In his
Summa Theologica, the medieval Dominican theologian
St. Thomas Aquinas answers the question "Does God exist?" by offering five arguments drawn from observance of the natural world to support the existence of God. They are:
- An argument from motion: Since the universe is in motion, something or someone must have set it in motion.
- An argument from cause: The universe must have a first efficient cause in order to exist.
- An argument from existence: In order for all things to exist, there must be something or someone that is existence and does not receive existence from something else. In other words, there must be something or someone which is not dependent for its existence from something else.
- An argument from goodness: The fact that there are differing degrees of goodness in the world means that there must be some standard or perfection of goodness against which we can measure lesser goods.
- An argument from design: All things in the are directed to an end and find their end in such a way as is best for them. This indicates design, and design indicates a Designer.
