On Aristotle, classical theism, and the God of the Philosophers

Last updated on: January 18, 2015 at 8:47 pm by Andrew

On Aristotle, classical theism, and the God of the Philosophers 2015-01-18T20:47:11-05:00 Andrew

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

To Aristotle and classical theists (a club which I am a proud member), God is the ultimate cause and necessity of which all contingent things depend. In the Aristotelian view, Wisdom relies on understanding causation which include material, efficient, formal, and final causes. God is pure Act, the final cause toward which all things move. The final cause, which Aristotle also labels the first cause, is often confused for the efficient cause, positing god as “a being” who simply set the world in motion, rather than God as “Being itself”. The magnitude of difference cannot be understated. Here’s a gem from Robert Solomon and Kathleen Higgins on the difference between “a god” and “God” (Aristotle’s conception which would become the “God of the philosophers.”):

“With Aristotle, more than any other Greek before, we get an explicit idea of God that is totally devoid of anthropomorphism, a principle rather than a person… It is Aristotle who gives us what will later be called… ‘the God of the philosophers’… It must not be thought that Aristotle’s God is a mere physical principle, a ‘first cause’ that initiates the development of the universe, like the God of the eighteenth-century ‘Deists”. God did not just appear and then go out of existence. And as always with Aristotle, the concept is above all teleological. Every activity has a telos, an ideal that lies at its end, not outside the World of Being but within the activity itself… The ultimate end of the cosmos itself, the only form which exists in itself and apart from any matter, is God. God is the unmoved mover, who keeps the stars and planets in their paths, who maintains life in the universe. God is eternal and complete in Himself. He is all actuality, the final end, the aspiration, the purpose toward which all things move and (try to) realize their potential. Meanwhile, God is fully realized activity, the activity of pure thinking, ‘thought of thinking itself’… The difference between a purely physical notion of God as a first cause, who simply sets the world in motion, and a teleological notion of God, understood at the world’s ultimate purpose, underscores the central Aristotelian concept of ‘cause’. (Robert Solomon and Kathleen Higgins, A Short History of Philosophy, pages 60-61)

Image source: Wiki Commons

Quote Bank

Previous Post

December 15, 2014

David Bentley Hart on the Concept of God

Next Post

January 31, 2015 Popper on Ontology, Epistemology, and Ethical Truth

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Deep Scene Breakdown Deep Song Breakdown Events with Adam Lee Iron Heart Musings Podcast Quote Bank

Select a Month January 2026 September 2025 August 2025 June 2025 March 2025 February 2025 November 2024 August 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 August 2020 June 2020 March 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2016 April 2016 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Shema," the central Jewish prayer, mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peace Hear Light Pray