8. The Natural Road of Knowledge and God as First Cause

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Natural Road (Methodos) #

• The Greek word methodos derives from meta (after/over) and odos (road)
• In knowledge, a road means a “before and after” sequence
• The natural road begins with sensation because human nature is characterized as animal-with-reason; the generic (sensation) precedes the specific (reason)
• The natural road progresses: sensation → memory → experience → universal knowledge → knowledge of causes

The Order of Knowledge #

Multiple “before and afters” structure human knowing:

1. Different kinds of knowing: Sensation, memory, experience, art/science
2. Different things known: Sensible before non-sensible; material before immaterial; effects before causes; therefore the first cause is the last thing to be known
3. The same thing known: Singular before universal; outward before inward; confused before distinct

Why Material Things Come Before Immaterial #

• Natural philosophy studies material things subject to motion
• Metaphysics/wisdom studies immaterial things and the first cause
• Since effects are known before causes, and material things are effects of immaterial principles, natural philosophy must precede metaphysics in the order of learning
• Berquist criticizes Jesuit practice of teaching metaphysics before natural philosophy as violating this natural order

The Problem of God’s Love and Causality #

The Error: “God loves the saints because they are good”

• This statement appears reasonable but contains a profound theological mistake
• If the saints’ goodness is the cause of God’s love, and God is love itself, then the saints’ goodness would be the cause of God’s existence
• This violates the principle that the first cause can have nothing before it as a cause

The Resolution: God’s love is the cause of creatures’ goodness, not an effect of it

• Our human love typically begins because we see good in someone (the woman is beautiful, so we love her)
• But God’s love works in the opposite way: it causes whatever good exists in creatures
• Love must be reciprocal with God’s being and simplicity: God cannot have love as something distinct from himself

The Distinction Between Haver and Had #

• In creatures, haver (possessor) and had (possessed) are distinct
• I have a car, but the car is not me
• I have knowledge, but I am not that knowledge (if I were knowledge itself, I would know everything)
• I have a body and soul, but strictly speaking, neither alone constitutes me; together they form a composite whole
• In God, there is no composition whatsoever
• Therefore, God cannot “have” something as distinct from himself
• God is whatever he has: God is love itself, truth itself, life itself

Christ’s Revelation as Clarifying God’s Nature #

• Christ says: “I am the way (via), the truth, and the life”
• As man, Christ is the via (way, road) to God
• As God, Christ does not say “I have life” or “I have truth,” but “I am life” and “I am truth”
• This reveals God’s absolute simplicity: there is no distinction between God and his attributes

Key Arguments #

The Natural Order Argument #

• Because the generic develops before the specific in nature, sensation (generic to animals) precedes reason (specific to humans) in the order of knowing
• Therefore the natural road of learning must follow this order: sensible → reason; material → immaterial; effects → causes
• Hence natural philosophy must precede metaphysics in curriculum

The First Cause Cannot Have a Cause Before Itself #

• If God is the first cause, nothing can precede him or cause him
• If we say “God loves the saints because they are good,” we imply the saints’ goodness causes God’s love
• Since God is love itself, this would mean creatures cause God’s existence
• Therefore, the statement must be false; rather, God’s love causes the saints’ goodness

God’s Simplicity and Non-Composition #

• God has no composition of any kind
• Whatever we say God “has” must be understood as what he is
• God is love, truth, wisdom, goodness—not one who possesses these as accidents or modifications
• This distinguishes God radically from creatures, in whom haver and had are always distinct

Important Definitions #

• Methodos (μέθοδος): Knowledge that follows a road; a structured progression of understanding with a before and after
• The Natural Road: The progression from sensation (generic in human nature) to reason (specific to human nature); foundational to all learning
• Memory: Retention and recollection of sensations; a stage on the natural road between sensation and experience
• Experience (ἐμπειρία): A collection of many memories of the same kind of thing; the bridge between particular sensation and universal knowledge
• Universal: That which is said of many things; grasped by reason, not by sensation alone
• Intelligere (Latin): To read within; understanding as penetrating inward from outward sensible signs
• Haver and Had: The relationship of possession where haver and had are distinct in all creatures but identical in God (non-distinct)
• First Cause: That which has no cause before it; the terminus of causal inquiry; known last in the natural order of human knowledge

