Aquinas's Fourth Proof: The Gradation of Things
Tue, 01/22/2008 - 17:00 — admin
MICHAEL: It seems that we have covered the major cosmological proofs, except perhaps. for St. Thomas Aquinas's fourth argument about the gradation of things.
He declares that there must exist a maximum of a thing by which other things in the same category can be measured against and thereby classified as “more” or “less”. The maximum, he asserts, is the cause of all other things in the same genus. Fire, for example, is the cause of everything hot, and a thing is known to be more or less hot in respect to that which is the hottest. This, of course, is similar to Plato's theory of forms. Aquinas concludes by saying that there must be something also which is the cause of a person's being, goodness, and all other good qualities, and that this is God, the Absolute Criterion.21
TEACHER: In a sense, this is a type of causal argument also. The difference being, however, that instead of inferring the existence of a Supreme Being on the basis of the existence of things perceivable by our senses, or of the occurrence of events in the universe, he starts with the fact of our personal existence and certain qualities or attributes and uses them to argue the existence of the supreme possessor of those attributes, and the cause for our possession of them. This idea is also found in the Vedic literature, where it is described that the living being is part and parcel of the Supreme Being and therefore possesses to a minute degree all the attributes the Supreme Being possesses in full.
Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.Aquinas's Fourth Proof: The Gradation of Things
~ Sri Ishopanishad, Mantra 9
Unfortunately, most of humanity spends the majority of its time in the culture of ignorance. We cultivate ignorance by serving our tongue, belly, genitals, and other senses like obedient slaves. The vast majority of our energy goes into this mad pursuit of sense pleasure. Left with frazzled nerves, frustration, anger, jealousy, envy, greed, hate, loneliness, and confusion; we seek an escape in alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and a myriad of other legal and illegal consciousness dimmers. This is the cultivation of ignorance.
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
MICHAEL: It seems that we have covered the major cosmological proofs, except perhaps. for St. Thomas Aquinas's fourth argument about the gradation of things.
He declares that there must exist a maximum of a thing by which other things in the same category can be measured against and thereby classified as “more” or “less”. The maximum, he asserts, is the cause of all other things in the same genus. Fire, for example, is the cause of everything hot, and a thing is known to be more or less hot in respect to that which is the hottest. This, of course, is similar to Plato's theory of forms. Aquinas concludes by saying that there must be something also which is the cause of a person's being, goodness, and all other good qualities, and that this is God, the Absolute Criterion.21
TEACHER: In a sense, this is a type of causal argument also. The difference being, however, that instead of inferring the existence of a Supreme Being on the basis of the existence of things perceivable by our senses, or of the occurrence of events in the universe, he starts with the fact of our personal existence and certain qualities or attributes and uses them to argue the existence of the supreme possessor of those attributes, and the cause for our possession of them. This idea is also found in the Vedic literature, where it is described that the living being is part and parcel of the Supreme Being and therefore possesses to a minute degree all the attributes the Supreme Being possesses in full.