13. Distinction of Reason and Real Distinction in Theology

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Real Distinctions vs. Distinctions of Reason #

• Real Distinction: When two things are actually different entities (e.g., Father and Son in the Trinity)
• Distinction of Reason: When something can be expressed or understood in different ways, yet refers to the same thing in reality (e.g., being and good, the divine mind and divine will)
• The key principle: Something can be affirmed of one thing and denied of another without there being a real distinction—there may only be a distinction in meaning or thought

Being and Goodness as Convertible Terms #

• Being and good are convertible: every being is good, every good is being
• Yet they are not synonymous: they have different meanings
• Being means “what is”; good means “what is desirable”
• Understanding why: bad is a privation (non-being of something able to be had); since being and the absence of privation are coextensive, being and good convert
• This shows that affirmations and denials based on different meanings do not indicate real distinction in things

The Second Figure Syllogism and Theological Reasoning #

• In second figure syllogisms, negative conclusions are obtained by affirming something of one thing and denying it of another
• This logical form is frequently used in theology
• However, the apparent distinction may be only a distinction of reason, not a real distinction
• Example: “The Son is generated; the divine nature is not generated; therefore the Son is not the divine nature”—but this does not prove a real distinction between Son and divine nature

Mathematical Examples as Preparation for Understanding God #

• Number 12: Can be expressed as 3 × 4 or as 2 × 6
  • These are two different definitions of the same number
  • Properties can be affirmed of one definition and denied of the other (“whose sides are odd and even” vs. “whose sides are both even”)
  • Yet there is no real distinction in the number itself
• Number 64: Is both a square number (8 × 8) and a cube number (4 × 4 × 4)
  • Initially, square and cube seemed like opposite kinds
  • Yet the same number can be both
  • We have two different thoughts about one and the same number
• The number 12 in inches and feet: Same length, different ways of knowing it
• These examples prepare the mind for understanding divine attributes and the Trinity

Application to God and Divine Attributes #

• God is unchanging yet acts; God is simple yet has attributes (mind, will, intellect)
• Just as 64 is understood in two ways (as square and as cube) while remaining one number, God can be understood in multiple ways (as intellect and as will) while being absolutely one
• The distinction between divine attributes is a distinction of reason, not a real distinction
• This is because our knowledge of God begins with creatures, where mind and will are really distinct; we then understand these must exist in God but in a unified way we do not fully comprehend

Relations of Reason in Knowledge (Guardian Angel Correction) #

• One type of relation of reason occurs in knowing: the knower is really related to the known (the knower has knowledge of something)
• But the known is related to the knower only by a relation of reason
• This is because knowledge is immaterial and exists only in the knower, not in the thing known
• In contrast, relations like loving may be different: both knower and beloved may be really related (unlike the asymmetry in knowing), since good is in things themselves

Grace and the Incarnation #

• Grace is said in two ways:
  1. The will of God giving something gratuitously (God’s favor)
  2. The gratuitous gift of God (something bestowed on us)
• The union of Incarnation is made by grace in the sense that it is a gratuitous gift, not merited
• However, the union is not made by habitual grace (as in the case of saints)
• Rather, human nature is joined immediately to the divine person
• The fullness of divinity dwells in Christ “bodily” (not shadowy like Old Testament types), meaning even the body is united to the divine nature

The Power to Generate and the Power to Create #

• The substance of God’s power to generate the Son and God’s power to create are the same power (the divine essence)
• Yet these can be understood differently: generation of the Son is natural to God the Father, while creation is moved by divine will
• Illustration from creatures: Reason is naturally led to certain truths (e.g., a whole is greater than a part), but reason can be moved by will to assent to other truths (e.g., God became man)
• Similarly, the divine power naturally generates the Son and is moved by divine will to create creatures

Key Arguments #

On Apparent Distinctions in the Trinity #

• Appearance of Distinction: Something can be said of the divine nature that cannot be said of the Son (the Son is generated; the divine nature is not generated)
• The Confusion: Does this mean they are distinct things?
• The Resolution: Not necessarily. The difference in what can be said of them indicates a distinction in how we understand them (distinction of reason), not necessarily a real distinction in the things themselves
• Principle: When something is affirmed of one thing and denied of another, there must be a distinction—but it may be either real (two different things) or rational (two ways of understanding one thing)

On Being and Knowable as Convertible #

• Every being is knowable (because being in act and being in ability are the most universal divisions)
• Is everything knowable being? (Can we know nothing?)
• Answer: We can only know nothing by giving it a “being of reason”—treating it as if it were something for the sake of discourse
• Conclusion: Being and knowable are truly convertible
• Yet knowable has an opposite (unknowable), while being does not; this apparent distinction shows no real difference but only a difference in meaning

Important Definitions #

Distinction of Reason (distinctio rationis) #

A distinction existing only in how the mind understands and expresses one thing, not in the thing itself. Two different concepts or meanings refer to the same reality.

Convertible Terms (termini convertibiles) #

Two terms such that everything predicated of one can be predicated of the other (e.g., being and good). They have the same extension but different meanings (intensiones).

