Prove that God Exists
God’s Not Dead, and We Have Revived Him. Prove that God Exists. Use the Arguments and Propositions Presented by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas to Support Your Claims.
In a time where science is developing faster than ever, the question of whether or not believing in God’s existence is still plausible becomes more relevant each day. In this essay, God refers to the supreme being that created and rules everything in the universe. Because there is a need in the universe for a being that started putting everything into motion, is the first cause of everything, has always existed, is used for representing the absolute maximum of perfection, and is responsible for directing things to their end (Aquinas, 1458). The belief in the existence of God becomes plausible even at the current state of science.
For everything in the universe to move, something or someone needs to start moving first. Aquinas (1458) argues that a motionless object cannot move by itself. He also argues that it only starts moving when another moving object moves it first. Thus, a nonmoving car is not able to start moving by itself. It only has the potential to start moving, and it only does start moving when another entity that is moving, like a human, acts upon it. However, this idea does not mean that this has been going on forever with no beginning. Because if nothing started moving first, then there would be nothing that would be moving. Hence, there is a first being to start moving that has caused other things to move too. That being is God (Aquinas, 1458).
In addition to the first mover, the universe also needs to have the first causer. According to Aquinas (1458), the universe follows an order of efficient causes where a thing causes another thing but not itself. Merriam-Webster (n.d.) defines efficient cause as an instantaneous factor in causing an effect. Similar to motion, efficient causes cannot go on infinitely (Aquinas). Aquinas (1458) says that it needs a first causer because a cause cannot cause itself. He also says that if there is no cause, there is no effect. So for there to be an order of efficient causes in the universe, there must be a first causer (Aquinas, 1458). The first causer responsible for causing the universe is commonly called God (Aquinas, 1458).
Another entity that the universe needs is an entity that is always existing. Aquinas (1458) points out the nature of things to possibly exist or not. He claims that this could have meant that the universe never existed. He also claims that things that could probably never have existed can only exist when something is already existing. The problem with this is that if this were true, there would be nothing right now, even if they could have possibly existed (Aquinas, 1458). Therefore, there has to be something in the universe that has necessarily existed (Aquinas, 1458). But, even if there are entities that have necessarily existed, they would still depend on another entity that has necessarily existed (Aquinas, 1458). Like the efficient causes and motion, this could not have been going on to infinity (Aquinas, 1458). Aquinas (1458) claims that there has to be something that has always existed. An object or being that does not rely on the existence of other things (Aquinas, 1458). That being is God.
Moreover, the universe needs a scale with a maximum set for perfection and goodness. Aquinas (1458) argues that there are gradations found in different traits. For example, there are degrees in how hot or cold an object is. Consequently, there must be a maximum that you can find for each gradation (Aquinas, 1458). For instance, there is an object that is colder than anything else. So, that object is the coolest. Thus there is something in the universe that is the most perfect and good. This something is God (Aquinas, 1458).
Lastly, the universe needs an intelligent being responsible for directing the end of an entity without intelligence. Aquinas (1458) thinks that objects without intelligence act for an end goal. Without an intelligent being leading them to their end, they would not reach their end goal (Aquinas, 1458). A gun would not fire unless there is an intelligent being that causes it to shoot. It would just remain motionless. As a result, all natural things that cannot reach their end goal need to be led by an intelligent being. This intelligent being that is responsible for leading all unintelligent entities is God (Aquinas, 1458).
Although science is developing rapidly, there are still reasons to believe in God’s existence. The universe needs a first mover, a first causer, a necessary being that does not rely on other things, an entity better than everything else, and an intelligent being that leads all unintelligent beings to their end goals. Nothing would move if there is nothing that would initiate motion first. There would also be no effects or series of causes without a first cause. Nothing would exist if they depended on things that needed to rely on the existence of other things. There also has to be something better than anything else to have a degree of goodness or perfectness. Lastly, there also needs to be an intelligent being that guides unintelligent beings to their end goal. Else, all natural things would remain motionless. Therefore, God exists to fulfill all these roles that the universe needs.
One of Edmund Husserl’s Main Contributions to Modern Thinking is the Phenomenological Approach. It Includes Three Steps of (1) Epoche, (2) Eidetic Reduction, and (3) Transcendental Reduction. The First step Identifies that an Individual Must Set aside Own Prejudices in Understanding a Phenomena. Do You Think This is Possible? Cite Edmund Husserl’s Propositions to Prove Your Claim.
The lack of understanding of many individuals regarding their consciousness and experience produced chaos and crisis in the world. Due to science and philosophy not thoroughly exploring the importance of human experience, Edmund Husserl created phenomenology (Dodson, 2015). He made it to understand human experiences and consciousness in a methodological way (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). It helps address many of the issues individuals face, like the problems brought by prejudice. Through phenomenology, one can set aside their prejudices using a procedure in phenomenology called epoché.
Epoché, also known as bracketing, refers to the process of focusing on your own experiences instead of only using preconceived ideas (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). Moreover, epoché avoids the natural attitude in viewing the world. According to Husserl (n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015), the natural attitude separates our subjective view of the world from our actual reality.
Another attitude that focuses on our experiences and subjective view of the world, unlike the natural attitude, is the phenomenological attitude (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). The phenomenological attitude uses the epoché to understand the different things in the world (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). Epoché recognizes the beliefs found in the natural attitude as beliefs only (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). Rather than focusing on these preconceived beliefs, epoché concentrates more on the subjective view of things (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). For example, using a natural attitude, a kilogram is viewed as a unit of measurement that is a thousand times heavier than grams. However, using a phenomenological attitude, the weight of a kilogram depends on how you experience it rather than how it is defined. Although epoché ignores the natural attitude in viewing the world, it does not mean it does not believe in it (Husserl, n.d., as cited in Dodson, 2015). Because epoché focuses on our subjective views and experiences of the world, rather than preconceived ideas, prejudices are ignored and avoided in understanding a phenomenon. Since epoché treats beliefs as beliefs only, it sets prejudices aside.
When you apply epoché when understanding a phenomenon, you set aside your prejudices. You focus more on your first-person view of the world, not the beliefs and ideas that you learned. Furthermore, you avoid the natural attitude of understanding phenomena. Additionally, you study the structure and order of reality using your experiences. Epoché proves that avoiding prejudice is indeed possible.
References
- Aquinas, T. (1458). Summa theologica (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.): Benziger Brothers Printers to the Holy Apostolic See. Retrieved from https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/1225-1274,Thomas_Aquinas,_Summa_Theologiae%5B1%5D,_EN.pdf
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Efficient cause. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efficient%20cause
- Dodson, E. (2015). Husserl & the adventure of phenomenology - in 12 minutes. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjknxljepKA&feature=youtu.be