aquinas' second way arg.

how else can this arg be referred to

arg. from atemporal causation

what kind of arg the second way arg.

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

what is the main arg of the second way arg

to argue that god exists as the first cause

what is meant by efficient cause

a thing that causes another thing ti exist or change

what is meant by sustaining cause

a cause without which the effect would not exist e.g a fore causing the room to be warm

give the second way arg in standard form

• the world contains causes (known a psteriori)

• nothing can be the cause of itself (this is bc uf something could cause itself, it would have to exist before itself which is impossible)

• if the series of causes was infinite there would not be a first cause

• if there was no first cause there would be no subsequent causes

• therefore there is a first cause and that it is what we call God

what are the response to second way arg.

• an infinite series isnt impossible - we do not need to suppose that without a first cause nothing else would be caused

• hume - it depends on the causal principle (the claim that all things have a cause), however we never observe causation, only the constant conjungtion of events - sow e cannot know that anything has a cause