we agree: there is motion

it is important to remember
that the word "proof" must be understood
in a broader and less "factual" sense
than might be expected in "scientific proof"
whereby a process to minimize doubt
about an objective matter is the matter at hand

when thomas aquinas uses "proof" it is closer
to "the principles of this argument" than to
an effort to establish objective certainty beyond doubt
for in fact
when the "proof " is established
it is not possible in any way to point to
a tangible "thing" called God
it simply becomes a matter of having to accept
the proposition within its own terms
in this case
"movement must have a beginning"
a contrary argument might be interesting
but i would bet
futile

however
it may be interesting for someone to "disprove" the
"proofs" of st thomas

it is late and i just now had the thought
of attempting to use thomas' own method of
establishing the truthfulness of a proposition

instead i will simply state the case

there is motion
everything
be it animate or inanimate
is moving
however slowly

but we live in a world where there is motion
wind clouds trees animals are all moving

thomas utilizes knowledge that is already pretty old
by his time
the physical principle which observes that
nothing moves of itself
an object only moves if acted upon by another object
and since movement is inconceivable without
prior action
it follows that all action must have an origin
it is impossible to prove that there was
at any time or proto-time
a setting whereby action or movement did not happen

quite simply we are working with a given
and thomas is reiterating an important fact--
at some point human thinking grasped the notion
of movement and worked out the intricacies of
what consititutes movement - the "laws" as it were
this basic physics predates aristotle to be sure
but it is easy to imagine aristotle going through steps
to ascertain the findings of the early physicists

thus the "proof" is that of the Prime Mover
and in fact the greek word which is synonymous of God
is Theo-urgos
(in comparison our word God is fairly pietistic -- deriving from the
old german word for "good" )

so the greeks were fairly unanimous in their understanding
that something had to have gotten the ball rolling
simply because what can be perceived in nature in regards to motion
suggests very forcefully
the existence of this said Prime Mover

it is difficult in our times
to stop and consider all that moves
even if we limit that consideration to things
which move "naturally"
how the natural world moves
grows breaks dwindles dies rots
into a never ceasing cycle or continuum of activity
we call life

modern physics has given the awareness
that even inanimate objects like rocks
are in fact "alive" with movement
at the atomic level
stasis can only be perceived subjectively
for we know now
it is all moving

thomas' preferred definition for god
is "pure act"

at some level of human consciousness
we know that we act
i know that i act
i can describe the determinants of my actions
upon reflecting for a moment
and this fact alone perhaps has given rise
to the vast domain of knowledge

i act
i am aware of my activity
i can reflect upon my activity
i can stand in amazement of my activity
i can repeat my activity
and can develope a simple activity
and it can soon become a corporate enterprise
a launching of spacecraft into the ethereal vastness of space

let us then not fail to be attentive
to all that is moving
as we sit in peace
let us marvel like the first awareness
of what it means to act to move

this first principle of human consciousness
corresponds exactly with the awakening of mind
in infants
as they begin to "see" their first awareness
is of movement
something is moving

we can go so far as to say then
that
"action" and the perception of "action"
is the beginning point for epistemology
"the science of knowing"
sounds a bit redundant and convoluted
but only the human can ask the question
"how do i know?"
"how do i know what i know?"
"how do i know that i know what i know?"

all movement which we perceive is observably consistent
we possess the intuition
if we keep close in mind to the animal instinct
of awareness of motion