131. The Five Notions and the Distinction of Divine Persons

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Five Notions #

The five notions are:

1. Unbornness (innascibilitas) – The Father is from no one
2. Fatherhood – The Father generates the Son
3. Sonship – The Son is generated by the Father
4. Common Breathing (spiratio communis) – Father and Son together produce the Holy Spirit
5. Procession – The Holy Spirit proceeds from Father and Son

The 5-4-3 Reduction #

• Five notions reduce to four relations: unbornness is not strictly a relation but is reduced to the category of relations by negation
• Four relations correspond to three persons: common breathing belongs to both Father and Son, so it does not constitute a fourth person
• This reduction reflects that notions are conceptual tools for distinguishing persons, not additional realities in God

Notions vs. Relations vs. Properties #

• Four notions are relations: fatherhood, sonship, common breathing, procession
• One notion is not a relation: unbornness (signifies negation, reduced by logical operation)
• Four notions are properties (belonging to only one person): unbornness, fatherhood, sonship, procession
• One is not a property: common breathing (shared by Father and Son)
• Three notions are “personal” (constitutive of persons): fatherhood, sonship, procession
• Two notions of persons are not personal: unbornness and common breathing

Key Arguments #

Objections Against Five Notions #

1. First Objection: Only four relations exist in God (from Question 2), therefore only four notions
2. Second Objection: Five notions would make God “fivefold,” which is unsuitable (since essence makes God “one” and three persons make God “three”)
3. Third Objection: Multiple notions in one person either differ in reality (implying composition) or differ only in thought (implying they could be predicated of each other, like divine attributes)

Counter-Arguments (Against Five) #

1. The Holy Spirit has no one proceeding from him, yet this does not constitute a sixth notion because it does not pertain to his dignity (unlike the Father’s unbornness, which pertains to his excellence as origin)
2. The Son and Holy Spirit do not both proceed from the Father in the same way (one by generation, one by spiration), so there is no common notion similar to common breathing

Thomas’s Resolution #

• Notions are thoughts or reasons for knowing, not things in God
• They are the abstract concepts by which intellect distinguishes and identifies persons
• Only relative opposition creates real plurality in God: notions belonging to one person that are not relatively opposed do not differ in reality
• Therefore, the Father’s fatherhood and unbornness, though both in him, do not differ in reality but only as diverse thoughts
• Notions vs. properties/attributes: Notions signify the relational modes of knowing persons; divine attributes (goodness, wisdom, power) are predicated of all persons equally

Important Definitions #

Notion (notio) #

A proper thought or reason for knowing the divine person. Notions are the abstract concepts by which we distinguish and identify the three persons. They are not things in God but rather the ways intellect grasps personal distinctions.

Relative Opposition (oppositio relativa) #

The logical relationship by which one relation excludes its opposite (father excludes son, and vice versa). Only when there is relative opposition between two aspects of God do they create a real distinction.

Reduction (reductio) #

A logical process by which something not strictly in a category is “led back” to that category. Unbornness is not strictly a relation but is reduced to the category of relations because it functions as a way of knowing the Father. Examples from other categories: a point is reduced to quantity as the beginning of a line; blindness is reduced to quality as the negation of sight.

Property (proprietas) #

In the strict sense used here, something that belongs to only one person and not to the others. Fatherhood belongs only to the Father; sonship only to the Son; procession only to the Holy Spirit; unbornness only to the Father. Common breathing is not a property because it belongs to both Father and Son.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Point and the Line #

A point is called the beginning of a line, yet the point is not “before” the line in time or being. Similarly, the Father is the beginning of the Son without temporal or ontological priority.

Reduction in Logic and Metaphysics #

• Point in quantity: Not a size itself, but reduced to the category of continuous quantity as its beginning
• Blindness in quality: Not a quality itself, but reduced to the category of quality as the negation of sight
• Unbornness in relation: Not a relation itself, but reduced to the category of relations as the negation of having an origin

The First Hour and the Day #

The first hour is the beginning of the day, yet it does not temporally precede the entire day or make the day dependent on it for existence. This illustrates how “beginning” signifies origin without implying causality or priority.

Notable Quotes #

“Notion is called what is a proper thought or reason for knowing the divine person.”

“The divine persons are multiplied by origin, the origin of one from another.”

“Only relative opposition makes a real plurality in God; but many properties of one person, since they are not opposed to each other relatively, don’t differ in reality.”

“The notions signify not as things in God, but thoughts making known the persons.”

“Beginning signifies nothing other than that from which something is forged [proceeds].”

“The notions are not signifying what is found in God so much as notions whereby we distinguish what is found in God.”

Questions Addressed #

Why Exactly Five Notions? #

Each person is known through the origin by which they are distinct:

• Father: Known by not being from another (unbornness) and by the two who proceed from him (fatherhood and common breathing)
• Son: Known by being from another (sonship) and by the one who proceeds from him (common breathing)
• Holy Spirit: Known by proceeding from others (procession only), not by having others proceed from him

How Can Multiple Notions Belong to One Person Without Composition? #

Multiple notions of one person differ only as diverse thoughts, not in reality, because they are not relatively opposed to each other. The Father’s fatherhood and unbornness do not exclude each other as father and son do; therefore, they do not create real distinction.

Why Is Common Breathing Not a Property? #

A property belongs to only one person. Common breathing belongs to both the Father and the Son, so while it is a relation and makes known the persons, it is not a property exclusive to one person.

Why Is Unbornness Not a Relation in the Strict Sense? #

Unbornness signifies a negation (not having an origin) rather than a positive relation. It is reduced to the category of relations by logical operation, similar to how a point is reduced to quantity or blindness to quality.

Why Not a Sixth Notion for the Holy Spirit? #

The Holy Spirit has no one proceeding from him, but this does not constitute a notion because it does not pertain to his dignity or excellence. The Father’s unbornness pertains to his excellence as the origin of the whole Godhead, but the Holy Spirit’s lack of productive origin adds no dignity.

Article 4: Is It Licit to Hold Contrary Opinions About Notions? #

• What pertains directly to faith (e.g., God is three and one; the Son is incarnate): false opinions constitute heresy, especially with pertinacity
• What pertains indirectly to faith (things from which consequences contrary to faith follow): error is not heresy if the false opinion is not yet determined by the Church to have such consequences, or if held without pertinacity
• About notions specifically: One may hold contrary opinions without danger of heresy, provided one does not intend to contradict the faith. However, if one recognizes that a false opinion about notions leads to something contrary to faith, then to err is heresy.
• Example: Some saints formerly denied the Immaculate Conception without heresy; now it is determined that it follows from the Incarnation, so denying it would be heresy.

Connections to Next Section #

The lecture concludes with the transition to Questions 33-38, which treat the persons in particular:

• Question 33: One question about the Father
• Question 34-35: Two questions about the Son
• Question 36-38: Three questions about the Holy Spirit

Question 33 will address whether it belongs to the Father to be the beginning, whether “Father” properly signifies him, whether “Father” is said personally or essentially, and whether unbornness is proper to the Father.