Examples & Illustrations #

From Sensation and Memory #

• Tasting licorice or green apple: remembering flavors through memory
• Looking at a painting multiple times and noticing new details each time
• Hearing Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and learning from a friend that five melodies are combined at the end; showing that hearing can be confused before becoming distinct

From Child Development #

• A young child calls all women “mama” and all four-legged animals “dog”
• This shows confused, indistinct knowledge before reason distinguishes between things
• The child understands something (woman, four-legged animal) but lacks the specific distinctions

From Beauty and Time #

• Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona: “Heaven lent her such graces that she might admired be”
• The poet says “lent,” not “gave,” because beauty is temporary and borrowed, not permanent
• Shakespeare’s Sonnet 2: “This were to be new made when thou art old, and see thy blood warm when thou feelest it cold”
• Beauty diminishes with age; it is lent by heaven, not given forever

From Political and Academic Life #

• LBJ as Senate leader saying “Come, let us reason together”—example of understanding the order of persuasion
• Professor Gatto in sophomore biology class: the student Murray who knows the answers attracts love through manifesting good
• But God’s love is not aroused by the goodness it sees; rather, it is the cause of that goodness

From Literature #

• Augustine’s Confessions: “Too late have I come to know thee, thou ancient beauty”
• Calling God “beauty” itself, like calling him truth itself or life itself
• Mary’s Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… He has done great things for me”
• Mary recognizes that the good in her is from God, not the source of God’s love for her

Questions Addressed #

Epistemological #

Q: Why must natural philosophy precede metaphysics in learning? A: Because material and sensible things are known before immaterial things, and effects are known before causes. Natural philosophy studies effects (material things); metaphysics studies the first cause. We must know effects before we can know their ultimate cause.

Q: What is the order of the natural road? A: Sensation → Memory → Experience → Universal Knowledge → Knowledge of Causes. Each stage builds on the previous; reason cannot operate without sensation providing the raw material.

Q: How does confused knowledge become distinct? A: Through the work of reason, which defines and distinguishes. The child initially knows “four-legged animal” confusedly; reason then distinguishes between dog and cat. Similarly, the ear initially hears confused sound; reason eventually distinguishes individual melodies.

Theological #

Q: Does God love the saints because they are good? A: No. This statement, though it sounds reasonable, is false and leads to heresy. If the saints’ goodness caused God’s love, and God is love itself, then creatures would cause God’s existence. Rather, God’s love is the cause of whatever goodness the saints possess.

Q: How can God be the first cause if he has no cause before him? A: God cannot have anything distinct from himself that might serve as a cause. Because God is absolutely simple (not composed), whatever we attribute to God as his “properties” (love, wisdom, goodness) are actually identical with his being. God is love; he does not have love.

Q: Can God love the sinners if he doesn’t love them because they are good? A: Yes, but in a different mode. The sinners’ badness is not the cause of God’s hate (God does not hate; he wills all to be saved). Rather, the sinners freely refuse to cooperate with God’s grace. God’s love continues to offer grace; sinners choose not to receive it.

Q: How can we love God with all our love and still love our neighbor? A: By understanding that we love our neighbor in God. We do not divide our love as if we have a limited quantity. Rather, as God’s love is the cause of all goodness in creatures, our love of God properly understood includes loving the manifestations of God’s goodness in our neighbors. The saints exemplified this by freely cooperating with God’s grace.

Notable Quotes #

“God, our enlightenment, help us to know and love you. Guardian angels, strengthen the lights of our minds, pour and illumine our images, and arouse us to consider them correctly.” — Opening prayer of Berquist’s class

“God’s love is the cause of whatever good is in other things. It’s not an effect of the goodness of other things, but it’s the cause.” — Berquist, on the fundamental distinction regarding God’s causality

“Heaven lent her such graces that she might admired be.” — Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, on beauty as temporary

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” — Christ (John 14:6), showing God’s simplicity in not saying “I have life” but “I am life”

“What you did to these little ones, you did unto me.” — Christ (Matthew 25:40), illustrating the unity of loving God and neighbor

“It gives you life and death, which you’re going to choose.” — Old Testament, on human free choice with God’s grace

“Too late have I come to know thee, thou ancient beauty.” — Augustine, Confessions, calling God beauty itself