Talking about God and Talking about Creation: Avicenna's and Thomas Aquinas' positions

Description

Comparing Avicenna’s and Thomas Aquinas’ positions regarding human knowledge, this volumes talks about God and the nature of the creative action and the beginning of the universe. The overall argument of the book is that their conception of theological language plays an important role in shaping their positions concerning the creation of the universe. In the first part, their conception of the theological language and divine formal features are explored and how their positions regarding theological language differ from each other is discussed. The second part includes a comparison of their conceptions of the nature of the divine creative action—which provides a good example showing how their conceptions of theological language affect the way they talk about creation—and their arguments concerning the beginning of the universe. Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Part One: Talking About God Chapter One Theological Language and Philosophical Assessment Avicenna’s Theory of Theological Language We Cannot Know and Name God in Himself God Is Known through Creation God Has Negative and Positive Relations to Creation God Has Perfections in a Different Mode from Creation Perfections Are Predicated of God and Creation according to Tashkīk Aquinas’ Theory of Theological Language We Cannot Know God’s Essence God Is Known through Creation God Has Negative and Positive Properties God Has Perfections in a Different Mode from Creatures Perfections Are Predicated of God Analogically The Use of the Negative Element in Aquinas’ Position Conclusion of Chapter One Chapter Two Conception of God and Theological Language Avicenna’s Conception of Divine Formal Features and Divine Knowledge God Is Simple God Is Necessary and Immutable God Is Eternal God Knows Creatures as well as Himself Aquinas’ Conception of Divine Formal Features and Divine Knowledge God Is Simple God Is Necessary and Immutable God Is Eternal God Knows Creatures as well as Himself Theological Language Revisited: Talking About God in the Light of Divine Formal Features Conclusion of Chapter Two Part Two: Talking About Creation Chapter Three The Nature of Creative Action Avicenna’s Position: Creation is Voluntary and Necessary Interpretation of Avicenna’s Position God Creates by Will not by Nature God Freely and Necessarily Creates the Universe Objections Revisited Aquinas’ Position: Creation is Voluntary and Hypothetically Necessary God Creates by Will not by Nature God’s Will Is Simple: God primarily and essentially Wills Himself God Freely Wills the Universe God Has Free Choice Is the Universe Necessary? Talking About Creation: Necessity or Hypothetical Necessity Conclusion of Chapter Three Chapter Four The Beginning of the Universe Avicenna’s Position What Is Creation? Creation Is not a Change Creation as the Relation between God and the Universe Causes Necessitate Their Effects Causes and Their Effects co-Exist The co-Existence of Causes and Their Effects Does not Require that They Be Equal The Efficient Cause Is the Cause only of the Existence of Its Effect Arguments for the Sempiternity of the Universe The First Argument: Time and Temporal Beginning Are not Applicable to All Things The Second Argument: Temporal Posteriority Requires a Change in God The Third Argument: Temporal Beginning Leads to Impossible Conclusions Aquinas’ Position What Is Creation? Creation Is not a Change Creation as the Relation between God and the Universe Real Relations of God How God Is Related to the World The Sempiternity of the Universe Is Possible but not Necessary Countering Avicenna’s Arguments for the Sempiternity of the Universe Countering the First Argument Countering the Second Argument Countering the Third Argument Remarks on Arguments Concerning Sempiternity Conclusion of Chapter Four Conclusion Bibliography Primary Literature Secondary Literature Index of Authors Index of Topics Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science