HomeBack to all cards
King of Hearts
the teleological family

The Fifth Way (Governance of the World)

St Thomas Aquinas — The Angelic Doctor
Summa Theologiae (Summa Theologica)

The Fifth Way (Governance of the World), card face
DemonstrativeConcludes that something exists.
Argument form
Modus ponens
Concludes to
Intelligent agent (something intelligent directing unknowing things to their ends)
Premise ground
Metaphysical (what lacks knowledge acts to an end only if directed by intelligence)
Modal strength
Actual
What it licenses
  • intelligence
  • providence (directs to ends)
Period
Medieval (1265–74)
Tradition
Thomist (Aristotelian)

Further reading

This formulation is ours, composed from the primary source and compressed to fit the card; the argument admits of other statements. Objections have been made to every argument in the deck; where one is linked above, it is chosen by us, not written by us.

ergocards.com/fifth-way

An Athens & Jerusalem product