Privation (privatio) #

The absence or non-being of something that a subject is capable of having and ought to have. In this sense, evil is not a positive thing but the privation of good.

Relation of Reason (relatio rationis) #

A relation that exists only in the mind’s consideration, not in things themselves. One side of such a relation may be real (founded in reality) while the other side is only rational.

Being of Reason (ens rationis) #

Something that has being only in the mind, not in external reality (e.g., nothing, genus, species as abstract concepts).

Examples & Illustrations #

The Number 12 with Different Factorizations #

• 12 = 3 × 4 (factors are one odd, one even)
• 12 = 2 × 6 (factors are both even)
• These are truly different expressions, yet they refer to the same number
• You can say: “The number whose sides are odd and even” (true of 3 × 4 description)
• But deny: “The number whose sides are both even” (false of 3 × 4 description)
• Yet they are one and the same number: no real distinction in the number itself, only in the definition or way of knowing it

The Number 64 as Both Square and Cube #

• 64 = 8 × 8 (square number)
• 64 = 4 × 4 × 4 (cube number)
• Initially, square numbers and cube numbers seem to be different kinds
• Yet 64 is both
• Euclid shows theorems about square numbers and separate theorems about cube numbers
• Yet these different theorems can apply to the same number
• We have two different thoughts about one and the same thing
• Connection to God: Just as creatures are either square or cube (mind distinct from will), God is like both square and cube in one being (mind and will are really the same, yet we understand them differently)

Prime and Composite Numbers #

• Prime numbers are measured only by unity
• Composite numbers are measured by other numbers
• These seem to be opposite kinds and remain so
• Contrast: Odd/even numbers remain mutually exclusive, yet square/cube can overlap

Reason Moved Naturally vs. by Will #

• Natural movement of reason: Every man naturally thinks that a whole is greater than a part (demonstrated by willingness to accept whole meals rather than parts)
• Reason moved by will: I think that God became man, not because reason is naturally inclined to this, but because will (moved by grace) leads reason to assent to it
• Application: The divine power generates the Son naturally; it creates creatures through divine will

The 12 Inches and 1 Foot Analogy #

• Same length, known differently
• One expression used when thinking in terms of inch divisions; another when thinking in terms of foot divisions
• Yet no real distinction in the thing itself

Notable Quotes #

“The fact that something is affirmed of good that would be denied of being, right? Shows that there is a distinction between being and good, right? Okay? But it doesn’t tell you is it a real distinction or a distinction of reason.” — Duane Berquist

“When Thomas, you know, in the beginning of the day, the Veritati… Thomas, following, incidentally, had a sentence. He shows you how these most universal names, although they’re convertible, right? Nevertheless, they’re not synonyms, right? They have a different meaning.” — Duane Berquist (on Thomas Aquinas)

“I’m very much of a logician, you know, and I know about the second figure of the syllogism. And I’m constantly… when we argue that God is unchanging and so on, we’re affirming something of God that we deny of the changing… And then all of a sudden, when you see the guy trying to do the same thing with a person and the divine nature, you say, oh my gosh.” — Duane Berquist

“By that grace, from the beginning of the faith of each man, it comes about by which grace that man from the beginning was made Christ.” — St. Augustine (quoted by Berquist)

“Grace is said in two ways: in one way, the very will of God giving something gratuitously; in another way, the gratuitous gift of God.” — St. Thomas Aquinas (quoted by Berquist)

Questions Addressed #

How can the Father and Son be distinguished if there is no real distinction between them and the divine nature? #

Answer: The distinction between Father and Son is a real distinction. However, the distinction between each of them and the divine nature is only a distinction of reason. We must distinguish between: (1) what is really distinct (Father from Son), and (2) what is distinct only in how we understand it (Father from divine nature). The second figure syllogism can be used to show something is affirmed of one and denied of another, but this does not automatically prove a real distinction—it may only show a distinction in how we express or understand one thing.

If being and good have different meanings, are they really different things? #

Answer: No. Being and good are convertible (everything that is, is good; everything good, is), yet they have different meanings. Being means “what is”; good means “what is desirable.” The reason we can affirm opposite things of them (being is not the opposite of bad; good is) is that they differ in meaning, not that they are different things. This is a distinction of reason, not a real distinction.

Can one number have two entirely different definitions? #

Answer: Yes. The number 12 can be understood as “the number whose sides are 3 and 4” or as “the number whose sides are 2 and 6.” These are genuinely different definitions with different properties. Yet they refer to the same number. This shows that the mind can have two distinct thoughts or understandings of one and the same thing.

How does the distinction between reason and will in creatures prepare us to understand God? #

Answer: In creatures, reason and will are really distinct powers. Yet in God, they must be the same thing (God is simple). By studying mathematical examples (like 64 being both square and cube), we see that the mind can have two different thoughts about one thing. This prepares us to understand that God can be understood as intellect and as will, with two different thoughts about him, while remaining absolutely one being.