156. Eternity, Self-Knowledge, and the Infinite in the Mind

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Eternity vs. Endless Time #

• Eternity is not merely endless duration (no beginning or end in time)
• Boethius’s definition: Tota Simul et Perfecta Possessio Vitae Interminabilis (the whole, simultaneous, and perfect possession of unending life)
• Tota Simul means no before-and-after within eternity itself (unlike time which has temporal succession)
• The eternal now stands still, whereas the temporal now flows and constantly changes
• God possesses all of His life simultaneously in one indivisible moment, unlike creatures who experience life sequentially
• This understanding is reached via negativa (the way of negation): we know what eternity is NOT rather than what it IS

The Problem of Self-Knowledge and Infinite Regress #

• Central question: Can the understanding know its own act of understanding without creating infinite regress?
• If understanding knows its own act, then another act must know that first act, and so on infinitely
• Resolution: The human act of understanding a material thing (e.g., a triangle) is NOT the perfection of that thing
• Unlike angels, whose understanding of themselves IS the perfection of their own nature, human understanding of external objects does not perfect those objects
• Therefore, we do not need the same act to understand both the object AND our understanding of it
• The first thing understood cannot be our understanding itself; it must be something external

Knowledge by Negation in Theology #

• God’s simplicity is understood through negation: God is not composed
• Six kinds of composition in creatures are negated of God in Question 3 of the Summa
• Knowledge of immaterial realities (eternity, simplicity) is achieved through understanding what they lack, not what they possess

Mental Multiplication and Beings of Reason #

• The mind can reflect upon itself and multiply the same thing mentally (e.g., “Socrates is Socrates is Socrates”)
• These are beings of reason (entia rationis): they exist only in the mind, not in reality
• A sophistical argument (Bertrand Russell’s example): if for every odd number there corresponds an even number, then the part (even numbers) equals the whole (all numbers)
• The error: confusing mental multiplication of the concept “two” with actual multiplication of the thing itself
• There is only one two in reality; the mind merely multiplies it mentally

Sophistry and Equivocation #

• The common mistake in thinking: mixing up different senses of the same word
• Example: “Man is an animal with reason” (definition as composed whole of genus + difference) vs. “Animal includes man, dog, cat, horse” (universal whole as set)
• In the first sense, animal is only a part of the definition of man
• In the second sense, the set of animals exceeds the set of men
• The sophist exploits the failure to distinguish these two meanings

The Order of Knowledge: General Before Particular #

• Aristotle: we know things in general (confused) before particular (distinct)
• Yet the senses know particulars (singulars) first, not universals
• Resolution: Different meanings of “particular” and “general”
  • Particular can mean singular (individual) OR less universal
  • General can mean more universal OR confused knowledge
• We know singulars first (from senses), then more universal (genus), then less universal (species)
• Example: In classifying plants, we see the difference between grass and trees before distinguishing kinds of grass or kinds of trees
• Example: Tasting alcoholic beverages, we recognize beer vs. wine before Budweiser vs. Miller

The Understanding and the Will #

• Both are rooted in the one substance of the soul
• The will is in reason (in the rational part of the soul)
• The act of the will is an inclination following upon a form understood
• The understanding can know the will’s acts because they are understandably present in the understanding
• We know ourselves to will through experiencing our willing
• Emotions are sometimes called “feelings” because sensible desire is sensibly present in the one sensing

Key Arguments #

The Infinite Regress Objection and Resolution #

• Objection: If understanding knows its own act, then another act must know that act, leading to infinite regress
• Key premise: The act of understanding is a perfection only of the one understanding, not of what is understood
• Illustration: My understanding of a triangle does not perfect the triangle; it perfects me
• Response: We do not need the same act to understand both the object and our understanding of it
• Distinction: Angels understand themselves primarily (their essence is understandable), so one act knows both the substance and the perfection of that substance; humans understand material things first (not themselves), so different acts are required

The Letter Analogy for First Understanding #

• Structure: A sequence of letters, each about the previous one, cannot go on infinitely backward
• Principle: The first letter cannot be about what was in a previous letter (there was no previous letter)
• Conclusion: The first letter must be about something outside letters (external reality)
• Application: The first thing we understand cannot be our understanding itself; it must be something external (a stone, triangle)
• Consequence: Once we understand external things, we can then understand our understanding of them

The Power and Its Act #

• The private sense knows through material change of a sense organ
• Material change requires an agent acting upon a patient; thus sense cannot know its own act
• Contrast: The understanding does not understand through material change of the organ
• Therefore: The understanding can know its own act (unlike the senses)
• The will can love its own loving; understanding can understand its own understanding

Important Definitions #

Eternity (Aeternitas) #

• Tota Simul et Perfecta Possessio Vitae Interminabilis: the whole, simultaneous, and perfect possession of unending life
• Distinguished from sempiternity (endless time with succession) and from temporal moments
• The standing still of the eternal now vs. the flowing of the temporal now

