61. Truth, Being, and the Acts of Reason

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Truth’s Location: Truth is fundamentally in the mind, not in things themselves; it consists in the mind grasping things as they are actually composed or divided in reality
• The Two Acts of Reason: Simple apprehension (understanding what something is) and composition/division (affirming or denying predicates of a subject)
• Contingent vs. Necessary Truth: Necessary truths (like “man is an animal”) are always true; contingent truths (like “Socrates is sitting”) sometimes true and sometimes false
• Simple Things and Truth: For simple, uncomposed substances (angels, God), truth means understanding what they are; there is no composition to be mistaken about
• Truth and Act: Truth is more closely connected to act than to potentiality (ability)

Key Arguments #

The Nature of Truth in Composition and Division #

• He thinks truly who thinks the divided to be divided and the put together to be put together
• Truth is not the cause of reality; rather, reality is the cause of truth: because you are white, we who say so speak truly
• The mind mirrors reality: when things are composed in reality, composing them in thought is true; when divided in reality, dividing them in thought is true

The Relationship Between Being and Truth #

• Being and truth follow the same order: what has more being has more truth
• What is pure act (like God) is most fully being and therefore most true
• The first cause being pure act and the best thing harmonizes with the natural desire to know

Contingent vs. Necessary Truths #

• Some things are always together in reality (man and animal) → always true to say so
• Some things are never together (man and stone) → always false to say so
• Some things sometimes together, sometimes not (Socrates sitting) → sometimes true, sometimes false
• Necessary truths are more true than contingent truths because they do not change
• Theoretical philosophy concerns necessary truths; practical philosophy concerns contingent truths

Truth in Simple Things #

• In simple substances not composed of matter and form, truth means to understand what they are
• Truth is not about putting together or dividing, but about grasping the essence
• One either understands or does not; there is no middle ground of being deceived
• Deception requires composition that can be mistaken; simple things cannot be deceived about
• Ignorance (not understanding) is possible; deception is not
• These things exist in act, not in ability, so they cannot come to be or cease to be

Faith as a Special Act of Assent #

• Faith, following Augustine, is “to assent while thinking about it”
• This distinguishes faith from:
  • Assent to the obvious (like “the whole is more than a part”) - no thinking required
  • Assent as a result of demonstration (like the Pythagorean theorem) - thinking causes the assent
• In faith: the will moves the intellect, and one thinks about what one assents to without the thinking being the cause of assent
• Faith respects the nature of reason itself by requiring thought about what is believed

Important Definitions #

Simple Apprehension (first act of reason): Direct understanding of what something is, without affirming or denying anything about it

Composition and Division (second act of reason): The affirming or denying of predicates of a subject. “Division” refers to negation (e.g., “man is not a stone”), not physical separation

Contingent Truth: A statement that is sometimes true and sometimes false because the things involved can be together or apart in reality

Necessary Truth: A statement that is always true or always false because the things involved must be together or must be apart in reality

Act (actualitas) vs. Ability (potentia): Act is the realization of what something is; ability is the capacity to become something. Truth belongs more to act than to ability

Privation vs. Ignorance: Privation is the absence of something a thing is naturally capable of having (like blindness in a man). Simple ignorance is merely not knowing. One is not completely blind (privatio) regarding angels and God, though understanding is limited

Examples & Illustrations #

• Geometric Example: Understanding that a triangle’s angles equal two right angles requires actual knowledge of the construction; one must understand what a triangle is and what follows from its nature
• Practical Contingencies: Where to buy cheap wine and sell dear wine changes as different countries enter or exit wine markets; stock trading decisions about when to buy or sell depend on changing conditions
• Necessary vs. Contingent: “Man is an animal” is always true; “Socrates is sitting” is sometimes true and sometimes false
• Divine Understanding: God understands by knowing what He Himself is; by knowing Himself, He knows all other things because He is the cause of all things

Notable Quotes #

“He thinks truly, who thinks the divided to be divided, and the put together to be put together.”
— Aristotle, Metaphysics IX

“It is not because we think truly that you are white, that you are white. But because you are white, we who say this speak truly.”
— Aristotle, Metaphysics IX

“To believe is to assent while thinking about it.”
— Augustine, cited by Thomas Aquinas (found in Predestination of the Saints, ch. 2)

“Belief seeking understanding.”
— Anselm, definition of theology

“All things harmonize.”
— Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I

Questions Addressed #

What distinguishes truth from falsity in composite things? #

Truth consists in the mind conforming to reality: when things are put together in reality, thinking them together is true; when divided in reality, thinking them divided is true. The reverse produces falsity.

Why are necessary truths more true than contingent truths? #

Necessary truths do not change—they are always true or always false. Contingent truths sometimes change from true to false. What is always the same has more stability and therefore more truth.

Can we be deceived about simple things? #

No. Deception requires composition that can be mistaken. In simple things, one either understands what they are (truth) or does not (ignorance). There is no middle ground of being deceived. This is comforting: we are not completely blind to God and angels.

How does faith differ from other forms of assent? #

Faith is assent while thinking about what one assents to, where the thinking is not the cause of the assent but the will (moved by grace) is. This differs from obvious truths (assent without thinking) and demonstrated truths (thinking causes the assent).

How does God understand truth? #

God understands by knowing what He Himself is. His understanding is like the first act of reason (simple apprehension) rather than requiring composition and division. As pure act, God cannot be deceived and is Himself truth itself.