Argument From Degree
The argument from degrees, also known as the degrees of perfection argument or the henological argument is an argument for the existence of God first proposed by mediaeval Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas as one of the five ways to philosophically argue in favour of God's existence in his ''Summa Theologica''. It is based on ontological and theological notions of perfection. Contemporary Thomist scholars are often in disagreement on the metaphysical justification for this proof. According to Edward Feser, the metaphysics involved in the argument has more to do with Aristotle than Plato; hence, while the argument presupposes realism about universals and abstract objects, it would be more accurate to say Aquinas is thinking of Aristotelian realism and not Platonic realism per se. Aquinas's original formulation Garrigou-Lagrange Commentary In ''The One God'', Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange offers commentary on this proof. Following is a summary of this commentary. Sum ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Henology
Henology () refers to the philosophical account or discourse on The One that appears most notably in the philosophy of Plotinus. Reiner Schürmann describes it as a "metaphysics of radical transcendence" that extends beyond being and intellection. Areas of inquiry Henology stands in contradistinction to several other philosophical disciplines. The term ''henology'' refers to the discipline that centers around The One, as in the philosophies of Plato and Plotinus. It is sometimes used in contradistinction to disciplines that treat being as their starting point (as in Aristotle and Avicenna), and also to those that seek to understand knowledge and truth (as in Kant and Descartes). See also * Absolute (philosophy) * Deleuzian metaphysics * "The One is not" in the metaphysics of Alan Badiou's work Being and Event * Giovanni Pico della Mirandola * "God above God" in the philosophy of Paul Tillich * Henosis, union with what is fundamental in reality * Monad (philosophy) * Monism ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Existence Of God
The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorized as logical, empirical, metaphysical, subjective or scientific. In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of God or deities involves the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being, existence, or reality) and the theory of value (since some definitions of God include "perfection"). The Western tradition of philosophical discussion of the existence of God or deities began with Plato and Aristotle, who made arguments that would now be categorized as cosmological. Other arguments for the existence of God or deities have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Thomas Aquinas, who presented their own vers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter in the New Testament of the Christian Bible Roman or Romans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Romans (band), a Japanese pop group * ''Roman'' (album), by Sound Horizon, 2006 * ''Roman'' (EP), by Teen Top, 2011 *" Roman (My Dear Boy)", a 2004 single by Morning Musume Film and television * Film Roman, an American animation studio * ''Roman'' (film), a 2006 American suspense-horror film * ''Romans'' (2013 film), an Indian Malayalam comedy film * ''Romans'' (2017 film), a British drama film * ''The Romans'' (''Doctor Who''), a serial in British TV series People *Roman (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters *Roman (surname), including a list of people named Roman or Romans *ῬωμΠ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known within the tradition as the , the , and the . The name ''Aquinas'' identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, Italy. Among other things, he was a prominent proponent of natural theology and the father of a school of thought (encompassing both theology and philosophy) known as Thomism. He argued that God is the source of both the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He has been described as "the most influential thinker of the medieval period" and "the greatest of the medieval philosopher-theologians". His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy is derived from his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Quinquae Viae
The ''Quinque viæ'' (Latin for "Five Ways") (sometimes called "five proofs") are five logical arguments for the existence of God summarized by the 13th-century Catholic philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas in his book ''Summa Theologica''. They are: #the argument from "first mover"; #the argument from universal causation; #the argument from contingency; #the argument from degree; #the argument from final cause or ends ("teleological argument"). Aquinas expands the first of these – God as the "unmoved mover" – in his ''Summa Contra Gentiles''. Background Need for demonstration of the existence of God Aquinas did not think the finite human mind could know what God is directly, therefore God's existence is not self-evident to us.''ST'', I, Q 2, A 1Latinan So instead the proposition ''God exists'' must be "demonstrated" from God's effects, which are more known to us.''ST'', I, Q 2, A 2an However, Aquinas did not hold that what could be demonstrated philosoph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Summa Theologica
