Abstract
This paper presents a philosophical argument for divine providence by
Aquinas. I suggest that upon returning to Aristotle’s Physics and Metaphysics to
prepare his commentaries on these texts, Aquinas recognized that his stock argument
from natural teleology to divine providence (the fifth way and its versions)
needed to be filled out. Arguments from natural teleology can prove that God’s
providence extends to what happens for the most part, but they cannot show that
God’s providence also includes what happens for the least part. In order to prove
the latter, Aquinas claims that one must argue from a higher science, which he then
does with all characteristic clarity. This paper presents this argument, discusses what
this means for his previous arguments from teleology, and discusses the argument’s
relevance to the contemporary discussion about creation and evolution.