Aquinas' fifth way does prove the existence of God by showing how he directs all natural things to their end. The fifth way explains how we observe that natural bodies act toward ends. Anything that acts toward an end either acts out of knowledge, or under the direction of something with knowledge, "as the arrow is directed by the archer". But many natural beings lack knowledge. "Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God". By use of the analogy of the oak tree and Paley's watchmaker, I shall prove that God's existence is true
Aquinas' fifth way say's that natural bodies without knowledge act for an end, and it is always in the same way so as to obtai
The argument as to whether Aquinas' fifth way proves the existence of God is a decisive one. Whether it be the analogy of the oak tree or the watchmaker it is evident that there must have been a designer of all things in the universe. For Aquinas logically believed that inanimate objects, such as planets, could never have organized themselves, obviously lacking the intelligence to do so. They were ordered by a being with intelligence who could; which would be God.
Paley's analogy of the watchmaker reinforces Aquinas' fifth, that there must be a designer of natural bodies. The watchmaker analogy explains how a man walking along a beach finds a watch, describes it as being made of several parts and put together for a specific purpose. I
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