Saint Thomas Aquinas Five Proofs for the Existence of God Essay

Saint Thomas Aquinas' Five Proofs for the Existence of God   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scientific reasoning has brought humanity to incredibly high levels of sophistication in all realms of knowledge. For Saint Thomas Aquinas, his passion involved the scientific reasoning of God. The existence, simplicity and will of God are simply a few topics which Aquinas explores in the Summa Theologica. Through arguments entailing these particular topics, Aquinas forms an argument that God has the ability of knowing and willing this particular world of contingent beings. The contrasting nature of necessary beings and contingent beings is at the heart of this debate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aquinas sets up this argument in his discussion of whether or not God exists. His five proofs set up the framework for much of his later writings in the Summa Theologica. As with the five proofs in their entirety, most of Aquinas’ reasoning stems from the third proof concerning the existence of God. The first two proofs lead to the third’s conclusion that God is "esse a se", or to be of itself. From this conclusion of God as an infinite being, Aquinas moves to the third question, concerning the simplicity of God. In article four of question three, Aquinas determines that God is ultimately simple in that his essence does not differ from his being. He writes, "Therefore, since in God there is no potentiality, it follows that in Him essence does not differ from being. Therefore, His essence is His being." God is an unchanging, infinite being. There is no conceivable way in which he could have parts, such as a separate being and a separate essence. From these proofs and others, Aquinas determines that God is an all knowing, perfectly good, perfectly powerful being. Moving back to the third proof of the existence of God, Aquinas determines that God is the ultimate being and that his existence precludes the existence of contingent beings. The notion entails the idea that without infinity, finite beings would not exist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aquinas also addresses the issue of the simplicity of God. From a series of logical steps, he concludes that God is altogether simple. He says, God is "neither a composition of quantitative parts, since He is not a body; nor composition of form and matter; nor does his nature differ from his suppositum." It only makes logical sense that God, not existing in any physical sense, could not have physica... ...sary and contingent beings. Evil is not a consequence of the will of God rather it is a lack of good. Aquinas also says that evil in the world is unavoidable. In Question 2, article 3, Aquinas says that God allows evil in order to produce good out of the existence of evil. The existence of evil in the world is indirect. Also, it would seem that God, being all powerful, could eliminate evil in the world but this has not happened. Aquinas reasons this out by discussing the two types of evil, natural and moral. For example, a person dying is often the result of natural events in the community and this person’s death opens up resources for others who are still alive. The sense of competition in this world adds a sense of necessity to death. There cannot be life without death. This is a similar situation to evil, in that good cannot exist without evil. Natural rules and laws are put into place to make this world, one in which God willed a sense of morals, exist, so natural evil and suffering must exist. With free will, there must be choice. Therefore, evil must exist because human beings make the wrong choices. We are not perfectly good. Things like temptation are part of who we are. Saint Thomas Aquinas' Five Proofs for the Existence of God Essay Saint Thomas Aquinas' Five Proofs for the Existence of God   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scientific reasoning has brought humanity to incredibly high levels of sophistication in all realms of knowledge. For Saint Thomas Aquinas, his passion involved the scientific reasoning of God. The existence, simplicity and will of God are simply a few topics which Aquinas explores in the Summa Theologica. Through arguments entailing these particular topics, Aquinas forms an argument that God has the ability of knowing and willing this particular world of contingent beings. The contrasting nature of necessary beings and contingent beings is at the heart of this debate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aquinas sets up this argument in his discussion of whether or not God exists. His five proofs set up the framework for much of his later writings in the Summa Theologica. As with the five proofs in their entirety, most of Aquinas’ reasoning stems from the third proof concerning the existence of God. The first two proofs lead to the third’s conclusion that God is "esse a se", or to be of itself. From this conclusion of God as an infinite being, Aquinas moves to the third question, concerning the simplicity of God. In article four of question three, Aquinas determines that God is ultimately simple in that his essence does not differ from his being. He writes, "Therefore, since in God there is no potentiality, it follows that in Him essence does not differ from being. Therefore, His essence is His being." God is an unchanging, infinite being. There is no conceivable way in which he could have parts, such as a separate being and a separate essence. From these proofs and others, Aquinas determines that God is an all knowing, perfectly good, perfectly powerful being. Moving back to the third proof of the existence of God, Aquinas determines that God is the ultimate being and that his existence precludes the existence of contingent beings. The notion entails the idea that without infinity, finite beings would not exist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aquinas also addresses the issue of the simplicity of God. From a series of logical steps, he concludes that God is altogether simple. He says, God is "neither a composition of quantitative parts, since He is not a body; nor composition of form and matter; nor does his nature differ from his suppositum." It only makes logical sense that God, not existing in any physical sense, could not have physica... ...sary and contingent beings. Evil is not a consequence of the will of God rather it is a lack of good. Aquinas also says that evil in the world is unavoidable. In Question 2, article 3, Aquinas says that God allows evil in order to produce good out of the existence of evil. The existence of evil in the world is indirect. Also, it would seem that God, being all powerful, could eliminate evil in the world but this has not happened. Aquinas reasons this out by discussing the two types of evil, natural and moral. For example, a person dying is often the result of natural events in the community and this person’s death opens up resources for others who are still alive. The sense of competition in this world adds a sense of necessity to death. There cannot be life without death. This is a similar situation to evil, in that good cannot exist without evil. Natural rules and laws are put into place to make this world, one in which God willed a sense of morals, exist, so natural evil and suffering must exist. With free will, there must be choice. Therefore, evil must exist because human beings make the wrong choices. We are not perfectly good. Things like temptation are part of who we are.

