Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation

Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation PDF Author: Gaven Kerr
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190941308
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
In this book, Gaven Kerr expands on the brief treatment of creation offered in his 2015 volume, Aquinas's Way to God: The Proof in De Ente et Essentia. Aquinas does not offer one cohesive treatment on the issue of creation; Kerr synthesizes discussions from across his works in order to present a unified Thomistic metaphysics of creation. Kerr argues that Aquinas's metaphysics of creation, wherein God is conceived as the absolute source of all that exists, is the backbone of his philosophical theology. Throughout his writings, the framework of the absolute dependence of creatures on God and of the independence of God as existence itself is ever present. Without understanding this aspect of Aquinas's philosophical thought, Kerr suggests, it is impossible to understand his philosophy of God. When it comes to metaphysics, Thomas is committed to thinking through the issues involved therein on the basis of natural reason. Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation demonstrates Aquinas's belief that we must arrive at an affirmation of the existence of God on the basis of a wider metaphysical view as to the constitution of reality, a view that does not presuppose divine truths but can indeed establish them.

Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation

Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation PDF Author: Gaven Kerr
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190941308
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book

Book Description
In this book, Gaven Kerr expands on the brief treatment of creation offered in his 2015 volume, Aquinas's Way to God: The Proof in De Ente et Essentia. Aquinas does not offer one cohesive treatment on the issue of creation; Kerr synthesizes discussions from across his works in order to present a unified Thomistic metaphysics of creation. Kerr argues that Aquinas's metaphysics of creation, wherein God is conceived as the absolute source of all that exists, is the backbone of his philosophical theology. Throughout his writings, the framework of the absolute dependence of creatures on God and of the independence of God as existence itself is ever present. Without understanding this aspect of Aquinas's philosophical thought, Kerr suggests, it is impossible to understand his philosophy of God. When it comes to metaphysics, Thomas is committed to thinking through the issues involved therein on the basis of natural reason. Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation demonstrates Aquinas's belief that we must arrive at an affirmation of the existence of God on the basis of a wider metaphysical view as to the constitution of reality, a view that does not presuppose divine truths but can indeed establish them.

The Metaphysics of Creation

The Metaphysics of Creation PDF Author: Norman Kretzmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198237871
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
Norman Kretzmann expounds and criticizes Aquinas's theology of creation, which is natural' (or philosophical) in that Aquinas developed it without depending on the data of Scripture. Because of the special importance of intellective creatures like us, Aquinas's account of the divine origin and organization of the universe includes essential ingredients of his philosophy of mind. The Metaphysics of Creation is a continuation of the project Kretzmann began inThe Metaphysics of Theism; as before, he not only explains Aquinas's natural theology, but advocates it as the best available to us.

The Metaphysics of Theism

The Metaphysics of Theism PDF Author: Norman Kretzmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019924653X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Norman Kretzmann expounds and criticises Aquinas' theology of creation, which is natural (or philosophical) in that Aquinas developed it without depending on the data of Scripture.

Participation and Substantiality in Thomas Aquinas

Participation and Substantiality in Thomas Aquinas PDF Author: Rudi A. Te Velde
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004103818
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
This book offers a philosophical analysis of the main themes and problems of Aquinas' metaphysics of creation, centred on the concept of participation, the systematical meaning of which is examined in a critical discussion of the prevailing views of contemporary Thomas scholars.

The One and the Many

The One and the Many PDF Author: W. Norris Clarke, S.J.
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268077045
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
When it is taught today, metaphysics is often presented as a fragmented view of philosophy that ignores the fundamental issues of its classical precedents. Eschewing these postmodern approaches, W. Norris Clarke finds an integrated vision of reality in the wisdom of Aquinas and here offers a contemporary version of systematic metaphysics in the Thomistic tradition. The One and the Many presents metaphysics as an integrated whole which draws on Aquinas' themes, structure, and insight without attempting to summarize his work. Although its primary inspiration is the philosophy of St. Thomas himself, it also takes into account significant contributions not only of later philosophers but also of those developments in modern science that have philosophical bearing, from the Big Bang to evolution.

