Lesson 14 - How St. Thomas Proves God’s Existence from the Rational Order in Nature

The Fifth of Aquinas’ Five ways of arguing for God’s existence is introduced by him as taken from the “governance of the world.”

It makes explicit the argument, that he and his contemporaries widely accepted, that the consistent activity and tendencies of natural objects required some Intelligence, not to move them directly, but to govern and arrange their natural motions.

Course Reading

Summa Theologiae I, q. 2, a. 3 | St. Thomas Aquinas

Excerpt from the Summa Theologiae I, q. 2, a. 3:

The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack intelligence, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that not fortuitously, but designedly, do they achieve their end. Now whatever lacks intelligence cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God.

Course Listening

St. Thomas's Five Ways: How to Prove God Exists w/ Dr. Edward Feser (Off-Campus Conversations)

God of the Gaps: Are There Limits to Scientific Certainty? | Prof. Alexander Pruss