The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholasticism, scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main theology, theological teachings of the Catholic Church, intended to be an instructional guide for theology students, including Seminary, seminarians and the literate laity. Presenting the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, topics of the ''Summa'' follow the following cycle: God; Creation, Man; teleology, Man's purpose; Christ; the Sacraments; and back to God. Thomas Aquinas#Late career and cessation of writing (1272–1274), Although unfinished, it is "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." Moreover, the ''Summa'' remains Aquinas' "most perfect work, the fruit of his mature years, in which the thought of his whole life is con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Perfection
Perfection is a state, variously, of completeness, flawlessness, or supreme excellence. The terminology, term is used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts. These have historically been addressed in a number of discrete academic discipline, disciplines, notably mathematics, physics, chemistry, ethics, aesthetics, ontology, and theology. Term and concept The form of the word long fluctuated in various languages. The English language had the alternates, "perfection" and the Bible, Biblical "perfectness."WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Tatarkiewicz, Tatarkiewicz, "Perfection: the Term and the Concept," ''Dialectics and Humanism'', vol. VI, no. 4 (autumn 1979), p. 5. The word "perfection" derives from the Latin "''w:la:perfectio, perfectio''", and "perfect" — from "''w:la:perfectus, perfectus''". These expressions in turn come from "''w:la:perficio, perficio''" — "to finish", "to bring to an end". "''Perfectio''(n)" thus literally means "a finishing", and "perfect''(us)''" â ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". This Latin name is a Latinisation of a Germanic language name. This Germanic name is composed of two elements: the first ''ragin'', meaning "advice", "counsel", "decision"; the second element is ''wald'', meaning "rule", "ruler". The Old German form of the name is ''Raginald''; Old French forms are ''Reinald'' and ''Reynaud''. Forms of this Germanic name were first brought to the British Isles by Scandinavians, in the form of the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr''. This name was later reinforced by the arrival of the Normans in the 11th century, in the Norman forms ''Reinald'' and ''Reynaud''. which cited: for the surname "Reynold". The Latin ''Reginaldus'' was used as a Latin form of cognate names, such as the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', and the Gae ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Natural Law
Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted laws of a state or society). According to natural law theory (called jusnaturalism), all people have inherent rights, conferred not by act of legislation but by "God, nature, or reason." Natural law theory can also refer to "theories of ethics, theories of politics, theories of civil law, and theories of religious morality." In the Western tradition, it was anticipated by the pre-Socratics, for example in their search for principles that governed the cosmos and human beings. The concept of natural law was documented in ancient Greek philosophy, including Aristotle, and was referred to in ancient Roman philosophy by Cicero. References to it are also to be found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and were later expou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Law Of Noncontradiction
In logic, the law of non-contradiction (LNC) (also known as the law of contradiction, principle of non-contradiction (PNC), or the principle of contradiction) states that contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time, e. g. the two propositions "''p is the case''" and "''p is not the case''" are mutually exclusive. Logical form, Formally this is expressed as the tautology (logic), tautology ¬(p ∧ ¬p). The law is not to be confused with the law of excluded middle which states that at least one, "p is the case" or "p is not the case" holds. One reason to have this law is the principle of explosion, which states that anything follows from a contradiction. The law is employed in a ''reductio ad absurdum'' proof. To express the fact that the law is tenseless and to avoid equivocation, sometimes the law is amended to say "contradictory propositions cannot both be true 'at the same time and in the same sense'". It is one of the so called Law_of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Argument From Desire
The argument from desire is an argument for the existence of the immortality of the soul. The best-known defender of the argument is the Christian writer C. S. Lewis. Briefly and roughly, the argument states that humans’ natural desire for eternal happiness must be capable of satisfaction, because all natural desires are capable of satisfaction. Versions of the argument have been offered since the Middle Ages, and the argument continues to have defenders today, such as Peter Kreeft and Francis Collins. Older forms of the argument Versions of the argument from desire were commonplace during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Here is one way Aquinas states the argument: "It is impossible for natural desire to be empty, for nature does nothing in vain. Now, a natural desire would be in vain if it could never be fulfilled. Therefore, man's natural desire or a final happiness proper to his natureis capable of fulfillment. But not in this life, as was shown. Therefore it is necessar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |