16. Divine Simplicity and the Five Attributes of God

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Five Attributes of Divine Substance #

Thomas Aquinas divides consideration of God’s substance into five parts:

• Simplicity (removal of composition from God)
• Perfection (unlimited excellence)
• Infinity (no limit to God’s perfection; not quantitative but universal)
• Immutability (unchangeableness)
• Unity (that God is one)

Berquist notes this division appears in both the Summa Theologiae and Summa Contra Gentiles, though in different order. He raises the question of whether this five-fold division follows the natural rule that divisions should proceed by two or three.

Natural Inclination of the Mind Toward Four Characteristics #

The human intellect naturally inclines toward conceiving a first principle with four qualities:

1. Simple — the simple precedes the composite
2. One — unity is the foundation of order and multiplicity
3. Unlimited/Infinite — if one simple thing produces infinite effects, it must be unlimited
4. Unchangeable — the first principle must be incorruptible, else all things could cease to be

Berquist demonstrates this through multiple examples:

Pre-Socratic Philosophy:

• Thales: sought one simple matter (water) as the beginning of all things
• Anaximander: identified the unlimited (apeiron) as the beginning
• Anaxagoras: spoke of an unlimited mind (noûs) as the cause of order; described it as the thinnest of all things, without matter, and unchangeable

Arraios says of the beginning: “Whatever is the beginning of things is also their end.” This means what things come from originally is what they return to when broken down, suggesting the beginning is unchangeable and eternal.

Modern Mathematical Physics: Berquist cites Max Born (Nobel Prize physicist): “The genuine physicist believes absolutely in the unity and simplicity of nature despite any appearance to the contrary.” He also references Max Planck and Einstein’s natural inclination to find unity and simplicity, and notes that conservation laws (energy, momentum, angular momentum) represent a kind of unchangeableness—something remaining constant throughout all change.

The Distinction Between Act and Potency #

Central to understanding the first principle is Aristotle’s teaching from the Ninth Book of the Metaphysics:

• In things that transition from potency to act, potency precedes act temporally
• Simply speaking (simpliciter), act precedes potency
• What is in potency cannot actualize itself; it requires something already in act
• Therefore, the first principle must be pure act with no potency whatsoever

This leads to the crucial question: Is the one simple, unlimited, unchangeable beginning of all things one matter or one maker/creator?

Answer: If the beginning gives rise to all things, act must be prior to potency simply speaking. Therefore, the first principle is pure act (a mover or maker), not matter. Only then does the fifth attribute—perfection—emerge, because act is perfection. Matter cannot be perfected by form; matter is what receives perfection. The first cause, being pure act, is most perfect.

The Problem of Division #

Berquist addresses why the five-fold division does not follow the rule of dividing into two or three:

• Simplicity and unity are closely related — both deny composition and multiplicity; both concern the absence of parts
• Thomas’s Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard places articles on these two attributes next to each other, suggesting their affinity
• Composition involves multiplicity of parts; unity involves the negation of such multiplicity
• One could theoretically combine them under the heading “God has no parts” and subdivide into:
  1. No composed parts (matter-form, essence-existence, etc.)
  2. No subjective parts (universal wholes like genus divided into particulars)

Perfection as Distinct #

Perfection differs from the other four characteristics because it does not arise naturally from thinking about the first principle as matter. The pre-Socratic thinkers, thinking of the beginning as matter, identified simplicity, unity, infinity, and unchangeability, but not perfection. Perfection emerges only when recognizing that the first principle is act, not potency. What is in potency is perfected by act; what is pure act is most perfect.

Natural Inclination and Divine Attributes #

Berquist emphasizes that the mind’s natural inclination toward something one, simple, unchangeable, and infinite is not arbitrary. This inclination appears consistently across:

• Ancient natural philosophers
• Modern mathematical physicists
• The theological understanding of God

Even without explicit theological reasoning, the greatest physicists find themselves thinking in terms of unity, simplicity, and unchangeableness. This suggests that Thomas Aquinas’s treatment is not arbitrary but follows the natural movement of reason toward an understanding of the first principle.

Key Arguments #

Why the First Principle Must Be Simple #

• The simple precedes the composite
• Order is based upon unity (temporal order is ordered by one event; military order by one commander)
• Reason naturally seeks unity behind multiplicity
• The infinite effects of the first principle require it to be unlimited, hence simple

Why the First Principle Must Be One #

• All order depends on something one (events ordered before/after one event; kingdoms ruled by one government, not multiple governments)
• One is the beginning of all numbers
• Reason naturally inclines toward unity

Why the First Principle Must Be Unlimited #

• If one simple thing gives rise to infinite things, the source must be unlimited
• Example: clay can be molded into infinite shapes; water can take infinite forms
• All Greek philosophers intuited the beginning as unlimited (apeiron)

Why the First Principle Must Be Unchangeable #

• If the beginning of all things were corruptible, everything could cease to be
• The beginning must endure through all change
• Conservation laws in physics represent unchangeableness

The Crucial Distinction: Act Before Potency #

• In temporal becoming, potency precedes act
• Simply speaking (simpliciter), act precedes potency
• What is in potency cannot give itself actuality
• Therefore, the first principle is pure act, hence a mover/maker, not matter
• This alone explains why perfection belongs to the first principle

Important Definitions #

Simplicity (Simplicitas): The absence of any composition; God has no parts, no principles distinct from His essence.

Unity (Unitas): The property of being one; the negation of multiplicity and divisibility.

