113. Reason and Understanding: Powers or Acts of One Power?

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Question: Are Reason and Understanding Two Powers? #

• Thomas’s position: They are the same power, distinguished by acts and habits, not by being different powers
• The core problem: Various texts and philosophers seem to distinguish them as separate powers
• The solution: The distinction is one of perfect vs. imperfect modes, not different faculties

The Fundamental Proportion: Reason to Understanding as Motion to Rest #

The core analogy:

• Reasoning (ratio) = motion, process, discourse from one thing to another
• Understanding (intellectus) = rest, intuitive grasp, coming to a halt in knowledge
• Both are acts of the same power in different modes

Etymology:

• Understanding comes from the word meaning “to stand” or “to halt” (ὑπόστασις)
• When reasoning succeeds and the mind “comes to rest” in comprehension, this is understanding
• The Greeks called this reasoned-out understanding ἐπιστήμη (episteme), from the word meaning “to come to a halt”

Natural Understanding vs. Reasoned-Out Understanding #

Natural understanding (νοῦς / intellectus):

• Things we understand before and without reasoning
• First principles (e.g., “a whole is greater than a part”, “nothing is before itself”)
• The foundation that reasoning proceeds from
• Immediate grasp of understandable truth

Reasoned-out understanding (ἐπιστήμη / scientia):

• Knowledge reached through the motion of reasoning
• The mind moves from one thing understood to another, proceeding to discover a conclusion
• The rest that comes after motion
• Requires discourse and inquiry

Their relationship:

• Motion always proceeds from the immobile and is terminated at rest
• Human reasoning proceeds from naturally understood first principles
• It returns to those first principles in judgment, examining what has been found
• This creates a circular pattern: discovery proceeds from principles; judgment returns to principles

The Naming Question: Equivocation by Reason #

How one power gets two names:

• When something has something noteworthy in addition to the common meaning, it gets a new name
• The common name is kept by what lacks this addition
• Example: “cat” (adult) keeps the name; “kitten” is a new name because it lacks the perfection of catness
• Example: Man has reason (something noteworthy added to animal nature), so he gets a new name; brute animals keep the name “animal”

Application to reason and understanding:

• Human understanding is “overshadowed” (intellectus umbratus) - it is understanding with discourse and imperfection added
• It gets the new name “reason” (ratio)
• Pure understanding, which needs no discourse, keeps the common name “understanding” (intellectus)
• This belongs properly to angels and God

Critical distinction:

• This is NOT like the distinction between virtue and vice (completely opposite things)
• Rather, it is like the distinction between numbers: 2 keeps its name; 3 gets a new name because it is 2 + 1
• Reason contains something of understanding but adds the element of discourse and imperfection

Key Arguments #

Against Reason and Understanding Being Separate Powers #

From Augustine (On Genesis to the Letter, Book III):

• “By which man excels the rational animals is reason or mind [or understanding]”
• Reason, mind, and intellect are one power, whether called ratio, mens, or intellectus
• They may be named variously, but they refer to the same power

From Boethius (Consolation of Philosophy):

• “Understanding is compared to reason as eternity is to time”
• Eternity is immobile; time is mobile
• But this does not make them two different powers
• Rather, it illustrates their relationship as perfect to imperfect

From the nature of motion and rest:

• The same mobile thing that moves through a middle point arrives at rest
• By the same nature, something is moved to a place and rests in that place
• Much more through the same power will one understand and reason
• Rest and motion are not different powers but acts of one power

From the necessity of a foundation:

• To reason is to proceed from one thing understood to another
• If one understood nothing before reasoning, one would have nothing to reason from
• Therefore, understanding must precede reasoning and ground it
• Both must belong to the same power

How Angels and Humans Differ in Knowing #

Angels:

• Possess perfectly, according to their nature, knowledge of understandable truth
• Do not proceed from one thing to another
• Apprehend the truth of things simply and without discourse
• Called “intellectual substances” (substantiae intellectuales)

Humans:

• In order to understand truth and know understandable truth, must proceed from one thing to another
• Arrive at and understand intelligible truth by reasoning
• Called “rational” (rationalis) because of this discursive process
• Have imperfect understanding - “overshadowed understanding”

The analogy:

• Just as the eye of an animal can both see for practical purposes (driving) and for contemplation (viewing beauty) through the same power directed differently, the human intellect can perform both discursive reasoning and intuitive understanding

Important Definitions #

Ratio (Reason) #

• The power to proceed from one thing understood to another in order to know understandable truth
• Characterized by discourse, movement, inquiry
• Proper to human beings as their distinguishing feature
• An imperfect form of understanding that requires the addition of discourse

