Argument Analysis 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Argument Analysis 2 - Essay Example And in the third and final part, I shall assess the truth and validity of Aquinas’ argument with the help of logical reasoning. I will conclude that Aquinas’ argument is indeed a valid argument for the existence of God, based on its logical structure, but I shall argue that the entire argument is weak for it is founded upon a mere assumption. To begin with, Aquinas starts his argument by observing that there exists an â€Å"order of efficient causes† (â€Å"Summa Theologiae†). So, all events entail the existence of a prior cause, which causes its occurrence. If something is caused, then it must be caused by something other than itself. It must be caused by something other than itself, for it is logically impossible to be the cause and be caused in the same way and in the same respect. However, if something causes another thing’s occurrence, which causes the occurrence of another thing, which in turn causes another, then an order of efficient causes would entail, an infinite chain of causes. There cannot be an infinite chain of causes, for there would be no first cause. The absence of a first cause would entail the absence of a beginning from which all things began to occur. There must exist a first uncaused cause that initiated the chain of efficient causes, which is God. Therefore God exists. Given the aforementioned reconstruction, I began by claiming premise one by referring to the law of causality, which is a given in Aquinas’ argument. In premise two, the first premise is then applied to the occurrence of X, from which it was inferred, by virtue of â€Å"material implication,† that X was caused by something prior to it, that is, Y, as premise three verifies it (Copi and Cohen 395). Premise four applies the same principle, by virtue of material implication, from which it was inferred that Y was caused by something prior to it, that is, Z. However, premise five shows that this order of efficient causes lead to an infinite regress, from which