Aquinas' Proofs for God's Existence: St. Thomas Aquinas on: "The per Accidens Necessarily Implies the per se"

The purpose of this study is to investigate the legitimacy of the principle, "The per accidens necessarily implies the per se," as it is found in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Special emphasis will be placed upon the function of this principle in the proofs for God's existence. The relevance of the principle in this latter context can be seen at once when it is observed that it is the key to the solution of the well known "problem of infinite regress. " The investigation of the princi...