I answer that, God loves all existing things. For all existing things, in so far as they exist,
are good, since the existence of a thing is itself a good; and likewise, whatever perfection it
possesses. Now it has been shown above (Q[19], A[4]) that God's will is the cause of all
things. It must needs be, therefore, that a thing has existence, or any kind of good, only
inasmuch as it is willed by God. To every existing thing, then, God wills some good. Hence,
since to love anything is nothing else than to will good to that thing, it is manifest that God
loves everything that exists. Yet not as we love. Because since our will is not the cause of the
goodness of things, but is moved by it as by its object, our love, whereby we will good to
anything, is not the cause of its goodness; but conversely its goodness, whether real or imaginary, calls forth our love, by which we will that it should preserve the good it has, and receive besides the good it has not, and to this end we direct our actions: whereas the love of
God infuses and creates goodness
When I first read the argument I thought of what David Oderberg calls "Reverse mereological essentialism," and you've here confirmed that this is an issue
It's not quite right to say that substantial wholes depend on their parts, because in a more primary sense the parts depend on the whole
For Aquinas existence is granted to the parts and to the whole, but it is not granted to the whole mediately through the parts.
The second is more difficult, and it is Aristotle's belief that prime matter is uncreated and the universe is eternal. Aquinas is very conscientious of Aristotle's position on this.
Now perhaps you are not positing a finite universe, but I think a subtle difference on the nature of prime matter (between Aristotle and Aquinas) may come into your argument. This is because if prime matter is necessarily eternal, then in some sense it is not a composition of essence and existence.
Why doesn't Aquinas appeal to the essence/existence distinction very often in his simpler works? I think it is because it is difficult to understand and know
If God is pure act he would be everything
The original text probably would have had ‘created’ where this text has ‘composed’, would it not?
1. Created beings are made up of parts.
Ancient and medieval philosophy recognised the ‘creator-created’ distinction which is fundamental to this form of argument.
As we see ;-)
No 'mind' or 'will', for that would be a composite system that has memory, foresees, plans, designs, implements forms, etc.
Rather, it is energetic, and so stillness is impossible, and higher and higher forms come forth from the elementary 'particles', unto our complex minds that have doing - this at the opposite end of the spectrum, but not as the simplest. Higher being lies in the future.
The Ground-Of-Determination', G.O.D., underlies all, but it isn't a God Being.
Why not?
This statement does not follow (e.g. numbers are infinite and each is an infinite composite).
Besides, classical atomists argue otherwise.
Here an Atomist will say that atoms (or whatever fundamental building block they choose) is purely simple and yet distinguishable via its "spatiotemporal properties." That is, the spatial location of something is an accident of that thing, but why think it is a compositional "part" of that thing?
That’s a good question. I would say, if the thing is spatial, then it must have parts; because anything that is spatiotemporal can be broken up into smaller parts. Anything, e.g., with extension must be capable of being broken up into the succession of some unit—e.g., a succession of dots form a line. Something is space is necessarily the succession of some some smaller things; and something in time is the succession of a thing temporally, which is also a form of being dissimilation.
"Cause" here is undefined
but even so, this idea corresponds in conception to atoms in void.
even if both "lack parts" they do not occupy the same positions simultaneously in space and time – necessarily "exist separately".
This statement does not make sense since there are "two" which implies differentiation by more than just internal composition. "Parts" (i.e. internal compositions) are a necessary but not sufficient condition either for describing or of existing (see my reply to #9 above).
Sorry, I thought you were just copying and pasting something you found elsewhere. I will look at it more closely given that you wrote it yourself. :blush:
It's actually pretty creative, and I can see some of the things you are drawing from. I have never seen an argument phrased in quite this way. Interesting thread. I will respond again to the OP eventually.
I am reading "infinite series of composed beings" as individual composed beings ordered in a series. That is, we can't just be referring to the composition of a being because we are talking about the way that multiple beings are related to one another in a series.
