In Thomist metaphysics, beauty is defined as unity, harmony and clarity. In a word,
beauty is order. Philosophers have attempted to arrive at a definition of beauty on the
basis of physicists’ descriptions of physics; however, physicists’ accounts are not
always consistent. Thomist aesthetics, however, adequately accounts for the various
understandings of beauty on which physicists insist. Such attributions of beauty to
physics as well as the entire practice of physics find themselves in danger if physics
is viewed through an instrumentalist lens. Critical realism is necessary in order for
such statements about beauty in physics to mean what physicists intend them to
mean. Also, if beauty is real and critical realism accounts correctly for beauty and
physics, then it can be argued that God exists via the Fourth Way of Thomas Aquinas,
which finds evidence for the existence of God in gradations in things. The gradation of
perfections such as nobility, goodness and truth implies the existence of some
maximum perfection, which is God. It is argued in this thesis that although not
mentioned by Aquinas in his corpus, beauty is one of those perfections. This
constitutes a new argument for the existence of God on the basis of beauty.
In Thomistese metafisika word skoonheid omskryf as eenheid, harmonie en
duidelikheid. Met ander woorde, skoonheid is orde. Filosowe het probeer om
skoonheid op grond van fisici se beskrywings van fisika te omskryf, maar fisici se
weergawes is nie altyd konsekwent nie. Thomistiese estetika verduidelik die
verskillende begrippe van skoonheid waarop fisici aandring egter voldoende. Sulke
toeskrywings van skoonheid aan fisika en die praktyk van fisika as geheel verkeer in
gevaar as fisika deur 'n instrumentalistiese lens beskou word. Kritiese realisme is
nodig om seker te maak dat sulke verklarings oor skoonheid in fisika beteken wat fisici
bedoel het hulle moet beteken. Verder, as skoonheid werklik bestaan en kritiese
realisme korrek rekening gee van skoonheid en fisika, kan daar aangevoer word dat
God via die Vierde Weg van Thomas Aquinas bestaan, wat bewyse vir die bestaan
van God in gradasies van dinge vind. Die gradering van volmaakthede soos
adelikheid, goedheid en waarheid impliseer die bestaan van die een of ander
maksimum volmaaktheid – wat God is. In hierdie proefskrif word daar aangevoer dat
alhoewel Aquinas nie daarvan melding maak in sy korpus nie, is skoonheid een van
hierdie volmaakthede. Dit is 'n nuwe argument vir die bestaan van God op grond van
skoonheid.
Kwisifundo se-Thomist metaphysics, ubuhle buchazwa njengobumbano, ukuzwana
nokucacisa. Ngamafuphi nje, ubuhle buwukuhleleka. Izazi zefilosofi zike zazama
ukufika encazelweni yobuhle ngesisekelo sezincazelo zezazi ze-fiziksi; nokho-ke,
ama-akhawunti ezazi zefiziksi awahlezi ehamba ngendlela eyodwa. I-Thomist
aesthetics, nokho-ke, ilandisa ngokwanele ukuqonda okuhlukahlukene kobuhle lapho
izazi ze-fiziksi zigcizelela khona. Ukuchazwa okunjalo kobuhle kwi-fiziksi kanye
nawowonke umkhuba we-physics kuzithola kusengozini uma i-fiziksi ibhekwa ngelensi
yezinsiza. Kudingeka iqiniso elibucayi ukuze lezo zitatimende mayelana nobuhle kuphysics
zisho lokho izazi ze-fiziksi ezihlose ukuba zisho. Futhi, uma ubuhle
bungokoqobo futhi buyiqiniso elibucayi bulandisa kahle ngobuhle kanye ne-fiziksi,
khona-ke kungaphikiswana ngokuthi uNkulunkulu ukhona ngeNdlela yesine ka-
Thomas Aquinas, ethola ubufakazi bobukhona bukaNkulunkulu ngokuhlukaniswa
kwezinto. Ukwehlukaniswa kwezinga lokuphelela okufana nezikhulu, ubuhle kanye
neqiniso kusho ukuba khona kokupheleliswa okukhulu, okunguNkulunkulu.
Kuphikiswana ngayo kule thesis ukuthi nakuba kungashiwongo ngu-Aquinas kucorpus
yakhe, ubuhle bungenye yalezo zimfanelo. Lokhu kwakha impikiswano entsha
yobukhona bukaNkulunkulu ngesisekelo sobuhle.
