In the beginning of the second chapter of Feser's Aquinas, the author prepares the reader for a proper understanding of Aquinas' Five Ways. Feser emphasizes that the Five Ways, as presented in the beginning of the Summa Theologiae, were meant to be summaries rather than full arguments, with these full arguments presented elsewhere in Aquinas' other works. So when atheists are addressing the Five Ways as commonly presented, they need to keep in mind they're merely addressing summaries of the full arguments. Furthermore, Feser informs us that Aquinas does go beyond the Five Ways to show that God is as Aquinas believed him to be (in fact, he attempts to do so later in the Summa Theologiae itself, after the Five Ways were stated).
Richard Dawkins is brought up here, and his critique of the Five Ways (as presented in The God Delusion) is effectively countered. Dawkins, for example, shows a common misunderstanding of the Second Way: that there must be a first cause in the temporal sense. But Aquinas never meant for any of his arguments to imply that the universe must have had a [temporal] beginning. In fact, according to Feser, Aquinas believed that one could not use logic to argue that the universe must have had a beginning, only through divine revelation could one see that the universe did have a beginning.
Next section is specifically on the First Way.
Richard Dawkins is brought up here, and his critique of the Five Ways (as presented in The God Delusion) is effectively countered. Dawkins, for example, shows a common misunderstanding of the Second Way: that there must be a first cause in the temporal sense. But Aquinas never meant for any of his arguments to imply that the universe must have had a [temporal] beginning. In fact, according to Feser, Aquinas believed that one could not use logic to argue that the universe must have had a beginning, only through divine revelation could one see that the universe did have a beginning.
Next section is specifically on the First Way.