Going back to my suggestion that the premise requires defense, why should we accept it? What is the rationale?
Here an Atomist will say that atoms (or whatever fundamental building block they choose) is purely simple and yet distinguishable via its "spatiotemporal properties." That is, the spatial location of something is an accident of that thing, but why think it is a compositional "part" of that thing?
Well, if your argument had only two premises and a conclusion, like a syllogism, then it would be easier for people to read, and more difficult for people to attack.
A simple syllogism that aims to prove that God exists is much, much more difficult to formulate than an argument that has around 40 premises, give or take
do you really need 40 odd premises to begin with?
It's not possible to simplify this argument of yours?
Thomas Aquinas famously stated five arguments, also known as five ways, for one to be able to arrive at the conclusion that God exists. He did not resort to 40 or so premises in any of the five proofs that he gave.
what is it about your argument that can be characterized as "Thomistic"?
But this is not a real argument.
The argument is reminiscent of classical theism, but to prove 12 predicates [of God] in a single proof is excessive. Where did you find this?
This probably requires defense. It looks like the Kalam Cosmological Argument, which Aristotle and Aquinas disagreed with (but others, such as Bonaventure or now William Lane Craig, uphold). I forget the common scholarly name, but it is the question of an infinite series of contingent beings ordered per accidens.
The conclusion is too ambitious in my opinion:
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but to prove 12 predicates [of God] in a single proof is excessive
Two things might be indistinguishable in their parts, and yet be numerically distinct. We don't distinguish two identical marbles by their parts, but by their distinct bodies occupying distinct spatial locations.
For one, there are just too many steps for them all to have any hope of withstanding scrutiny.
I second this observation. Think of it like this, Bob: your argument has 41 potential targets.
This is the most controversial part of the argument, IMHO.
Like "whiteness", "the west" is a myth
Drinking salt water is ok, assuming the concentration is low, but maybe we are intended to think of someone who is drinking only sea water as opposed to broth, which is a death sentence. Drinking salt water is ok if you have the means to dilute with fresh water in alternation.
I think about this all the time. There's a news article I read (probably 20 years ago) about some military official watching a bomb-clearing robot work it's way through a practice field. After watching the robot get blown up repeatedly and then crawling pathetically toward the next bomb, he said to stop the test. He couldn't stand to watch it anymore. Fast forward ten years from now and we have lifelike robots as intelligent as we are. What are we going to think when someone uploads a video of themself torturing/raping some childlike robot while it begs him to stop? I think we'll have laws protecting them.
A super-duper slave.
People don't have subjective experiences.
While there is plenty of suffering that might be avoidable if one could muster the courage/will to act rationally, there is plenty of suffering that is not avoidable.
The tree which strives towards heaven must send its roots to hell. — Bob Ross
This one gave me a chill.
Needing a knife that is sharper than a knife is a sign of irrationality. — Bob Ross
Yet this one escapes me.
It can basically be it's own 6-tenet religion.
(though I perhaps would have worded that last one as: "Pain is not a choice, suffering is." -- just to give it some context that might be otherwise easily missed or dismissed)
If that's what it boils down to, then I prefer civic nationalism myself.
I believe in continentalism, because I think that continentalism is to the continent what nationalism is to the nation. Non-Europeans and Non-North-Americans (what you call "The West", which is now a "global thing") would do better to just embrace Europeism and Northamericanism (respectively) instead of imperialism (and, of course, Europeans should embrace Europeism instead of imperialism, and North Americans should embrace Northamericanism instead of imperialism, as well).
As for Western Supremacy, I don't believe in that concept, because I don't believe in Eastern Supremacy either, nor do I believe in Northern Supremacy, nor do I believe in Southern Supremacy.
Not quite. I have good reasons to believe that the Absolute exists, and I acknowledge that. What I don't have, which I also acknowledge is that I lack good reasons to believe that the Absolute in the Hegelian sense exists.
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Right, here's the problem: I mean the same thing that Hegel meant
