30. Divine Goodness and God's Infinity

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Article 4: All Things Good by Divine Goodness #

• The Question: Does everything that is good derive its goodness from divine goodness?
• Augustine’s Position: God is “the good of every good” (from De Trinitate VIII), suggesting all goodness flows from Him
• Boethius’s Position: All things are said to be good insofar as they are ordered to God by reason of divine goodness
• The Problem: If all things are good by divine goodness formally, this seems to contradict the principle that things are good insofar as they are, through their own being

Berquist’s Resolution #

• Divine Goodness as Cause, Not Form: God’s goodness operates as exemplar, efficient, and final cause—not as the intrinsic formal goodness of created things
• Distinction Between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Goodness:
  • Things are denominated good BY divine goodness as by a first exemplar and efficient cause
  • But things are formally denominated good by their own intrinsic goodness inhering in them
• Analogy of Causes: Just as a thing can be “placed” by place or “measured” by a measure (extrinsic relations), so a thing can be denominated good by divine goodness without divine goodness being its formal cause
• The Five Attributes of Divine Substance: Berquist lists these as foundation: (1) God is good, (2) God is goodness itself, (3) nothing bad in God, (4) He is the good of every good, (5) He is summa bona

Introduction to Divine Infinity (Question 7) #

• Preview: After considering divine perfection (Question 6), Thomas now considers infinity and God’s existence in all things
• Key Distinction: Infinity is “in circumscriptibilis”—that which cannot be drawn around or circumscribed
• Connection to Perfection: Infinity follows from perfection; God’s infinity is His infinite perfection not limited to any particular genus

Ancient Philosophy on Infinity #

• Universal Intuition: All ancient philosophers attributed infinity to the first principle, though they erred about what kind of infinity
• Coercion by Truth: Philosophers were “coerced by the truth itself” to recognize that the beginning of all things is infinite, even before having full rational justification
• Error as Wandering: The word “error” (Latin) and “plane” (Greek) both derive from the concept of wandering; error is a defective movement of reason

The Infinity Question Addressed #

Objection 1: Everything infinite is imperfect (has notion of part and matter); God is most perfect; therefore God is not infinite

Objection 2: Infinite belongs to quantity; God has no quantity; therefore no infinity belongs to Him

Objection 3: What is “this and not that” is finite in substance; God is “this and not that” (not a stone, not wood); therefore God is finite

Berquist’s Response to Objection 3: This objection is “very definitive” in appearance but conflates two different kinds of limitation:

• When we say “this and not that” within a genus, we are limited within that genus
• But God is not in any genus at all; He is outside all categories of predication
• His distinction from other things comes from being received in no way, not from being limited within a category

Matter vs. Form and the Notion of Infinity #

• Matter Limited by Form: Matter is unlimited potentiality; form limits matter by actualizing it
• Form Not Perfected by Matter: Form is not perfected by matter; rather, form is contracted or limited by being received in matter
• Infinity as Perfect: The infinite according as it is formal (not received in matter, not determined through matter) has the notion of something perfect
• Divine Existence as Pure Act: God’s being is not received in anything; it subsists by itself; therefore God is both infinite and perfect

The Distinction Between Quantity and Category #

• Limit as Form of Quantity: The term or limit of quantity is its form; figure (triangle, circle, square) demonstrates how form is the termination of quantity
• Categories of Predication: Aristotle distinguishes various figures of predication (genera); God is not limited to or received under any single genus
• Definition Cannot Apply to God: Since definition limits by genus and difference, God strictly cannot be defined

Key Arguments #

For God as Cause of Goodness (Not Formal Cause) #

• God operates as exemplar cause: All created goodness is a likeness of divine goodness (“Let us make man to our image and likeness”)
• God operates as efficient cause: God creates and sustains all good things
• God operates as final cause: All created goodness is ordered to God as its end
• God does not operate as formal cause: The intrinsic form by which a thing is denominated good belongs to the creature itself

For God’s Perfect Infinity #

• God’s existence (essae) is subsisting, not received in a subject
• Subsisting existence is not limited by matter (which bounds potentiality)
• Subsisting existence is not limited by form (which is contracted when received in matter)
• Therefore, God manifests both infinity and perfection simultaneously

Against Pantheistic Interpretation #

• The statement “God is essae omnium” (being of all things) must be understood carefully
• It means God is the effective being of all things, not the formal being by which each thing is
• Saying “I exist by divine essence formally” leads to pantheism and is philosophically incoherent
• One’s own existence is an effect of God’s causality and is ordered to God as end, but is not identical with divine existence

Important Definitions #

Goodness #

• Bonum: That which all things desire; convertible with being
• Intrinsic Goodness: The formal goodness inhering in a creature by which it is denominated good
• Exemplar Cause (causa exemplaris): An extrinsic form serving as model; contrasted with intrinsic form
• Efficient Cause: The agent that brings something into being or produces an effect
• Final Cause: The end or purpose toward which something is ordered

Infinity #

• Infinitus: That which is not limited; not having a term or boundary
• In circumscriptibilis: That around which a line cannot be drawn; cannot be circumscribed or bounded
• Infinite in Act vs. Potency: The infinite belonging to matter (potentiality) is in potency; the infinite belonging to form is the infinite in act (perfect infinity)
• Essae: Existence; being itself
• Essae effectivum: Effective being (causality); contrasted with essae formale (formal being or essential identity)

