ST. THOMAS AQUINAS’PHILOSOPHY OF MAN

- THE FIVE WAYS

- THE TRANSCENDENTAL MAN

Was born around 1225 at Castle of Roccasecca, Kingdom of Naples

Joined the Dominican order

Was kidnapped and detained by family members to keep him from joining the Dominican order

Studied at Cologne and Paris under the tutelage of St. Albert the Great

Dedicated life to teaching and writing

THE FIVE WAYS

The Argument from Motion – there must be a Prime Mover- Nothing can move by itself

- If every object in motion had a mover, then the first object in motion needed a mover- This first mover is the Unmoved Mover, called God

THE FIVE WAYS

The Argument from Motion – there must be a Prime Mover- Nothing can move by itself

- If every object in motion had a mover, then the first object in motion needed a mover- This first mover is the Unmoved Mover, called God

THE FIVE WAYS

The Argument from Causality– every effect must have a cause- There exists things that are caused by other things- Nothing can be the cause of itself

- There cannot be an endless string of objects causing other objects to exist- Therefore, there must be an uncaused first cause called God

THE FIVE WAYS

The Argument from Necessity or Contingency – all beings are possible but one must be necessary if there are to be any beings at all- Contingent beings are caused- Not every being can be contingent

- There must exist a being which is necessary to cause contingent beings- This necessary being is God

THE FIVE WAYS

The Argument from Gradation or Exemplarity – our ideas presuppose some standard of perfection

- For any given quality, there must be a perfect standard by which all such qualities are measured; these perfections are contained in God

THE FIVE WAYS

The Argument from Design – the consistent and coherent operation of the whole universe demands some intelligent and purposeful designer

- Common sense tells us that the universe works in such a way, that one can conclude that is was designed by an intelligent designer, God

THE TRANSCENDENTAL MAN

Present State of Existence Ultimate Destiny

Imperfect

Finite

Temporal

Natural

Human

Perfect

Infinite

Eternal

Supernatural

Divine

THE TRANSCENDENTAL MAN

Finite Transcendental Infinite

Prayer to St. Thomas

Grant me, O Lord my God,a mind to know you,a heart to seek you,wisdom to find you,

conduct pleasing to you,faithful perseverance in

waiting for you,and a hope of finally

embracing you.

Amen