Aquinass Argument from Change or Motion - Essay Example

There are no justifications for why such knowledge that could be learned through philosophical science, so long as it can be learned through natural reason, could not be learned through sacred science or theology either. Aquinas then explained that there are two forms of science, natural science, and higher science.

Sacred Doctrine is a science because it progresses from norms coming from higher science, specifically the science of God. He used the example of a musician who trusts in the teachings of a mathematician because of authority; the same can be said of sacred science, which is founded on knowledge from God’s revelation. He further argues that Sacred Doctrine is the noblest of sciences because it focuses on the noblest subject matter, which is God, and it offers the most graciously gratifying certainty because it expresses God’s authority.

Also, Sacred Doctrine directs us to the noblest objective, which is eternal happiness with God. Sacred Doctrine is knowledge, which offers us the most profound and meaningful wisdom of our unending worth and guides us toward its attainment. Part II Aquinas’s Argument from Change or Motion has the following premises: 1. Some things are in motion in our world, as attested by our senses. 2. Things are in motion because they are being acted on.3. Things that are in motion are being stirred into motion by something else. 4. Motions are not possible to go on infinitely.5. A First Mover set some things into motion.

These premises lead to a single conclusion-- therefore, an unmoved First Mover is real and existent. Whether these premises are valid, invalid, or sound requires further examination. Validity is the value of being accurately, empirically, and concretely logical or justifiable; invalidity refers to a lack of factual reliability; soundness refers to the validity of the premises and conclusion. Through the Argument from Change, Aquinas illustrates that human reason has a role in Sacred doctrine not to verify or attest to the knowledge based on faith, but to shed light on “other things that are put forward in this doctrine” (Aquinas Article 8 Para 6).

This implies that natural reason alone can create questions or disputes for truths that are embraced through faith based on divine revelation. Hence, it is acceptable to refer to the outside and credible knowledge of philosophy or natural reason. Aquinas argues that faith can be supported or reinforced by natural reason alone. The logical underpinning of the Argument from Change reveals that he is basing the existence of a First Mover on the natural law and thus demonstrates how the Sacred Doctrine can be strengthened by natural reason.