Being of Reason (Ens Rationis) #

• Something that exists only in the mind, not in external reality
• Example: multiplying Socrates mentally as “Socrates is Socrates is Socrates”
• Contrast with being of nature (real being in the world)

Act of Understanding (Actus Intelligendi) #

• The perfection of the understanding, not of the thing understood
• In humans, distinct from the object of understanding
• Remains in the understanding as its perfection

Inclination (Inclinatio) #

• Natural inclination: the tendency following upon a natural form
• Sensible inclination (sensible desire): the inclination following upon a sensed form
• Intellectual inclination (will): the inclination following upon an understood form

Examples & Illustrations #

The Frozen Court (From Fairy Tales) #

• A spell freezes the princess, servants, and court in a single moment
• A servant with one leg raised in the air, frozen in mid-motion
• Until the prince arrives and breaks the spell, everyone remains in one static moment
• Point: What would it be like if the temporal now stood still? Practically no life could occur
• Contrast: God in eternity has perfect possession of unending life in one static now

Plant Classification on Campus #

• Starting with individual plants observed through the senses
• First distinction: between grass and trees (difference between more universal categories)
• Only later: between different kinds of grass, different kinds of pine trees
• Point: Although knowledge begins with singulars, the mind first grasps the more universal before the less universal

Botany Class Tree Identification #

• Basic distinction: between needled trees (pines) and broadleaf trees
• Few people confuse these two
• Finer distinctions: between Norway pine and other pines, between oak and maple
• Point: The broader universal categories are known before the narrower distinctions

Alcoholic Beverages #

• Starting with individual glasses of beer, wine, whiskey
• First recognition: difference between beer and wine (more universal)
• Later recognition: difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir (less universal)
• Point: Demonstrates the order of moving from singular to more universal to less universal

The Sophistry of Animal and Man #

• Setup: Man is an animal with reason (definition = genus + difference)
• Claim: Animal is only a part of man’s definition
• Also true: Animal includes besides man: dog, cat, horse, elephant
• Sophistic conclusion: The part (animal) is sometimes greater than the whole (man) since the set of animals exceeds the set of men
• Error revealed: Confusing two senses of “whole” and “part”
  • In definitions: animal is part of the definition of man
  • In universal sets: the set of animals exceeds the set of men
• Lesson: This is why distinguishing meanings of words is crucial in philosophy

The Immersion Analogy for the Soul #

• The soul of plants and animals is entirely immersed in matter (like being completely underwater)
• The human soul is only partially immersed in matter
• Part of the soul rises above matter (like an object floating, partially above water)
• Evidence: The soul has acts (understanding, willing) that are not in the body
• Conclusion: The soul is not entirely immersed in the body

Questions Addressed #

Q1: Is Eternity Simply Endless Time? #

• Answer: No. Endless time still has before-and-after within it; eternity has no succession at all
• The eternal now stands still; the temporal now flows
• God possesses His entire life simultaneously in one indivisible moment

Q2: Does Knowledge of My Understanding Create Infinite Regress? #

• Answer: No. The human act of understanding is not the perfection of what is understood; therefore, different acts are needed
• A triangle is not perfected by being understood; understanding the triangle does not perfect the triangle
• Unlike angels, humans do not understand themselves through their own essence in the present life

Q3: How Can Multiple Odd and Even Numbers Prove the Part Equals the Whole? #

• Answer: It cannot. This is a sophistry involving mental multiplication (beings of reason)
• The number two is multiplied only mentally; there is only one two in reality
• Confusing mental multiplication with real multiplication creates the illusion

Q4: Does Aristotle Contradict Himself About General vs. Particular Knowledge? #

• Answer: No. He uses “general” and “particular” in different senses
• We know singulars first (from senses), then more universal, then less universal
• General = more universal; Particular = less universal OR singular
• The apparent contradiction dissolves when the different meanings are recognized

Q5: Can the Understanding Know the Acts of the Will? #

• Answer: Yes. Although understanding and will are diverse powers, they are rooted in one substance of the soul
• The will’s acts are understandably present in the understanding
• We know ourselves to will through experiencing our willing
• The understanding can know the will’s acts and through them, the nature of the will itself (as a habit)

Notable Quotes #

“The now that flows along makes time, but the now that stands still makes eternity.” — Boethius (cited by Berquist)

“What can you do in the now? You can’t eat a carrot in the now, can you? You can’t think in the now, right? It takes a little time to think, right?” — Duane Berquist, illustrating the difference between eternity and time

“But the very act of understanding of man is not the act in perfection of the nature understood that is material.” — Thomas Aquinas, cited by Berquist

“The first letter cannot be about what I read in the letter. The first letter must be about something, what, that was not in the letter, right?” — Duane Berquist, using the letter analogy to show the first understanding cannot be understanding itself

“The most common mistake in thinking is from mixing up different senses of the same word.” — Duane Berquist, on Aristotelian logical principle