Jacob Holleran
Mr. Corso
Astronomy
Period 5
12/12/17
Science vs Religion Science and religion have been seemingly at war for centuries, with some scholars on both sides trying to divide the two and others attempting to reconcile them. My personal opinion is that science and religion should not be viewed as two separate entities, rather as two sides of the same coin. My opinion is backed up by the Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, and the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, With the evidence presented by these thinkers, I truly believe that science and religion can coexist peacefully.
Born in 1813, Soren Kierkegaard is often viewed as the founder of the philosophy of Existentialism. This is loosely described as the philosophy of the …show more content…
Thomas Aquinas wrote his book “The Quinque viæ” or “The Five Proofs.” In this he provides five arguments for the existence of God: The Arguments from motion, efficient causes, possibility and necessity, gradation of being, and design. The argument from motion states that nothing can move itself, so logically a first mover would exist, ie God. The argument from efficient cause is that nothing exists prior to itself, therefore nothing is the efficient cause of itself. This means that nothing can create itself, therefore the first efficient cause would be what we call God. The third argument is put that nothing in nature can exist forever. For every being there is a time in which they did not exist. Therefore, for anything to exist there would be something that exists of its own necessity, that doesn’t exist from others, which is God. The second to last argument states that there is a hierarchy of things from worst to best in nature, and that something would have to be the most perfect, which he offers, is God. The final argument id from design. It says that bodies work towards a goal, and were designed as such. Therefore, an intelligent being exists that gives a purpose to natural things, this being God. Thomas Aquinas uses these five points in his defense of religion and God
Oppositionists to Kierkegaard say that his philosophy is just an excuse to believe religion without any scientific evidence. The French philosopher Albert Camus says that Kierkegaard’s leap of faith is “philosophical suicide,” meaning that it is a scapegoat to avoid questions that seem unanswerable. For St. Thomas Aquinas’s Five proofs, many disregard them as limited by the knowledge of the 13th century, and illogical in today's modern
Mr. Corso
Astronomy
Period 5
12/12/17
Science vs Religion Science and religion have been seemingly at war for centuries, with some scholars on both sides trying to divide the two and others attempting to reconcile them. My personal opinion is that science and religion should not be viewed as two separate entities, rather as two sides of the same coin. My opinion is backed up by the Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, and the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, With the evidence presented by these thinkers, I truly believe that science and religion can coexist peacefully.
Born in 1813, Soren Kierkegaard is often viewed as the founder of the philosophy of Existentialism. This is loosely described as the philosophy of the …show more content…
Thomas Aquinas wrote his book “The Quinque viæ” or “The Five Proofs.” In this he provides five arguments for the existence of God: The Arguments from motion, efficient causes, possibility and necessity, gradation of being, and design. The argument from motion states that nothing can move itself, so logically a first mover would exist, ie God. The argument from efficient cause is that nothing exists prior to itself, therefore nothing is the efficient cause of itself. This means that nothing can create itself, therefore the first efficient cause would be what we call God. The third argument is put that nothing in nature can exist forever. For every being there is a time in which they did not exist. Therefore, for anything to exist there would be something that exists of its own necessity, that doesn’t exist from others, which is God. The second to last argument states that there is a hierarchy of things from worst to best in nature, and that something would have to be the most perfect, which he offers, is God. The final argument id from design. It says that bodies work towards a goal, and were designed as such. Therefore, an intelligent being exists that gives a purpose to natural things, this being God. Thomas Aquinas uses these five points in his defense of religion and God
Oppositionists to Kierkegaard say that his philosophy is just an excuse to believe religion without any scientific evidence. The French philosopher Albert Camus says that Kierkegaard’s leap of faith is “philosophical suicide,” meaning that it is a scapegoat to avoid questions that seem unanswerable. For St. Thomas Aquinas’s Five proofs, many disregard them as limited by the knowledge of the 13th century, and illogical in today's modern