St. Thomas' Five Ways: How to Prove God Exists w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. Edward Feser

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Dr. Edward Feser.

St. Thomas's Five Ways: How to Prove God Exists w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. Edward Feser (Off-Campus Conversations)

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[reasonablemind]

Hope Prof Feser’s upcoming book on soul will include an examination of “Near Death Experiences”

[iqgustavo]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:02 🎙️ Father Gregory Pine and Professor Edward Feser discuss Aquinas' Five Ways to prove God's existence.
02:50 📚 Professor Edward Feser is a philosophy professor at Pasadena City College, author of multiple academic books, and is working on a book about the soul.
07:15 🧠 Understanding Aquinas' Five Ways requires a metaphysical mindset, as they are rooted in philosophy of nature and metaphysics, not modern natural science.
14:46 🌏 You can approach Aquinas' arguments without delving into modern epistemological debates by focusing on contingency and necessity.
17:17 🏭 The nature of the physical world is essential for certain arguments, like the Fifth Way (teleological argument), which relies on Aristotle's understanding of final cause.
21:52 💡 The amount of background metaphysics needed before presenting Aquinas' arguments depends on the specific argument and how controversial the metaphysical concepts are for the audience.
22:21 🤔 When approaching Aquinas' five ways, people often expect either too much clarity or too little depth. It's crucial to approach them through someone who can explain the background metaphysics to ensure correct understanding.
24:25 📚 Aquinas' five ways are not exactly Feser's five proofs. Feser believes they all work, but some require more background metaphysics to appreciate fully.
27:09 🧐 The first way, Aquinas' "unactualized actualizer, " is often the most intuitively compelling of the five ways and requires less background metaphysics.
31:17 🤯 Philosophy should be a pursuit of truth, especially ultimate explanations. This approach naturally leads to theism as it involves the concept of a necessary being.
36:09 😡 Contemporary intellectual debates often focus on ego and partisanship rather than the pursuit of truth, hindering meaningful philosophical discussions.
38:15 🧘‍♂️ Cultivating tranquility of mind is essential for engaging in philosophical discussions and contemplation effectively.
42:25 📖 To explore these topics further, you can visit Edward Feser's website (edwardfaser.com) for articles, books, and resources. The Thomistic Institute offers courses on Aquinas' five ways and related subjects.

[marilynmelzian]

I always enjoy Feser. I find him clear and coherent. Thank you.

[eafowler]

God bless you Dr. Feser! Your books and lectures have allowed me to understand these arguments and have acted as kind of therapy, slowly purging me my materialist worldview that lead me to atheism in my late teens to late 20s. It’s astonishing how much clearer the world has become (and lighter!) by coming to a basic understanding of scholastic metaphysics. I am so grateful for your work.

[piotrkowalczyk]

Crux sancta sit mihi lux non Draco sit mihi dux vade retro Satana numquam suade mihi vana sunt mala que libas ipse venena bibas.

[alanbreedlove]

This is a terrific interview for a novice like me groping towards the truth. It really takes off at the 30 minute mark with Fr. Pine's question and Prof. Feser's response. Thank you both and the Thomistic Institute.

[gaspersignorelli]

This is the best interview with Feser I've heard and one the best period. It helps greatly having such an intelligent and well educated interviewer.

[ironymatt]

19:50 - gutting the argument is precisely the point, for those committed to their own ego over objective truth. The median level of maturity in academia is in freefall as a result.

[deniseazevedo]

Congratulations. Now, I am reading his excellent book about New Atheism. I am from Brazil

[orangutan]

I can't wait to read Ed's new book on the soul!

[bradwalton]

Good discussion. I have always respected Feser's learning and intelligence, but now I also admire his depth as a human being.

[rolandovelasquez]

How to prove God exists? For the genuine Christian the Lord God Almighty has revealed Himself completely in his Word. It's through a person. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. If that person really did say and do all the things the New Testament says he said and did and if he really and truly and literally did rise from the dead, then he is, in fact, the Son of God and God does exist. He and only he reveals the Father to us.
And who knows the Father better than the Son? It's not a rhetorical question.
But let me allow the Son to speak for himself:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:6

“Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, ...? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 14:9

And let us not forget that on the feast of St. Nicholas in 1273, Thomas Aquinas was celebrating Mass when he received a revelation that so affected him that he wrote and dictated no more.
He even left his great work the Summa Theologiae unfinished. The reason he gave was,
"All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me.”
And let us also not forget that straw, typically, is the part of the grain harvest that is relatively useless, unfit for human consumption.
To discover any theological truth you need go no further than the Word of God. Human reasoning has some value but ultimately it pales in comparison to the Word (Jesus):

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God... In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:1‭-‬2‭, ‬4‭-‬5

If one does not know whether or not God exists he simply "has not comprehended it (the Word)" and he or she has not come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and is not born again.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3

[jmike]

Im an atheist but i really enjoy listening to Fr. Pine's wealth of knowledge on Thomism. Its a life long project and so i appreciate the platform for these discussions. Your debate/discussion with Joe was an amazing exchange.

[jhljhl]

If God exists, would it be necessary to prove it?

[martyfromnebraska]

Ed’s getting old :(

I’m getting old.

[ronaldrrootiii]

The problem I have is that if God is so mighty and everywhere and made everything and above everything wouldn't we just be arguing things about him but it would be common knowledge that he exists and not arguing his mere existence itself? It's like the example of when you see smoke you know there's a fire even if you can't see the fire you see the evidence of the fire by the smoke but if you've never actually seen God and no one has actually shown you God then he isn't like the fire because the fire you know is there cuz you've seen fire before you've never seen God so you can't say the evidence of him is for sure from him but you're just guessing that the evidence is from him

[TheProdigalMeowMeowMeowReturns]

I don’t like saying this, but it just has to be noted. Feser’s complaint about people being nasty and gratuitously aggressive and insulting in philosophy of religion is utterly ironic given the way he talks to and about people— including preemptively.

[HaydnArlene-iy]

Gonzalez Richard Hall Robert Rodriguez Susan

[cnault]

How to prove god exists?

Step one: present a clear valid definition for god. ( a valid definition will contain no logical fallacies or unproven assertions)

Step two: present evidence for the clearly defined god that can be examined and verified

[tomgreene]

The conversations between Feser and Oppy on utube are good. I think F is honest about the power of these for the modern reader.