Warianty argumentacji kinetycznej za istnieniem Boga

Abstract

The paper contains critical studies of various versions of the so called kinetic arguments for the existence of God. Its content was supposed to be included to the second volume of the book “Z zagadnień filozoficznego poznania Boga”. The death of Prof. Kłosak on 1 June 1982 broke down his work on the book. Its fragments prepared during last months of Kłósak’s life, in the period of his struggle against increasing cardiac problems, are published in this issue of Analecta. In the paper Kłósak presents his critical opinion on various classical versions of the kinetic arguments. After assessing the kinetic arguments of Thomas Aquinas, the author tries again to substantiate his strong opposition against some neo-Thomist amendments to the argument proposed, among others, by M. Krąpiec, J. Dorda, F. Selvaggi, R. Masi. After the critical appraisal in which many opinions of Kłósak’s earlier critiques are repeated, the author analyses new scientific background of the argument on the basis of the discussion during the interdisciplinary seminar arranged by Card. Wojtyła in 1968. In final fragments of the paper two new versions of the argument are proposed. In first of them physical premises are used in order to replace the Aristotelian physics contained in St. Thomas’ arguments by the relativistic theory of motion. In this new attitude the attention is focused on the fact of antic contingency of physically conceived motion. In the second argument, independent of physical theories of motion, the author introduces metaphysical categories of potentiality and act to substantiate the existence of the Pure Act which justifies kinetic changes expressed in transitions from potentiality to act.