Work

What's in a Name? The Logic of 'God,' Existence, and The Five Ways: "Respondeo dicendum quod Deum esse quinque viis probari potest."

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: : After discussing the Goal Objection—a twofold objection to Aquinas's Five Ways—the paper disambiguates the use of the Latin deus (god) in Aquinas's discussion. Then, analyzing the semantics of the disambiguated deus , it argues that the Five Ways are not intended to be a demonstration of there being only one god, as one form of the objection has it. Further, the ways do not lead to idolatry or atheism, as another form of the objection has it. They do not intend to demonstrate the existence of God at all, although their conclusions, if true, are made true by the existence of God.

Source: Journal of the history of philosophy

DOI: 10.1353/hph.2025.a971097

Author: John O'Callaghan

Language: English

Topic: Medieval Philosophy and Theology

Subfield: Philosophy

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

OpenAlex ID: W4414886501

FWCI:

Cites:

Cited by:

Related to: