The Argument from Gradation as Proof of God

Thomas Aquinas’s Five Ways explore different facets of reality to demonstrate God’s existence. The Fourth Way, the Argument from Gradation, addresses the observable hierarchy of qualities in the world, such as goodness, truth, and nobility. Found in the Summa Theologica (I, Q. 2, Art. 3), this argument reveals the necessity of a being that embodies the highest perfection—God. As Thomist philosopher Eleonore Stump observes:

“The Fourth Way moves us beyond causation to the very nature of value itself, showing that all degrees of goodness and truth derive from a source of absolute perfection.”¹

The Fourth Way Explained: Degrees of Perfection

Aquinas begins with the empirical observation that qualities like goodness, truth, and nobility exist in varying degrees. For example, some things are better, truer, or nobler than others. This gradation implies a standard or maximum by which these qualities are measured. Aquinas writes:

“Among beings there are some more and some less good, true, noble, and the like. But more and less are predicated of different things according to how they resemble something which is the maximum.”²

This reasoning leads Aquinas to conclude that there must exist a being that is the ultimate source of all perfections. Just as fire is the source of heat, this being must be the standard of all goodness, truth, and nobility. Aquinas identifies this being as God, “the maximum of being.”³

Philosophical Foundations: Participation in Perfection

The Fourth Way builds on the metaphysical principle of participation, rooted in Neoplatonism. In this framework, all created things participate in higher perfections but do so imperfectly. For example, a beautiful painting reflects beauty but only participates in it to a limited degree. These gradations point to a source that possesses these qualities fully and perfectly.

Philosopher Brian Davies explains:

“Aquinas’s Fourth Way shows that degrees of goodness or truth are not arbitrary but point to a source of perfection that transcends finite reality.”⁴

Similarly, David Bentley Hart states:

“The argument from gradation compels us to acknowledge that all finite values are anchored in an infinite perfection that gives them meaning.”⁵

The Fourth Way moves beyond mere observation of degrees to a metaphysical necessity: without an ultimate standard, no gradations would exist.

Theological Implications: God as the Source of Perfection

The Maximum Being identified in the Fourth Way must be the source and standard of all perfection. This being possesses qualities like goodness, truth, and nobility not in degrees but in their fullest and most absolute form. This aligns with the biblical description of God, particularly in Matthew 5:48, where Jesus declares, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Norman Geisler emphasizes:

“The Fourth Way identifies God as the supreme standard by which all values are measured, grounding ethics, truth, and beauty in the nature of God.”⁶

Timothy Keller connects this reasoning to human experience:

“Our longing for goodness and truth reflects the reality that these qualities have an ultimate source. Aquinas reminds us that our search for meaning finds its fulfillment in God.”⁷

The argument also reveals God’s transcendence. As the source of all perfections, God is not just better or greater but qualitatively distinct, existing as the infinite ground of all being and value.

Responding to Objections

1. Subjectivity of Values:

Some critics argue that goodness, truth, and nobility are subjective or culturally determined. However, as philosopher Robert Koons notes:

“The Fourth Way relies not on arbitrary human judgments but on the objective recognition of qualities that transcend individual experience, pointing to an ultimate standard.”⁸

The argument does not depend on subjective preferences but on the metaphysical reality of gradation observed in the natural world.

2. Why Not an Abstract Standard?

Another objection is that the maximum of goodness, truth, and nobility could be an abstract principle rather than a personal God. However, Eleonore Stump counters:

“Aquinas’s argument does not stop at abstract qualities but identifies the maximum as a source of being, which requires existence, not abstraction.”⁹

An abstract principle cannot cause or sustain the existence of things, whereas the God of the Fourth Way is both the source and sustainer of all being and value.

3. Naturalistic Explanations:

Some naturalists argue that evolutionary or sociological processes explain human recognition of goodness and truth. However, as Edward Feser explains:

“Even if natural processes shape how we perceive value, they cannot account for the existence of value itself, which requires an ultimate ground in the maximum of being.”¹⁰

The Fourth Way addresses why goodness and truth exist at all, not how they are recognized or developed.

Contemporary Relevance

The Fourth Way offers profound insights into the modern search for meaning and value. In a world often marked by relativism and nihilism, Aquinas reminds us that goodness, truth, and nobility are real, objective, and rooted in God. As David Bentley Hart states:

“Without a transcendent source, all values collapse into arbitrariness. The Fourth Way restores their foundation in divine perfection.”¹¹

This argument also challenges the reductionism of materialism, which struggles to account for immaterial qualities like goodness or truth. Philosopher William Lane Craig affirms:

“The Fourth Way powerfully demonstrates that the existence of values points beyond the material world to a transcendent source.”¹²

Gradation and the Divine

Aquinas’s Fourth Way is a profound argument for the existence of God, rooted in the observation of gradation in the world. By demonstrating that all degrees of goodness, truth, and nobility point to a maximum, Aquinas identifies God as the ultimate source of all perfections. As Aquinas concludes, “This is what we call God.”¹³

This argument invites us to recognize the reality of values in the world and their ultimate grounding in God. The Fourth Way is not just a philosophical proof but a call to marvel at the perfection of the Creator, who is the fullness of all that is good, true, and noble.

¹ Eleonore Stump, Aquinas (London: Routledge, 2003).

² Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I, Q. 2, Art. 3.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Brian Davies, Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

⁵ David Bentley Hart, The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013).

⁶ Norman Geisler, Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Appraisal (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991).

⁷ Timothy Keller, The Reason for God (New York: Dutton, 2008).

⁸ Robert C. Koons, Realism Regained: An Exact Theory of Causation, Teleology, and the Mind (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

⁹ Eleonore Stump, Aquinas (London: Routledge, 2003).

¹⁰ Edward Feser, Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide (London: Oneworld, 2009).

¹¹ Hart, The Experience of God.

¹² William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).

¹³ Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I, Q. 2, Art. 3.