Jay Ashley Dominic M. Yuson Rev. Fr.

Francisco Fornal
3rd -year-philosophy Philosophy of Religion
Five Ways of proving God’s existence.

St. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval philosopher who is called the angelic doctor, proved the
existence of God by reason. He revealed this magnificent work on his book SUMMA THEOLOGICA
entitled: The Five Ways. For him, there are Five Ways to prove God’s Existence.
The First Way: The Argument from Motion. St Thomas introduces the First way by saying that
it is the most evident way, because the phenomenon it considers, movement is accessible to the
senses. He concluded from a common observation that an object which is in motion is in motion by
some other objects or force. Now, everything that moves is moved by another. If what derives from
movement is in turn moved by others, it will be necessary for this is as well to be moved by a third,
and this by a fourth. But this cannot proceed into the infinite. Hence, it is necessary to arrive at a
first principle of movement, which would not be moved by others. This is what all men understand
by God.
St. Thomas wants to convey that God is the prime mover of everything in motion. 1All bodies
are either potentially in motion or actually in motion. “But nothing can be reduced from potentiality
to actuality, except by something in a state of actuality". Nothing can be at once in both actuality
and potentiality in the same respect. Nothing can be at once in both actuality and potentiality with
respect to motion. Nothing can move itself; it must be put into motion by something else. If there
were no "first mover, moved by no other" there would be no motion. But there is motion. Therefore,
there is a first mover, God. From this, Aquinas believes ultimately that there must have been an
Unmoved Mover (GOD) who first put things in motion.
The Second Way: Causation of Existence. Indication of the basic phenomenon, that efficient
causality. This Way deals with the issue of existence. He concluded that a common-sense
observation tells that no object creates itself. In other words, some previous object had to create it.
That everything here is this world is called contingent being (cannot exist by itself), therefore there
must be someone who is not victim of this contingency, he must be necessity or uncaused cause. For
Erigena, that nature that creates and is not created. The one that creates must be not created of
someone. For instance, the efficient cause of the marble statue in Romblon is the modeler. For us
human being, our efficient cause must be the one who is not created.
2
Thomas justification is simple: if one pretends to create an explanation with an infinite
series of secondary causes, then instead of an explanation, one only creates a colossal edifice of
inadequate causes, “because in all subordinate efficient cause, the first cause is the cause of the
intermediate and the intermediate is the cause of the last, whether there are many intermediate or
only one. Now, by eliminating the cause, we also remove the effect. Therefore, if there is no first
cause in the other efficient causes, then there would not be an intermediate or final cause and we
will not even have the final effect, nor the intermediate causes and this is evidently false. Aquinas
believed that ultimately there must have been an Uncaused Cause (GOD) who began the chain of
existence for all things.
The Third Way: Contingent and Necessary Being. In nature we find that things are possible to
be and not to be. This Way defines two objects in the universe: contingent beings and necessary
beings. A contingent being is an object that cannot exist without necessary being causing its
existence. All possible beings, therefore, at one time did not exist, will exist for a time, and will finally
1
[Link]
2
Battista Mondin, A History of Medieval Philosophy (Theological Publications in India, Bangalore,2010), pg.325
pass out of existence. 3The Argument from Necessary Being: Because objects in the world come into
existence and pass out of it, it is possible for those objects to exist or not exist at any particular time.
However, nothing can come from nothing. This means something must exist at all times. This is God.
The Fourth Way: Argument from Degrees and Perfection. St. Thomas formulated this Way
from a very interesting observation about the qualities of things. For example, one may say that of
two marble sculptures one is more beautiful than the other. So, for these two examples one has a
greater degree of beauty that the next. This is referred to as degrees or gradation of a quality. From
this fact Aquinas concluded that for any given quality there must be a perfect standard by which all
such qualities are measured.
The Fifth Way: Argument from Intelligent Design. The final Way that St. Thomas Aquinas
spoke of has to do with the observable universe and the order of nature. He stated that common
sense tells us that the universe works in such way, that one can conclude that it was designed by an
intelligent designer, God. In other words, all physical laws and the order of nature and life were
designed and ordered by God, the intelligent designer. Even our body, it has different functions and
they played important role in our body. Also, our routine, the body fall asleep when the night comes
as well as when the sunlit strikes on the surface of the earth.

In conclusion, God is indeed existing, here and now. The Greatest conceivable Being, the
Uncaused Cause and the Unmoved Mover. Aquinas solved the quest of God’s existence by proving in
Five ways. God manifested in every way. The nature has its own functions and roles, the earth
rotates only on its axis. Law of natures, which everything that goes up it will pull going back to the
surface of the earth by the gravitational force. God is the perfect, supreme and greatest designer of
all realities.

3
“Aquinas’s Five Proofs for the Existence of God.” In the Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Teacher Guide. ©
2011 by Saint Mary’s Press.