Infinity (Infinitas): Not quantitative extension but the absence of limit to perfection; God’s perfection is unlimited, not confined to any particular kind of thing.

Immutability (Immutabilitas): Unchangeableness; the property of not undergoing change.

Perfection (Perfectio): Actuality (actualitas); the fullness of being. What is in potency is imperfect; what is in act is perfect.

Act (Actus): Realized being; actuality. Pure act (actus purus) is being without unrealized potential.

Potency (Potentia): In the passive sense, unrealized potential; the capacity to be actualized by something else.

First Principle (Principium Primum): The ultimate source of all being; what is prior to all else and upon which all else depends.

Apeiron (ἄπειρον): The unlimited; Anaximander’s term for the boundless beginning of all things.

Noûs (νοῦς): Mind or intellect; Anaxagoras’s term for the directing principle of the cosmos.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Block/Lego Analogy #

A child builds a tower from blocks, then it is knocked down. The child ends with the same blocks he began with. Similarly, if the unlimited is the beginning of all things, when things break down and return to their origin, they return to that same beginning. This illustrates why the beginning must be unchangeable and eternal.

Temporal Order #

Events are ordered before and after the birth of Christ. This single event serves as the reference point for all temporal order. Muslims order events before and after the Hijra (flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina). Without a single point of reference, people could not communicate about when events occurred—each would use their own birthday as reference. This shows order depends on something one.

Military and Political Order #

An army requires one commander; a country requires one government, not multiple governments. Order always traces back to a unified source.

Clay and Water as Illustrations of Infinity #

Clay can be molded into infinite shapes (sphere, cube, pyramid, etc.). Water can take the shape of any container, allowing infinite configurations. Yet neither clay nor water is itself infinite in the way God is. The point is that something simple can give rise to many effects, suggesting the first principle (being even more simple and more generative) must be unlimited in some way.

Mathematics and Numbers #

One is the beginning of all numbers. All multitude derives from unity. This natural mathematical truth reflects reason’s inclination toward unity as the source of multiplicity.

Notable Quotes #

Heraclitus: “It is wise, listening not to me, but to reason, to agree that all things are one.” Context: Berquist cites this to show that reason naturally inclines toward unity and that even ancient philosophers recognized this inclination as fundamental to rational thought.

Max Born: “The genuine physicist believes absolutely in the unity and simplicity of nature despite any appearance to the contrary.” Context: Illustrates that modern mathematical physicists, without theological motivation, naturally incline toward finding unity and simplicity in nature—confirming the natural inclination of reason.

Aristotle (via Thomas in Summa Contra Gentiles): “[The Greek philosophers] all say this same thing without giving me a reason, but as if coerced by the truth itself.” Context: Regarding the belief that the beginning is unlimited; shows that reason is naturally drawn to this conclusion almost compulsively.

Shakespeare: “Whose womb and measure infinite doth rest, / Gains and feeds all.” Context: Reference to Mother Earth in connection with the ancient notion of matter (mater) as the beginning of all things. Shows the linguistic and conceptual connection between “mother,” “matter,” and the first principle.

Questions Addressed #

Why are the five attributes organized as they are? #

Berquist raises this methodologically: Thomas divides into five, which breaks the rule that single divisions should be into two or three. Berquist suggests that simplicity and unity are naturally related (both deny composition and multiplicity) and could theoretically be combined under “God has no parts,” subdivided into composed parts and subjective parts. Perfection stands apart because it does not naturally emerge from thinking about the first principle as matter but only from recognizing it as pure act.

Is the natural inclination of the mind toward a simple, unified, infinite, unchangeable first principle arbitrary or reasonable? #

It is reasonable. The mind naturally inclines this way because reason seeks unity as the basis of order, simplicity as prior to composition, unchangeability as necessary for the first principle to remain while all else changes, and infinity as necessary for a single principle to give rise to infinite effects. This inclination appears consistently in pre-Socratic philosophy, modern physics, and theological understanding.

Why must the first principle be pure act rather than matter? #

Because what is in potency depends on something else to actualize it. If the first principle were in potency (like matter), something prior would be required to actualize it, contradicting its status as first. Therefore, it must be pure act. Only pure act can be the absolutely first principle, and only pure act is most perfect.

What is the relationship between the four naturally known attributes and the fifth (perfection)? #

The first four (simplicity, unity, infinity, unchangeability) are known through natural reason’s inclination toward understanding a first principle. Perfection emerges only when one realizes the first principle is act, not potency. The pre-Socratic philosophers grasped the first four but not perfection because they thought of the beginning as matter (potency). Thomas shows that recognizing act’s priority over potency reveals the fifth attribute.

Connections to Other Topics #

Natural Philosophy and Metaphysics: The discussion connects ancient natural philosophy (the pre-Socratics’ search for a first principle) with modern mathematical physics, showing that both are driven by the same natural inclinations of reason—toward unity, simplicity, infinity, and unchangeability.

Act and Potency: The distinction between act and potency is foundational. It resolves the apparent paradox of a first principle being both simple and perfect, both one and generative of infinite effects.

Divine Perfection (Q3): The treatment of perfection here anticipates the fuller discussion of God’s perfection in the next question.

The Intelligent Design Controversy: Berquist briefly addresses contemporary debates, noting that some reduce science to material causality while ignoring formal and efficient causality, thereby excluding intelligent design. His point: understanding the full range of Aristotelian causes is necessary for proper philosophy of science.