Reading Questions
St. Thomas Aquinas - The Five Ways

1. Summarize the main idea of Aquinas' First Way, The Argument from Change.
2. Sketch in detail Aquinas' Second Way, The Argument from Causation, in your own words.
3. Sketch in detail Aquinas' Third Way, The Argument from Contingency, in your own words.
4. Summarize the main idea of Aquinas' Fourth Way, The Argument from Degrees of Excellence.
5. Summarize the main idea of Aquinas' Fifth Way, The Argument from Harmony.
6. Suppose one or more of Aquinas' arguments is a good one. Has he proved the existence of God, in the traditional Judeo-Christian sense of "God"? Explain.
7. What does Aquinas mean by the terms 'contingent' and 'necessary'?