Brian Davies Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles A Guide And Commentary Oxford University Press

2018·5.4 MB·English

by  Brian Davies

Thomas Aquinas’s
Summa Contra Gentiles
Thomas
Aquinas’s Summa
Contra Gentiles
A Guide and Commentary
z
BriAn DA vies
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Davies, Brian, 1952–
Title: Thomas Aquinas’s Summa contra gentiles:
a guide and commentary / Brian Davies.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015044427|
ISBN 978-0-19-045654-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 978-0-19-045653-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274.
Summa contra gentiles. | Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274. |
Apologetics—Early works to 1800.
Classification: LCC BX1749.T45 D38 2016 |
DDC 239—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015044427
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan, USA
For Christopher Arroyo
and Paul Kucharski—once again.
Contents
Preface xvii
1. The Summa Contra Gentiles and Its Context 3
1.1 Aquinas’s Life 3
1.2 Aquinas’s Writings 5
1.3 When and Why Did Aquinas Write the Summa Contra Gentiles? 8
1.4 Aquinas Explains Himself 10
2. Approaching the Question of God’s Existence (SCG 1,10–12) 17
2.1 Kinds of Natural Theology (SCG 1,10–11) 17
2.2 Faith versus Demonstration (SCG 1,12) 22
2.3 Comments on the Above 25
2.3.1 Should Natural Theology Not Be Avoided Altogether? 26
2.3.2 “God Exists” as Self-Evident 32
3. Arguing for God’s Existence (SCG 1,13) 36
3.1 Argument One 36
3.1.1 “Everything That Is Moved Is Moved by Another” 38
3.1.2 “There Is No Procession to Infinity among Movers
and Things Moved” 40
3.2 Argument Two 42
3.3 Three More Arguments 44
3.3.1 The First Argument 44
3.3.2 The Second Argument 45
3.3.3 The Third Argument 45
3.4 What Has Aquinas Achieved in the Natural Theology Offered
in SCG 1,13? 45
viii Contents
3.4.1 Some Initial Problems 45
3.4.2 Aquinas on Motion in SCG 1,13 49
3.4.3 Aquinas on Efficient Causation 53
3.4.4 Existence and Nonexistence in SCG 1,13 54
4. God as Eternal and Simple (SCG 1,14–27) 56
4.1 Divine Eternity (SCG 1,15) 56
4.2 God as Lacking Passive Potency and Matter (SCG 1,16 and 17) 57
4.3 God as Noncomposite (SCG 1,18) 58
4.4 God as Simple (SCG 1,20–27) 59
4.5 Comments on Aquinas on Divine Simplicity 62
5. Talking about God (SCG 1,28–36) 72
5.1 The General Picture 72
5.2 SCG 1,28–36: Details 75
5.3 How to Assess SCG 1,28–36? 82
6. Goodness, Oneness, and Infinity (SCG 1,37–43) 85
6.1 Why Is It True That God Is Good? (SCG 1,37) 85
6.1.1 Comments on SCG 1,37 86
6.2 Is God Goodness Itself? (SCG 1,38) 87
6.3 Is there Evil in God? (SCG 1,39) 89
6.4 G od as the Good of Every Good and as the Highest Good
(SCG 1,40–41) 90
6.5 Oneness and Infinity (SCG 1,42–43) 90
6.6 A Note on Aquinas’s “God Is Good” and “There Is No
Evil in God” 93
6.6.1 Why Aquinas Might Be Thought to Be Wrong in
SCG 1,37–41 94
6.6.2 Responses to the Above 94
6.7 Moving On 98
7. God’s Knowledge (SCG 1,44–71) 99
7.1 Aquinas on Knowledge 99
7.2 Aquinas on God’s Knowledge (SCG 1,44–71) 102
7.2.1 God as Intelligent (SCG 1,44) 103
7.2.2 “God’s Understanding Is the Divine Essence” (SCG 1,45) 104
7.2.3 God Understanding through the Divine Essence and as
Understanding God (SCG 1,46–48) 104
Contents ix
7.2.4 God’s Knowledge of What Is Not God (SCG 1,49–50) 106
7.2.5 What God’s Knowledge Is Not (SCG 1,56–58) 106
7.2.6 S ome Specifics Concerning What God Knows Other Than
God (SCG 1,63–71) 108
7.3 Thinking about SCG 1,44–71 112
8. God’s Will, Life, and Blessedness (SCG 1,72–102) 116
8.1 Aquinas on Will 116
8.2 Aquinas on Life 118
8.3 Aquinas on Blessedness 120
8.4 Aquinas on Will in God (SCG 1,72–96) 121
8.4.1 There Is Will in God (SCG 1,72) 122
8.4.2 God’s Will Is God’s Essence (SCG 1,73) 122
8.4.3 God Principally Wills the Divine Essence (SCG 1,74) 122
8.4.4 In Willing Himself God Wills Other Things (SCG 1,75) 123