Sg Cowen Case

*Case #1 :* *SG Cowen* The SC Cowen case revolves around the decision to offer potential candidates a job at the firm. The firm has two spots open, but they still have four candidates left. Each candidate has certain pros and cons so a trade-off needs to be made by the recruitment committee so that a decision can be made on who to hire. Reflect upon a time you had a negative recruiting/hiring experience. What were the signs that the experience was not going well? Explain My first negative recruiting experience was when I applied for an internship at a law firm. I had my interview with both a recruiter and an associate of the firm. Right at the start of the interview I felt there was no fit between myself and the people on the other side of the table. I think I answered most of their questions in a way that I was satisfied with, but I felt that they were really trying to trap me into giving a â€Å"wrong† answer. I got this feeling because they were asking me questions that had totally no relevance to what I was applying for. Furthermore I got the feeling they were looking down on me as they did not seem to acknowledge some of my achievements (my grades for example). At the end they rejected me because they felt that I did not speak fluent Dutch, even though I have lived in the Netherlands all of my life. I was very disappointed about this, but I did learn how important this cultural fit is. When I look back now I always say to myself that I wouldn’t want to spend 60+ hours a week with people I have no connection with in the first place. What is your evaluation of the criteria used by this organization in making hiring decisions? Jim Kennedy has specified four types of criteria that have to be taken into account when determining whether there is a fit between the candidate and the job profile. These are education and experience, intellectual capabilities, personality characteristics and motivational characteristics. SG Cowen’s associate evaluation form has the following criteria listed: commitment to firm, maturity, interpersonal skills, leadership, technical skills and work ethic. Both criteria sets are listed in the table below. I think that SG Cowen uses many of the criteria that Jim Kennedy has identified. What is very different though is that for SG Cowen experience in the current field is not important. Instead they look for a form of affinity with financial markets (as can be seen in the assessment of a candidate’s accounting/finance skills). Which two candidates would you select if you were a member of the recruiting committee at SG Cowen? I would select Natalya Godlweska and Andy Sanchez. In my opinion investment banking is all about being able to learn fast and commitment. Therefore in a candidate I would look for someone who has been successful and willing to commit himself to both the firm and the job. I believe Natalya and Andy fit these criteria the most. Natalya was Cornell’s top student and Andy managed a highly successful business. I believe Martin has not made up his mind on where he wants to work, which to me says he is not willing to commit himself to SG Cowen. Ken on the other hand has already shown commitment in his previous job. But I think the hurdle for him are his two very young kids. Having a kid requires enormous amounts of time, especially in their young years and this cannot be combined with a job that requires 120 hours a week of your time. Name one key difference or similarity between hiring and recruiting at SG Cowen and your HR Plan company, and give your opinion on this. For our HR plan we have chosen the company Danone. The recruitment process that SG Cowen utilizes is very different from that of Danone. SG Cowen has chosen one specific day, Super Saturday, as its only recruitment day. On this day all of the open spots for associates get filled up. Danone recruits throughout the year and essentially has no application deadlines. In my opinion SG Cowen is losing out on many top candidates due to its strict recruitment procedure. By having only one day and thus one deadline to submit your application (in a year! ) they may lose out on top candidates who are tied up for some reason and therefore cannot apply. Noone would be willing to wait a full year, especially in the banking industry where you have so many other good alternatives.

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