Collected Articles on the Existence of God

by Gaven Kerr

The twentieth century witnessed an explosion of scholarly interest in the philosophical thought of St Thomas Aquinas. One of the fruits of that Thomistic revival was an uncovering of St Thomas's original contributions to many areas of philosophy, not least metaphysics. In the twenty first century, there has been renewed interest in Aquinas's argumentation for the existence of God. This interest flows from an engagement with the work of the twentieth century scholars in presenting Aquinas's own characteristic metaphysics. What we have seen is an interpretation and presentation of Aquinas's proofs for God's existence in terms of Thomas's unique insights into the nature of being and the metaphysical structure of reality. Gaven Kerr has been one such author who has contributed in numerous ways to the revival of interest in Aquinas's argumentation for the existence of God and its metaphysical buttressing. Over the last ten years Kerr has published articles on Aquinas's various proofs for God's existence and the metaphysics standing behind those proofs; this volume draws together those articles. Herein are included Kerr's articles on per se ordered series, existential inertia, the proof in De Ente et Essentia, the argument from motion in the Summa Contra Gentiles, and the five ways themselves. Kerr has also written two new articles for this one on the possibility of demonstrating God's existence, and the other on how to move from God's existence to God's nature. This volume offers an overview of Kerr's thinking over the last decade on Aquinas's thought on the existence of God.

288 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2022

About the author

Gaven Kerr is a Thomist from Belfast, Northern Ireland, a married father of three, and a Third Order Dominican. He teaches theology at Mary Immaculate College Limerick. He has focused on philosophy and theology throughout his student days and into his academic career, in particular the thought of St Thomas Aquinas. He defends Aquinas's thought within a contemporary context, and by means of that thought he engages with the other non-Thomist traditions.