107. Divine Beatitude and God's Perfect Understanding

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Divine Beatitude (Beatitudo) #

• Definition: The perfect good of an intellectual nature
• Primary location: Consists in the act of understanding, not merely in essence or will
• God’s possession: Beatitude belongs to God most excellently as His very nature, not as a reward
• Distinction from creatures: In creatures, beatitude is acquired through virtue; in God, beatitude is identical with His essence

The Two Objections and Their Resolutions #

Objection 1: Simplicity Problem #

• Objection: Beatitude involves aggregation of goods (per Boethius); God is simple; therefore beatitude cannot belong to God
• Resolution: In creatures, goods are multiple and aggregated; in God, all goods exist in a unified, simple way. The multiplicity is in creatures; the unity is in God.

Objection 2: Merit Problem #

• Objection: Beatitude is the reward of virtue (per Aristotle); God has no merit; therefore beatitude does not belong to God
• Resolution: Beatitude in creatures is a reward for virtue; in God, it is His very nature. God does not acquire beatitude—He possesses it essentially.

The Second Article: By What Faculty God is Blessed #

The Question: Is God blessed by His understanding or by His essence?

Thomas’s Answer: God is blessed primarily by His understanding

• The most perfect operation in any intellectual nature is understanding
• Through understanding, the intellect becomes “in some way all things” (Aristotle, De Anima III)
• God’s beatitude consists in His perfect self-knowledge and knowledge of all things
• Critical distinction: We understand God to be blessed by understanding that He understands Himself, not merely by His substance alone
• Though in God “to be” and “to understand” and “to be blessed” are all identical, the way we understand beatitude is through the act of understanding

The Two-Fold Aspect of Beatitude:

• As object: God alone is beatitude; He is what is understood
• As act: In creatures, this is the created act of understanding God; in God, the act is uncreated and identical with His being

Key Arguments #

The Principle of First Principles in Love and Knowledge #

• The first thing loved cannot be love itself; it must be an end toward which love tends
• Similarly, the first thing understood cannot be the act of understanding itself
• Therefore, beatitude (as end) cannot consist primarily in the will or in love, but in understanding

The Priority of Understanding Over Will #

• All knowledge is good; not all love is good
• Love requires an object; understanding apprehends that object
• Therefore, understanding is prior in the order of causation

The Nature of God’s Understanding #

• God understands Himself perfectly and completely
• “There is nothing more worthwhile understanding” than God
• God’s understanding is not discursive or progressive but eternal and complete

Important Definitions #

Beatitudo (Blessedness/Beatitude): The perfect good of an intellectual nature, consisting primarily in the act of understanding, particularly self-knowledge and knowledge of all things

Aggregatio (Aggregation): The bringing together of multiple goods; occurs in creatures but not in God, who possesses all goods in simple unity

Fruitio (Enjoyment/Fruition): The act of enjoying or using what is understood; distinct from the object itself

Examples & Illustrations #

The Mother as Common Source #

• Berquist illustrates the principle that “the first letter cannot be a letter about another letter” with an anecdote about his mother being the common source of information between him and his brothers
• The point: Just as the first letter must be about something outside the system of letters, the first thing loved must be an end outside the will itself

The Nature of the First Object #

• You cannot understand your understanding before understanding something else
• You must understand what a cup, book, triangle, or dog is before you can understand that you understand
• This mirrors the principle in beatitude: you must have an end before you can have the will moving toward it

Notable Quotes #

“Blessed is the man who understands God, even if he understands nothing else. Miserable is the man who understands other things but does not understand God.” — Augustine, quoted by Berquist

“The soul is in some way all things.” — Aristotle, De Anima III, cited to show how understanding makes the intellect universal

“Such as a man is, so does the end appear to him.” — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, explaining the subjective nature of perceived ends

“Those who do bad are early, making a mistake.” — Book of Proverbs, quoted by Thomas and later Aristotle

“The vision is the whole reward.” — Augustine, on the completeness of beatitude in the vision of God

Questions Addressed #

Can God be blessed if He has no merit? #

• Answer: In creatures, beatitude is the reward of virtue because they acquire it through effort. God does not acquire beatitude—He possesses it essentially and eternally. Just as God has being without being generated, He has beatitude without meriting it.

How can beatitude be simple in God if it involves aggregation of goods? #

• Answer: The aggregation is in creatures; the simplicity is in God. All goods that are multiple in creatures exist in God in a unified, simple way, yet God lacks nothing.

Is beatitude primarily an act of the will or understanding? #

• Answer: Though beatitude is an end (which relates to the will), the end must be understood before it is willed. Therefore, beatitude is primarily understood through understanding, though the will rests in it.

Pedagogical Structure #

The lecture follows Thomas’s method in the Summa Theologiae I, Question 26:

1. First Article: Whether beatitude belongs to God
2. Second Article: Whether God is blessed by His understanding (or by His essence)
3. Remaining articles to be covered next week

The treatment of beatitude concludes the consideration of God’s unity and serves as a natural bridge into the Trinity, establishing God’s perfect, eternal activity of self-knowledge.