Argument from degree

As formulated by Thomas Aquinas, the argument from degree is stated as follows:

Counter-apologetics
Dawkins replies:

The Argument From Goodness
The argument from goodness is a special case of the argument from degree. In his Summa Theologica, Aquinas writes:

By saying, "as fire, which is the maximum heat", Aquinas scuttles his own argument: fusion reactions, which power stars (including the sun) are much hotter than fire. Aquinas, of course, did not know this, and therefore could not have based his idea of heat on the "maximum heat". Yet we do not doubt that he understood what "heat" means.

Likewise, we can know what "goodness" and "perfection" (in Aquinas's sense) mean by comparing people and actions to each other, and not to some superlative standard of goodness and perfection.

Secondly, a perfect standard can be useful without having concrete existence. For instance, we can mathematically define a perfect circle and use that as the standard for roundness. However, it is impossible to draw a perfect circle, and thus a perfect circle cannot exist. Similarly, the fact that we can imagine a perfectly good being in no way implies that that being actually exists.