The Metaphysics of Creation

The Metaphysics of Creation PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780191597879
Category : Creation
Languages : en
Pages : 483

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Book Description
Norman Kretzmann expounds and criticises Aquinas' theology of creation, which is natural (or philosophical) in that Aquinas developed it without depending on the data of Scripture.

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency PDF Author: Ignacio Silva
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000437418
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Providence and Science in a World of Contingency offers a novel assessment of the contemporary debate over divine providential action and the natural sciences, suggesting a re-consideration of Thomas Aquinas’ metaphysical doctrine of providence coupled with his account of natural contingency. By looking at the history of debates over providence and nature, the volume provides a set of criteria to evaluate providential divine action models, challenging the underlying, theologically contentious assumptions of current discussions on divine providential action. Such assumptions include that God needs causally open spaces in the created world in order to act in it providentially, and the unfitting conclusion that, if this is the case, then God is assumed to act as another cause among causes. In response to these shortcomings, the book presents a comprehensive account of Aquinas’ metaphysics of natural causation, contingency, and their relation to divine providence. It offers a fresh and bold metaphysical narrative, based on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, which appreciates the relation between divine providence and natural contingency.

Aquinas's Way to God

Aquinas's Way to God PDF Author: Gaven Kerr
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190224800
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Kerr examines St Thomas Aquinas's much-neglected proof for the existence of God in 'De Ente et Essentia', Chapter 4. He offers a contemporary presentation and interpretation of this proof as well as a defence. Beginning with the distinction between the key concepts of 'essence' and 'esse' in Aquinas's thought, the book moves from an account of these metaphysical principles to their use by Aquinas in establishing that there is a single unique primary cause from which all that is comes to be. Along the way, important themes in metaphysics are examined from a Thomistic perspective.

Aquinas on Creation

Aquinas on Creation PDF Author: Saint Thomas (Aquinas)
Publisher: PIMS
ISBN: 9780888442857
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
The six articles that comprise Book 2, Distinction 1, Question 1 of Aquinas' Writings on the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard represent his earliest and most succinct account of creation. These texts contain the essential Thomistic doctrines on the subject, and are here translated into English for the first time, along with an introduction and analysis. In Article One Aquinas argues, against Manichean dualism, that there is one ultimate cause of all created being; in so doing he gives three proofs for the existence of the Creator and the essential features of his answer to the problem of evil. Thomas establishes his definition of creation in Article Two, providing the needed distinctions between philosophical and theological senses of creation. Emanationism and the problem of whether there can be any intermediary causes in God's act of creation are the subject of Article Three. The next article demonstrates that although God is the cause of all created being, nevertheless creatures are true causes in nature. Article Five argues that it is from revelation alone that we know that the world had a temporal beginning, and that the philosophical arguments that purport to show either the necessity or impossibility of the temporal beginning are not persuasive. A detailed exposition of the meaning of the first sentence of the Bible, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," follows in Article Six.

Participation and Substantiality in Thomas Aquinas

Participation and Substantiality in Thomas Aquinas PDF Author: Velde
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004452214
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Participation and Substantiality in Thomas Aquinas presents a comprehensive and penetrating account of Aquinas' metaphysics of creation. Its main focus is the concept of participation of being. On the basis of a detailed textual analysis a philosophical interpretation is offered of the main concepts and arguments which underlie Thomas' theocentric understanding of reality. The central unifying theme of the book is the apparent tension between the notion of participation (central to the Platonic tradition) and that of substance (central to the Aristotelian tradition). The author argues that Aquinas is quite successful in bringing together in his metaphysics on the one hand the substantiality of finite beings and on the other hand their total dependency upon the divine being by way of participation. The author defends his interpretation in a critical discussion of the views on participation brought forward by well-known Aquinas scholars such as Geiger and Fabro.