Categories and Limitation #

• Figuras praedicationis: Figures of predication; the categories or genres under which things are classified
• Modus, Species, Ordo: (From prior lecture context) Mode (determination), species (form/kind), order (relation to end)

Examples & Illustrations #

On Divine Goodness #

• Subsisting Whiteness: If there existed whiteness subsisting by itself (not in a subject), it would be distinguished from all whiteness existing in subjects not by having something in common and being further limited, but by being unlimited (not received in anything)
• Same with Existence: God’s existence, being subsisting and unreceived, is simply unlimited and thereby distinguished from all other things

On Infinity and Imagination #

• The Separated Soul: Berquist notes the difficulty of transcending imagination when thinking about immaterial realities; a separated soul has no length, width, or depth, yet our imagination tends to picture everything with spatial dimensions
• Plato’s Error: Plato tried to imagine the universal as a “sail covering things” and fell into problems with participation; the universal cannot be imagined spatially

On Error and Truth #

• Natural Inclination to Infinity: The human mind naturally moves toward recognizing an infinite first principle even before having complete rational justification
• Mathematical Physics: Physicists search for one universal equation (e.g., F = ma) from which infinite instances can be derived; they seek unity, simplicity, and unchangeableness—moving naturally toward recognition of an infinite, simple, unchanging principle
• Conservation Laws: Physicists recognize conservation of energy, momentum, and angular momentum as fundamental, suggesting a natural inclination toward recognizing something simple and perfect as the source

On Categories and Limitation #

• Term in Logic: In the syllogism, we use “major term, middle term, minor term” (Greek: limit, not “term”)—borrowed from quantity’s language but applied differently
• Distinction Within a Genus: A dog is “this and not that” (this dog, not a cat) because both fall within the genus of animal; the limitation comes from difference within a genus
• God Outside All Genera: God is not under any genus; He is not limited like things within a genus are limited; His distinction from all other things comes from being wholly outside the categories

Notable Quotes #

“God is not by another good, good, but he’s the good of what? Every good.” — Thomas Aquinas, citing Augustine

“All things are said to be good insofar as they order to God, and this by reason of the divine goodness.” — Boethius, De Hebdomadibus

“Take away this and that and see good itself, if you’re able. Thus you will see God.” — Augustine, De Trinitate VIII

“Who is like God?” — Scripture, cited in context of assimilation to divine goodness through likeness

“I will show you every good” — God (to Abraham or Moses), interpreted by Thomas as: “That is myself”

“Coerced by the truth itself” — Aristotle’s phrase (cited in Physics III) describing how philosophers were driven to recognize infinity in the first principle

“All things are good insofar as they are” — Augustine, used to show that things are good through their own being, not directly through divine essence

Questions Addressed #

1. Are All Things Good by Divine Goodness? #

• The Debate: Augustine and Boethius suggest God is the goodness by which all things are good; but Augustine elsewhere says things are good insofar as they are, through their own being
• Resolution: Things are denominated good by divine goodness as by exemplar, efficient, and final cause. But formally, each thing is good by an intrinsic goodness inhering in it—which is itself a likeness of divine goodness and an effect of divine causality
• Key Insight: There is “one goodness of all things” (divine exemplar and source) and yet “many goods” (the intrinsic goodnesses in creatures)

2. Does God Have Quantity? #

• Objection: Infinite and finite belong to quantity; God has no quantity; therefore infinity does not apply to God
• Response: The limit of quantity is its form; infinity belonging to quantity is an imperfect infinity (from matter’s side). But God is subsisting existence, not received in matter or any subject; therefore God’s infinity is perfect infinity, not dependent on quantity

3. How Can God Be “This and Not That” and Yet Not Be Limited? #

• Objection: “This dog and not a cat” shows limitation to a kind; God is “this and not that”; therefore God is limited
• Response: Within a genus, “this and not that” indicates limitation by difference. But God is not in any genus; He is completely outside all categories of predication. His distinction from other things comes from being wholly unreceived, not from being limited within a category

4. Can One Exist by Divine Essence Formally? #

• The Email Question: A student asked whether one exists by divine essence
• Berquist’s Response: No. This leads to pantheism. God is the effective being of all things (efficient cause), not their formal being. One’s existence is an effect of divine causality and ordered to God as end, but is not identical with God’s essence

Pedagogical Notes #

• Teaching Method: Berquist suggests giving students only the objections on a separate page, letting them “stew” before revealing the reply. This forces engagement with the difficulty of the question
• Etymology as Aid: Understanding that “error” and “plane” (Greek for planetary wandering) derive from the root meaning “to wander” helps clarify that error is a defective ordering of reason, while “mistake” (being mixed up) is a defect in distinction
• Transcending Imagination: A major challenge in understanding immaterial realities is recognizing that not everything has spatial extension; this requires deliberate philosophical discipline

Connection to Broader Course #

• Follows Question 6: This lecture completes the treatment of divine goodness and introduces Question 7 on infinity
• Leads to Question 8: Divine infinity connects to God’s ubiquity (existence in all things)
• Related to Question 3: Divine simplicity ensures that goodness is not an accident in God but identical with His essence
• Foundation in Questions 2-3: God’s existence and simplicity ground the attribution of goodness and infinity to Him