144. Essential Names, Supposition, and Divine Generation

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Distinction Between Meaning and Supposition #

• A word’s meaning (significatio) is distinct from what it stands for (suppositio) in a particular context
• This distinction is essential for understanding theological language about God
• Example: “A man teaches a man” — the word ‘man’ has one meaning (one possessing human nature) but stands for different individuals (teacher and student) in the same sentence
• The distinction is not about multiple meanings but about multiple suppositions

How ‘God’ Functions as a Concrete Essential Name #

• ‘God’ signifies the divine essence as in the one having it (not the essence abstractly)
• Because ‘God’ is a concrete name bringing its own subject, it can properly stand for a person who possesses the divine nature
• When we say “God creates,” ‘God’ stands for the essence (by reason of the predicate)
• When we say “God generates,” ‘God’ stands for the Father (the predicate determines the supposition)
• When we say “God is generated,” ‘God’ stands for the Son

Why Abstract Names Cannot Stand for Persons #

• ‘Essence’ signifies the divine nature abstractly, abstracted from the one possessing it
• Abstract names cannot stand for persons because they prescind from the distinctions between persons
• Therefore, “essence generates essence” is false, though “God generates God” is true

The Problem of Apparent Contradiction in “God Generates God” #

• First objection: If God generates God, either the same God generates himself (impossible by Augustine: “nothing generates itself”) or another God generates (contradicting monotheism)
• Thomas’s solution: The first ‘God’ stands for the Father; the second stands for the Son. Both are one God in essence but distinct as persons
• The supposition of the term is determined by context (the notional predicate)

The Analogy with Human Generation #

• “A man generates a man” is true without contradiction
• The first ‘man’ stands for the father; the second stands for the son
• Both possess human nature, but the human nature is multiplied (two distinct individuals)
• In God, by contrast, “God generates God” involves the same divine nature not multiplied (numerically one essence in three persons)
• This illustrates how the meaning of a term remains constant while its supposition changes

Signification vs. Supposition: Not a Difference in Meaning #

• When we say “Socrates is a man” and “man is a species,” does ‘man’ have different meanings? No
• ‘Man’ means the same thing (one possessing human nature) in both sentences
• But in the first case, ‘man’ stands for something in reality; in the second, it stands for something in the mind
• This is a difference in supposition, not meaning
• Similar confusion arises in logic when students think “dog is an animal” and “cat is an animal” means ‘animal’ has two different meanings

Thomas’s Distinction on Supposition #

• Thomas distinguishes between those who claim ‘God’ naturally stands for the essence and those who claim it stands for persons
• The better opinion: ‘God’ stands for a person by reason of its way of signifying (like ‘man’)
• The form signified (divine nature) is common in things (in each of the three persons) but one in reality (not multiplied as human nature is)
• Because the divine nature is one and common in reality to all three persons, ‘God’ can stand for any of them depending on context

Key Arguments #

Against the Thesis (Objections) #

Objection 1: A singular term signifies the same thing it stands for. ‘God’ is singular and signifies the divine essence, so it stands for the essence, not a person.

• Response: A singular term does stand for what it signifies, but supposition determines which supposita it stands for in a given context

Objection 2: A term in the subject is not restricted by a term in the predicate (“God creates” shows ‘God’ stands for the essence). Therefore, in “God generates,” the notional predicate cannot restrict ‘God’ to stand for a person.

• Response: The predicate does indeed determine the supposition; when a notional act (proper to a person) is predicated of ‘God,’ it restricts ‘God’ to stand for that person

Objection 3: If “God generates” is true because the Father generates, then “God does not generate” should be true because the Son does not generate. This makes God both generating and not generating—either they’re different Gods or we have contradiction.

• Response: Nothing is added in the negative statement to restrict ‘God’ to the Son’s person. The negative should be understood as “the generated God does not generate” to make it true without contradiction

Objection 4: If God generates God, either the same God generates himself (impossible) or another God (contradicting monotheism). Therefore, “God generates God” is false.

• Response: The first ‘God’ stands for the Father; the second stands for the Son. They are one God, not two

Objection 5: If God generates God, either the God who is God the Father generates (making the Father generated—false) or the God who is not God the Father generates (positing another God—false). Therefore, it cannot be said.

