Aquinas’ Proofs for God’s Existence

The Nature and Limits of the Inquiry.- The Central Contexts to be Analysed.- I Domains Other than that of Creature-god.- I. The Domain of Accident-Substance.- Accident Implies Substance.- A Self-Evident Principle.- Classical Modern Objections are Irrelevant.- How Accidents Depend on Substance.- A More Profound Reason.- II. The Domain Of Change.- The Problem of Change.- A Difficulty.- The Per Accidens in Change Necessarily Requires the Per Se.- III. The Domain of Knowledge.- Sense Knowledge.- The First and Second Acts of the Mind.- The Third Act of the Mind.- The Necessity of a Per Se.- The Nature of the Scientific Syllogism.- A Possible Confusion.- The Argument.- A Clarification.- New Definitions.- II The Domain of Creature-god.- Introduction: The Cause of per Accidens Being.- I. The way of the de Ente et Essentia.- The Way.- Essence and Existence.- The Argument Itself.- A Further Argument.- II. Apropos of the quinque viae in General.- The Ways.- The Problem of Infinite Multitude.- Proper Causality.- III. The prima via.- The Way.- The Principle in Question.- The Arguments.- Sylvester of Ferrara.- A Second Argument.- A Further Argument.- Contemporary Comment.- IV. The secunda via.- The Way.- Efficient Causality.- The Argument.- The Commentary on the Metaphysics.- The Commentators.- Contemporary Comment.- Conclusions on Efficient Causality.- V. The tertia via.- The Way.- The Argument.- The Latter Part of the Proof.- VI. The quarta via.- The Way.- The Argument.- The Principle in Question.- Participation and Analogy.- Proof from St. Thomas.- VII. The quinta via.- The Way.- Finality in St. Thomas.- Chance.- An Intelligent Orderer.- Necessity of a Per Se.- The General Arguments.- Conclusion.- Exterior Causality.- The Quinque Viae.- Three Categories of Application.- The Principle in General.- The Other Applications.- A Final Comment.