In the previous post I offered the outline for a possible argument for a causal proposition. Here is the basic, five-premise outline:
- Everything real is either subsistent or dependent on another
- The existence of finite things is not subsistent
- Therefore the existence of finite things is dependent on another
- Whatever is dependent on another is caused by another
- Therefore, the existence of finite things is caused by another
In that post I offered also the outline for a defense of the first premise. Here I will do the same for the second premise, that the existence of finite things is not subsistent. These first two are the two crucial premises.
- Whatever is a part of a whole, in such a way that it cannot exist on its own apart from the whole, is non-subsistent
- Whatever is a part of a whole, in such a way that it cannot exist on its own apart from the whole, is dependent on the whole for its existence
- Whatever is subsistent is/has what is sufficient for its existence on its own
- Whatever is dependent for its existence on something else, does not have what is sufficient for its existence on its own
- Therefore whatever is dependent for its existence on something else, is non-subsistent
- Therefore whatever is a part of a whole, in such a way that it cannot exist on its own apart from the whole, is dependent on the whole for its existence
- The existence of finite things is a part of a whole, in such a way that it cannot exist on its own apart from the whole
- Whatever is real is either a whole itself or is part of a whole
- The existence of finite things is not the whole finite thing itself
- If any existence were a whole thing, it would just be existence itself
- The existence of finite things is not existence itself
- Therefore, the existence of finite things is not a whole thing
- Therefore the existence of finite things is a part of a whole
- Every part is either such that it can exist on its own apart from the whole of which it is a part, or cannot
- Whatever cannot exist except in combination with another, cannot exist on its own
- Existence which is not existence itself cannot exist except in combination with essence
- Therefore, existence which is not existence itself cannot exist on its own
- Therefore the existence of finite things cannot exist on its own
- Therefore the existence of finite things is a part such that it cannot exist apart from the whole of which it is a part
- Therefore the existence of finite things is non-subsistent
This outline is not as clean as it could be, nor as fully-explicated; but it at least gives a sense for a type of argument for a causal proposition which can be utilized by those with Thomistic sympathies.