Intellectus (Understanding) #

• The power to grasp understandable truth
• In its perfect form (as in angels and God), requires no discourse
• In humans, can refer to both the power itself and the immediate grasp of first principles
• The foundation upon which reasoning builds

Ἐπιστήμη / Scientia (Reasoned-Out Understanding / Knowledge) #

• Understanding that comes after the motion of reasoning
• Knowledge reached through proceeding from first principles to conclusions
• Distinguished from natural understanding by its discursive character
• Etymologically connected to “standing” or “halting” (in Greek)

Νοῦς / Intellectus (Natural Understanding / Nous) #

• Direct, immediate apprehension of first principles
• Does not require discourse or reasoning
• The foundation upon which all reasoning is built
• Examples: “a whole is greater than a part”, “nothing is before itself”

Intellectus Umbratus (Overshadowed Understanding) #

• Human understanding characterized by the need for discourse and images
• Understanding that is “in shadow” compared to pure intellectual knowledge
• The reason humans are called “rational” rather than simply “intellectual”

Examples & Illustrations #

The Motion and Rest Illustration #

• Berquist demonstrates by standing still: “Now I rest”
• Walking across the room: “Now I’m in motion”
• Stopping: “Now I rest after motion”
• This illustrates that reasoning is to understanding as motion is to rest

Archimedes in the Bathtub #

• The famous example of thinking (reasoning) suddenly ceasing
• He jumps out shouting “Eureka!” - his thinking is over
• At that moment, his mind comes to a halt in understanding
• The Greeks captured this in the word ἐπιστήμη (to halt or come to a stop)

The Barbecuing Analogy #

• One who knows the art of barbecuing knows how to cook meat perfectly juicy or how to burn it
• The same knowledge enables both correct and incorrect outcomes
• Illustrates that reason is not determined to one thing like nature is

The Medical Art #

• A doctor who knows medicine can heal or harm based on the same knowledge
• Knowing the correct dose means knowing both the right dose and the wrong dose
• Morally, unknowingly giving the wrong dose is better than knowingly doing so
• Artistically, unknowingly giving the wrong dose shows defective knowledge of the art

Grammar and Correct Speech #

• The same knowledge of grammar enables both correct (“I am your professor”) and incorrect (“I is your professor”) speech
• One can reason on both sides of a grammatical question
• Shows that reason can consider contrary possibilities

Notable Quotes #

“By which man excels the rational animals is reason or mind… Therefore, reason and mind and intellect or understanding are one power.” - Augustine, On Genesis to the Letter, Book III

“Understanding is compared to reason as eternity to time.” - Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy

“The reason why man would receive a new name is not because it has some more flowy [understanding], but because man has something more, has some reason… Man has something noteworthy named reason and will.”

“Reason is the ability for large discourse, looking before and after.” - Shakespeare, cited as capturing the discursive nature of reason

“When we wish to ascend from the lower to the higher, first there occurs to us sense, then imagination, then reason, then understanding.” - From the Book on the Spirit and the Soul (attributed to Augustine but lacking authority, according to Thomas)

“To understand is simply to grasp the understandable truth. But to reason is to proceed from one thing understood to another.”

Questions Addressed #

Are Reason and Understanding Two Different Powers? #

Answer: No. They are the same power distinguished by their acts and perfection. Reasoning is the imperfect, discursive mode; understanding is the perfect, intuitive mode. The distinction is between motion and rest, not between two separate powers.

Why Do We Have Two Names for the Same Power? #

Answer: Through equivocation by reason. Reason is understanding with the addition of discourse and imperfection. Since it has something noteworthy added, it receives a new name, while pure understanding keeps the common name. This is like the distinction between 2 and 3 (not virtue and vice).

What Must Be True Before Reasoning Can Occur? #

Answer: There must be natural understanding - things we understand before reasoning. If we understood nothing prior to reasoning, we would have nothing to reason from. Therefore, understanding (in the form of first principles) must precede and ground reasoning.

How Do Angels Know Differently Than Humans? #

Answer: Angels possess understanding perfectly and immediately, without any need for discourse. They apprehend truth simply. Humans must proceed from one thing understood to another through reasoning. Both are acts of intellect, but humans employ the discursive mode that angels do not need.

What Is the Relationship Between Natural Understanding and Reasoned-Out Understanding? #

Answer: Natural understanding is the foundation. Reasoning moves from naturally understood first principles, discovers conclusions, and then returns to those principles to judge what has been found. This creates a circular pattern of discovery and judgment, all within the single power of intellect.