Quiz 1 Perspective

AUGUSTINE (Confessions Books VII, VIII, XI, XII)

Central Themes & Key Arguments:

1. The Nature of God (Bk VII)

   • Initially views God as a material being but evolves to see God as an immaterial, infinite, and immutable being.

   • Struggles with how an all-good God allows evil to exist.

   • Realizes that evil is not a substance but a lack of good.

2. The Problem of Evil (Bk VII)

   • Rejects the Manichean idea of dual gods (one good, one evil).

   • Evil is a privation (lack of being), meaning it does not exist independently.

   • Everything that exists has some good in it; otherwise, it would not exist.

3. The Nature of Time (Bk XI)

   • Time is a characteristic of change—it exists only where change occurs.

   • God is eternal (outside of time) because He does not change.

   • The past and future do not exist in themselves; they exist only in human memory and expectation.

4. Creation and Interpretation of Genesis 1:1 (Bk XI, XII)

   • God created ex nihilo (out of nothing), not from pre-existing matter.

   • Heaven and earth represent formless matter and the “heaven of heaven” (spiritual realm).

   • Time began with creation; before creation, there was no “before.”

5. Augustine’s Conversion (Bk VIII)

   • Internal struggle: Old will (sinful desires) vs. New will (desire for God).

   • Key influences:

     • Platonist philosophers (helped him understand the immaterial nature of God).

     • Victorinus’ conversion (realization that intellectual belief is not enough).

     • The story of the two Roman officials (shame that others could convert so quickly).

   • The Garden Scene:

     • Crisis moment—paralyzed by indecision.

     • Hears a voice saying, “Take and read”—finds Romans 13:13-14, urging him to turn away from sin.

Key Quotes:

• On Time: “What then is time? Provided that no one asks me, I know. If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know.” (Bk XI)

• On Evil: "If [things] were to be deprived of all good, they would not exist at all." (Bk VII)

• On Conversion: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!” (Bk X)

AQUINAS (Summa Theologica, Question 2)

Central Themes & Key Arguments:

1. Is God’s Existence Self-Evident?

   • No, because humans do not inherently know God’s essence.

   • God’s existence is self-evident in itself but not to us.

2. Can God’s Existence Be Demonstrated?

   • Yes, via a posteriori demonstration (reasoning from effect to cause).

   • Humans cannot prove God’s existence a priori because we lack direct knowledge of God’s essence.

3. The Five Ways (Proofs for God’s Existence):

   • First Way (Motion): Everything in motion must be moved by another; there must be a First Mover (God).

   • Second Way (Efficient Cause): Everything caused has a cause; there must be a First Cause (God).

   • Third Way (Possibility & Necessity): Some things are contingent (they might not exist); there must be a necessary being—God.

   • Fourth Way (Gradation of Being): There must be a maximum being (God) from whom all lesser perfections derive.

   • Fifth Way (Design): The order in nature implies an intelligent designer (God).

4. God’s Nature:

   • Immutable (unchanging)

   • Pure Act (does not have potentiality)

   • Necessary Being (does not depend on anything for existence)

Key Quotes:

• On God’s Existence: “The existence of God is not self-evident to us.”

• On Change & Motion: “Whatever is in motion must be put in motion by another.”

• On Necessary Being: “If everything is possible not to be, then at one time there could have been nothing in existence.”

KIERKEGAARD (Fear and Trembling)

Central Themes & Key Arguments:

1. Faith vs. Ethics (Problema I)

   • The ethical is the universal—everyone should follow moral laws.

   • The Knight of Faith (KF) can suspend the ethical teleologically—meaning for a higher purpose (e.g., Abraham sacrificing Isaac).

   • This is a paradox: Abraham is a father who must love his son, but faith demands he sacrifice him.

2. Absolute Duty to God (Problema II)

   • The individual has an absolute duty to God, which transcends universal ethics.

   • Abraham’s duty to God is beyond human understanding—hence why the KF cannot communicate it.

   • The KF’s relationship to God is absolute, not mediated by universal ethics.

3. Tragic Hero vs. Knight of Faith

   • Tragic Hero (Agamemnon, Brutus, Jephthah): Sacrifices for the greater good (understandable within ethics).

   • Knight of Faith (Abraham, Mary): Acts beyond the ethical, based on a direct relationship with God.

4. The Leap of Faith

   • Faith is not rational—it requires a leap into the absurd.

   • The KF believes the impossible is possible (Abraham believes he will get Isaac back).

5. Infinite Resignation vs. Faith

   • Knight of Infinite Resignation (KIR): Gives something up but does not expect it back (e.g., tragic hero).

   • Knight of Faith (KF): Gives something up but believes he will receive it back by virtue of the absurd.

Key Quotes:

• On Abraham: “Abraham had faith and had faith for this life.” (Preamble)

• On Ethics vs. Faith: "The ethical as such is the universal, and as universal it applies to everyone." (Problema I)

• On the Leap of Faith: "He who walks the narrow path of faith, no one can advise, no one understand." (Problema I)

• On the Knight of Faith: “He who acts by faith is greater than the tragic hero.” (Problema II)