• Response: The phrase “God who is God the Father” is a restrictive construction that makes the Father the generator and would make him generated if applied to the generated God. But properly, “he generates a God who is not the Father” means the Son receives the divine nature from the Father

For the Thesis (Arguments from Authority) #

The Creed: “God from God, light from light, true God from true God” — the creed itself uses ‘God’ standing for persons in generation

Augustine: The quote from the creed itself reflects Augustine’s acceptance of trinitarian generation language

Important Definitions #

Supposition (suppositio): The function of a term in standing for or referring to something in a particular context; distinguished from meaning

Concrete signification: Signifying something as in the one having it (e.g., ‘God’ = the one having divinity)

Abstract signification: Signifying the form or nature in abstraction from the subject having it (e.g., ’essence’ = divinity itself)

Notional predicate: A predicate expressing one of the notional acts (generation, spiration) that belong to a person, not to the essence

Restricting a supposition: When a predicate limits which supposita a term stands for in a given sentence

Examples & Illustrations #

“A Man Teaches a Man” #

• Can be true without contradiction: the first ‘man’ stands for the teacher; the second stands for the student
• Both are men (possess human nature), but they are distinct individuals
• Shows how one meaning can have different suppositions
• Note: If the same man taught himself, he would be both knowing and ignorant—impossible

“Socrates Is a Man” vs. “Man Is a Species” #

• In both sentences, ‘man’ has the same meaning (one possessing human nature)
• In the first, ‘man’ stands for something in reality (Socrates)
• In the second, ‘man’ stands for something in the mind (the universal)
• Illustrates difference between meaning and supposition

“God Creates” vs. “God Generates” vs. “God Is Generated” #

• “God creates” — ‘God’ stands for the essence (predicate belongs to God by reason of the divine nature)
• “God generates” — ‘God’ stands for the Father (the notional predicate restricts it)
• “God is generated” — ‘God’ stands for the Son (the notional predicate restricts it)
• Same meaning, different suppositions determined by context

Student Confusion: “Dog Is an Animal” and “Cat Is an Animal” #

• Students sometimes mistakenly think ‘animal’ has two meanings here
• Error: thinking that because dog and cat are different things, ‘animal’ means different things
• Truth: ‘animal’ means the same thing; it simply stands for different supposita (dog and cat)
• Same confusion as thinking ‘quadrilateral’ has different meanings when said of squares and rhombuses

Multiple Masses on Christmas #

• Historically, the Christmas liturgy included masses dealing with the divine birth and then the human birth
• This reflects the distinction: ‘God’ can stand for the divine person involved in both births
• Not a difference in meaning but in supposition based on context

Notable Quotes #

“Never affirm, seldom deny, always distinguish.” — Dominican maxim (cited as the teaching of Berquist’s Dominican teacher)

“One ought to not only note the thing signified, but also the way of signifying it.” — Thomas Aquinas on proper theological language

“No thing generates itself.” — Augustine, cited by Thomas to rule out God generating himself

“Because God signifies what has a divine nature… and each of the three persons has a divine nature, the name that signifies what has a divine nature can stand sometimes for a person.”

Questions Addressed #

How can we say “God generates God” without contradiction? #

• The first ‘God’ stands for the Father (generator); the second stands for the Son (generated)
• Both are one God in essence, distinct only as persons by reason of relations
• The same term ‘God’ can have different suppositions based on context

Why can’t we say “essence generates essence”? #

• ‘Essence’ signifies the divine nature abstractly, not as in the one having it
• Abstract names cannot stand for persons; they abstract from personal distinctions
• Since generation is a notional act proper to a person, only concrete or personal names can properly express it

What is the difference between meaning and supposition? #

• Meaning: what a word signifies universally (e.g., ‘man’ = one possessing human nature)
• Supposition: what a word stands for in a particular context (e.g., in “a man teaches a man,” the first stands for teacher, the second for student)
• A word can have one meaning but multiple suppositions

How do we avoid Boethius’s famous fallacy in trinitarian language? #

• The fallacy: “God is Father, Father is a person, therefore God is a person” (suggests three persons = three Gods)
• Resolution: Recognize that ‘God’ and ‘person’ have different ranges of supposition; ‘God’ can stand for all three, while ‘person’ refers to individual relations

Is there a true distinction between “God generates” and “the generated God does not generate”? #

• Yes: in the first, ‘God’ stands for the Father by reason of the predicate ‘generates’
• In the second, ‘God’ is modified to stand specifically for the Son (’the generated God’)
• Without such modification in the negative, we cannot infer that God both generates and does not generate

Connections to Broader Topics #

Divine Simplicity #

• This lecture presupposes that God is absolutely simple with no real distinction between God and the divine nature
• Yet language requires us to distinguish between ‘God’ (concrete) and ’essence’ (abstract)
• The distinction is in our way of signifying, not in the thing itself

Porphyry’s Isagoge and the Five Predicables #

• The discussion of “man is a species” reflects Porphyry’s five predicables (genus, species, differentia, property, accident)
• Thomas cites Porphyry as foundational to logic despite Porphyry’s anti-Christian stance
• The principle applies even outside theological contexts

Sophistical Fallacies #

• The lecture addresses how sophistical arguments exploit confusion between meaning and supposition
• Proper theology must avoid these fallacies by attending to both signification and mode of signifying