What are the 'Five Ways' of St. Thomas Aquinas for proving God's existence?
St. Thomas Aquinas formulated five philosophical demonstrations (the 'Quinque Viae') showing that reason can know God exists from observing the created world: 1) The Argument from Motion (every moving thing requires an Unmoved Mover); 2) The Argument from Efficient Cause (an uncaused First Cause must exist); 3) The Argument from Contingency (contingent beings require a Necessary Being); 4) The Argument from Gradation (degrees of truth and goodness point to a Supreme Perfection); and 5) The Teleological Argument from Design (unintelligent natural systems acting toward an end require an Intelligent Governor).
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 31-35
- Wisdom 13:1-9
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.