8.4.5 G od Wills Himself and Other Things by One Act of Will
(SCG 1,76) 123
8.4.6 T hat God Wills Many Things Does Not Undermine God’s
Simplicity (SCG 1,77) 124
8.4.7 God’s Will Extends to Singular Goods (SCG 1,78) 124
8.4.8 God Wills Things That Do Not Yet Exist (SCG 1,79) 125
8.4.9 G od Wills His Being and Goodness of Necessity
(SCG 1,80) 125
8.4.10 God Does Not Will Other Things Necessarily (SCG 1,81) 125
8.4.11 God Cannot Will What Is in Itself Impossible (SCG 1,84) 126
8.4.12 G od’s Will Does Not Abolish Contingency in Things and
Does Not Impose Absolute Necessity on Them
(SCG 1,85) 127
8.4.13 A Reason Can Be Assigned to the Divine Will
(SCG 1,86) 127
8.4.14 Nothing Can Be the Cause of God’s Willing (SCG 1,87) 128
8.4.15 There Is Free Choice in God (SCG 1,88) 128
8.4.16 T here Are No Passions of the Appetites in God
(SCG 1,89) 129
8.4.17 There Is Delight and Joy in God (SCG 1,90) 129
8.4.18 There Is Love in God (SCG 1,91) 129
8.4.19 Virtues Can Be Ascribed to God (SCG 1,92) 130
x Contents
8.4.20 I n God There Are Moral Virtues That Deal with Actions
(SCG 1,93) 130
8.4.21 There Are Contemplative Virtues in God (SCG 1,94) 131
8.4.22 God Cannot Will Evil (SCG 1,95) 131
8.4.23 God Hates Nothing (SCG 1,96) 131
8.5 Aquinas on God’s Life (SCG 1,97–99) 132
8.6 God’s Blessedness (SCG 1,100–102) 132
8.7 Some Comments on SCG 1,72–102 133
8.8 Moving on to SCG 2 136
9. God as Omnipotent Creator (SCG 2,1–29) 137
9.1 The Bringing Forth of Things into Being (SCG 2,6) 137
9.2 Power in God (SCG 2,7–10) 138
9.3 God and Relations (SCG 2,11–14) 138
9.4 God as Creator (SCG 2,15–21) 140
9.4.1 Argument One 140
9.4.2 Argument Two 140
9.4.3 Argument Three 141
9.4.4 Argument Four 141
9.4.5 Argument Five 141
9.4.6 Argument Six 142
9.4.7 Argument Seven 142
9.5 Creation “from Nothing” (SCG 2,16) 142
9.6 Creation Is Not a Motion or a Change (SCG 2,17–19) 142
9.7 What Can Create? (SCG 2,20–21) 143
9.8 God as Omnipotent (SCG 2,22–29) 144
9.9 Some Comments on SCG 2,1–29 146
9.9.1 Relations 147
9.9.2 Omnipotence 149
10. N ecessity in Creatures, the Eternity of the World, and Distinctions
among Creatures (SCG 2,30–45) 151
10.1 Can There Be Created Yet Necessary Things?
(SCG 2,30) 151
10.2 Must Creatures Always Have Existed? (SCG 2,31–38) 152
10.2.1 Arguments Based on What God Is (SCG 2,32) 154
10.2.2 Arguments Based on What Creatures Are (SCG 2,33) 154
Contents xi
10.2.3 Arguments Based on What Is Involved in Making
(SCG 2,34) 155
10.2.4 Aquinas’s Responses to the Arguments Based on What God
Is (SCG 2,35) 155
10.2.5 Aquinas’s Responses to the Arguments Based on What
Creatures Are (SCG 2,36) 156
10.2.6 Aquinas’s Responses to the Arguments Based on What Is
Involved in Making (SCG 2,37) 157
10.3 Proving That the World Is Not Eternal (SCG 2,38) 158
10.4 Distinction among Creatures (SCG 2,39–45) 160
10.4.1 Distinction Is Not the Result of Chance (SCG 2,39) 161
10.4.2 Is Matter the First Cause of the Distinction of Things?
(SCG 2,40) 162
10.4.3 Does Diversity Derive from Different Agents?
(SCG 2,41) 162
10.4.4 The First Cause of the Distinction in Things Is Not the
World of Secondary Agents (SCG 2,42) 164
10.4.5 Distinction Does Not Result from a Secondary Cause
Introducing Forms into Matter; Nor Does It Result from
Differences in Merit or Demerit (SCG 2,43 and 44) 165
10.4.6 The True First Cause of the Distinction of Things
(SCG 2,45) 165
10.5 Some Comments on SCG 2,30–45 166
11. Intellectual Creatures (SCG 2,46–101) 169
11.1 Why Intellectual Creatures? (SCG 2,46) 170
11.2 W hat Can Be Said of Intellectual Substances in General?
(SCG 2,47–55) 172
11.2.1 Will (SCG 2,47) 173
11.2.2 Freedom of Choice (SCG 2,48) 173
11.2.3 Body (SCG 2,49) 175
11.2.4 Immateriality (SCG 2,50) 175
11.2.5 Intellectual Substance and Material Form (SCG 2,51) 176
11.2.6 Created Forms as Not Divine (SCG 2,52) 177
11.2.7 Act and Potency (SCG 2,53) 177
11.2.8 Substance, Being, Form, and Matter (SCG 2,54) 177
11.2.9 Created Intellects as Incorruptible (SCG 2,55) 178