Examples Of Aquinas Fifth Way
Aquinas’ Fifth Way
Aquinas’ fifth way deals with things that lack cognition, and the ends these things function for. Thomas states: “For we some things that lack cognition, viz. natural bodies [i.e. the elemental bodies], function for an end. This is evident from the fact that they always or very frequently function in the same way and end up resulting in what is best” (Aquinas 105). Aquinas goes on to make two claims: the first discusses God and his insurance that good things can and will come from evil circumstances. The second claim deals with God and nature: God created nature and thus all naturally occurring things can be traced back to God as the first cause. The conclusion is, generally stated as follows: everything that happens naturally …show more content…
He goes on to say that:
“Those things which lack cognition do not tend towards an end unless they are directed by something with knowledge and intelligence, just as the arrow is directed by the archer. Therefore, there is some intelligent being who directs all natural things to an end, and this being we say is God” (Aquinas 105).
One example of bad things resulting in what is best is when a married couple is unable to conceive children and, despite the heartbreak this infertility might cause them at first, they can choose to adopt a child from anywhere in the world and make that child’s life better. A specific example of this is found in the reality show The Little People on TLC, where the stars adopt abandoned children from overseas and raise them in the best home they can provide. As Aquinas says “Since he is the highest good, God would never permit anything bad in the works if He were not omnipotent and good to the point of making even out of evil something good” (Aquinas 105). The ‘evil’ in this case is infertility. The infertile couple that wants a child but cannot have one feels that they have been neglected, but through God’s grace, they can be gifted something ‘good,’ a la the option of adoption. This process is often helped along by prayer, if the infertile couple is religious. Through their prayers, they can be led to the right child for
Aquinas’ fifth way deals with things that lack cognition, and the ends these things function for. Thomas states: “For we some things that lack cognition, viz. natural bodies [i.e. the elemental bodies], function for an end. This is evident from the fact that they always or very frequently function in the same way and end up resulting in what is best” (Aquinas 105). Aquinas goes on to make two claims: the first discusses God and his insurance that good things can and will come from evil circumstances. The second claim deals with God and nature: God created nature and thus all naturally occurring things can be traced back to God as the first cause. The conclusion is, generally stated as follows: everything that happens naturally …show more content…
He goes on to say that:
“Those things which lack cognition do not tend towards an end unless they are directed by something with knowledge and intelligence, just as the arrow is directed by the archer. Therefore, there is some intelligent being who directs all natural things to an end, and this being we say is God” (Aquinas 105).
One example of bad things resulting in what is best is when a married couple is unable to conceive children and, despite the heartbreak this infertility might cause them at first, they can choose to adopt a child from anywhere in the world and make that child’s life better. A specific example of this is found in the reality show The Little People on TLC, where the stars adopt abandoned children from overseas and raise them in the best home they can provide. As Aquinas says “Since he is the highest good, God would never permit anything bad in the works if He were not omnipotent and good to the point of making even out of evil something good” (Aquinas 105). The ‘evil’ in this case is infertility. The infertile couple that wants a child but cannot have one feels that they have been neglected, but through God’s grace, they can be gifted something ‘good,’ a la the option of adoption. This process is often helped along by prayer, if the infertile couple is religious. Through their prayers, they can be led to the right child for