Classical Theism and the Nature of God | Edward Feser
Jan 17, 2019
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Philosopher Edward Feser discusses classical theism vs theistic personalism, divine simplicity, divine conservation, and divine concurrence. The podcast dives into proofs for God's existence, attributes like omnipotence and omniscience, and the relationship between God and the world.
Classical theism emphasizes God as ultimate reality, contrasting with theistic personalism's human-like view of God.
Aristotelian and Thomistic proofs reveal God as the unmoved mover and subsistent being, highlighting His essence as existence itself.
Divine simplicity upholds God's unity as uncaused cause, safeguarding monotheism's concept of God's unique and first cause status.
God's omnipotence and omniscience derive from His all-encompassing power as ultimate source, emphasizing His unlimited capacity for action and knowledge.
Deep dives
Nature of God in Classical Theism
Classical theism contrasts with theistic personalism by focusing on the ultimate reality and explanation of existence in the nature of God. It asserts that God is the ultimate reality and explanation for why anything exists at all. Classical theism, represented by thinkers like Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas, deviates from the theistic personalist conception, focusing on God as the ultimate reality rather than a being akin to humans.
Aristotelian and Thomistic Proofs of God's Existence
The Aristotelian and Thomistic proofs of God's existence help understand the nature of God as the ultimate explanation for everything. The Aristotelian proof delves into the actualization of potential and hierarchical series of actualizers, culminating in a purely actual actualizer or unmoved mover, the core of God's conception. The Thomistic proof distinguishes between essence and existence, highlighting that God's essence just is existence, making Him the subsistent being itself.
Divine Simplicity and Monotheism
Divine simplicity, a key tenet of classical theism, posits that God is devoid of parts or composition, being the ultimate uncaused cause. Rejecting divine simplicity challenges monotheism, as it blurs God's uniqueness and status as the first cause, leading to a quasi-divine or creaturely being. Monotheism hinges on divine simplicity, safeguarding God's ultimacy and uniqueness.
Omnipotence and Omniscience of God
God's omnipotence stems from His status as the source of all power, with nothing outside His range of power, making Him all-powerful or omnipotent. In line with the principle that action follows being, God's existence in its fullest form grants Him unlimited capacity to act. Similarly, God's omniscience arises from being the cause of all existing features, necessitating that everything pre-exists in God, albeit not in the same way as in other entities. Both attributes underscore God's all-encompassing power and knowledge.
Divine Attributes and God's Nature
The interconnected attributes of God, rooted in classical theism, delineate His nature as the ultimate reality and source of existence. By exploring divine simplicity, omnipotence, and omniscience, classical theism underscores God's uniqueness, power, and knowledge, attributing them to His essence as the ultimate explanation of all things. These attributes collectively shape the understanding of God within the classical theist tradition.
Argument for God's Intellect and Omniscience
Given the principle of proportionate causality, universal forms or patterns like roundness, redness, or catness that exist in concrete things must also exist in God. These patterns can only exist in God as concepts or ideas. Therefore, intellect must be attributed to God to grasp these concepts, leading to the argument for God's omniscience.
Doctrine of Divine Conservation and Concurrence
The doctrine of divine conservation states that the world relies on God for sustenance at all times, not as a one-time event. Divine concurrence posits that nothing in the world can act unless God concurs with its activity, rejecting extremes like occasionalism and mere conservationism. Secondary causes have real causal power but depend on God for their efficacy, emphasizing God's continuous role in sustaining the world.
This talk was offered on January 16, 2019 at Oxford University. For more information about upcoming TI events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/
Organized in partnership with the Aquinas Institute at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford
Speaker Bio:
Prof. Edward Feser is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College and has also served as Visiting Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University. He received a PhD in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is the author of books including Philosophy of Mind (A Beginner's Guide), The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism, Aquinas (A Beginner's Guide), Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction, NeoScholastic Essays, Five Proofs for the Existence of God, and By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. He blogs at edwardfeser.blogspot.com/
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