The Cosmological Argument attempts to prove the existence of the God of classical theism through an a posteriori premise which identifies that things can be proven by observation. The word ‘cosmos’ refer to the universe being an ordered, harmonious and holistic entity,. His three ways - Motion, Cause & Effect and Contingency make up the Cosmological Argument.
The First Way is based on Motion, which can be translated in Greek to ‘Ex Motu’. It stresses on the idea that everything that exists is reliant on their being a mover as ‘..an object only moved when an external force was applied to it’ This is further supported when Aquinas states in the Summa Theologica that “it is therefore impossible that in the same respect and in the same way a thing should be both moved and moved ie that it should move itself” The fact that nothing can be move itself, Aquinas stressed the need for an ‘Unmoved Mover’ who is unmoved and is responsible for movement that occurs. The fact that the Unmoved Mover is unmoved, a chain of movements cannot go back to infinity because there would be no other mover, “..consequently no other mover” Therefore, a chain of movements to infinity cannot exist, therefore there must be an Unmoved Mover. To explain the idea that the Unmoved Mover is external from human reach and is eternal, Aquinas introduced the concept of Actuality and Potentiality using fire and wood. Wood is its actual state, but it has the potential to become hot (fire). Wood cannot make itself hot on its own accord, therefore an external influence is necessary. For it is the reason why the wood becomes hot, without it wood remains in its present state. In relation to humans, God is the external influence who causes us to be - without him we would not exist. Therefore “…it is necessary to arrive at the first mover, moved by no other: and this everyone understands to be God”
The Second Way is based on Cause and Effect, as everything that exists is reliant on a previous cause...