Great Works of Western Philosophy pre-final paper 2 Essay

Great Works of Western Philosophy pre-final paper 2 - Essay Example While Anselm’s ontological argument achieved a good amount of support, Aquinas’ cosmological outlook was the result of his strong criticism of the views of the former. However, what seems to be evidently noticeable is that Aquinas’ argument is another improvement of the ontological view of Anselm. Saint Anselm proposes his ontological view on the existence of God in Proslogion, one of the most discussed philosophical discourses of all time. As Anselm argues, he makes certain key points in favor of the existence of God: So the ontological argument states that God is the greatest possible entity to be conceived, and God exists in both reality as well as in our understanding. Whatever we can assume in the mind, it can also be conceived of as existing in reality too. Therefore, God is the greatest being existing in both reality and in the mind. However, Anselm’s ontological theory has been criticized and strongly rejected by a number of Catholic theologians as well as non-Christians, and particularly by Thomas Aquinas, another Italian theologian. Aquinas’ most acclaimed work is Summa Theologiae or ‘Summary of Theology’, where he discusses his outlook on the existence of God. Criticizing the ontological argumentation of Anselm, Aquinas elaborates his cosmological view on the existence of God in terms of five arguments or proofs. The first proof is argued from the point of view of motion that everything on earth undergoes change with regard to something existing in reality. That means there must be a first mover from which it starts. This mover is constant and known as God. The second proof argues that every effect must have a cause. The first and efficient cause of everything is known as God. The third proof states that God is the main cause for the necessary existence of everything. The fourth pr oof argues that God is the most perfect thing to possibly conceive of. The fifth proof argues that God is the master planner of everything