has

what is meant by potential

describes a property something could have but doesnt actually have

what is the main aim of aquinas’ first way arg.

to argue that a first mover, God exists

give the first way arg in standard form

• the universe has motion

• nothing can move itself, it must be moved by something distinct from it

• if there was an infinite series of movers then there would be no first mover

• if you remove the cause then there can be no effect

• so if there was no first mover then there would be no motion in the world

• therefor given the first point - there must be a first mover who we call God.

what are the responses to the arg.

• could argue against the point that an infinite series of mover isnt impossible - there is no reason to suppose that without a first mover nothing else would be in motion

• hume argues that causal args. depend on the causal principle (the claim that all things have a cause). however we never actually observe causation, only the constant conjunction of events - so we cant actually know that anything has a cause - the arg fails.