RE: Thomism: Then & Now
October 12, 2021 at 12:27 pm
(This post was last modified: October 12, 2021 at 12:29 pm by emjay.)
(October 12, 2021 at 12:12 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: Well, sure, and thats exactly the problem. The arguments dont go to the conclusion.....in addition to the conclusion being false on it's own merits.
A non sequitur in every case, and no theist actually considers any one of those things or all five of them together god. Theism is defined by personal and intervening gods. Not prime movers, first causes, necessary beings, perfect beings, or final causes. Aquinas himself didn't believe that any of these arguments could prove a god, let alone his god. That, he reckoned, took special revalation.
Well, I don't really know what to say... I can't disagree with you on that as regarding special revelation, which I put no more stock in than you do, but I was/am just nonetheless curious how the Five Ways came about and what, if anything, they prove on their own. I mean I don't even know if they'd necessarily have to be the same entity, but that's one of the things I'd hope to find out from this discussion.
