The Metaphysics of Theism: Aquinas's Natural Theology in Summa Contra Gentiles I Vol 1

315 Pages·2002·1.38 MB·English

by  Norman Kretzmann

The Metaphysics of Theism
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The Metaphysics of Theism
Aquinas's Natural Theology in Summa Contra Gentiles I
Norman Kretzmann
CLARENDON PRESS · OXFORD
1997
GreatClarendonStreet,OxfordOX26DP
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Kretzmann,Norman.
Themetaphysicsoftheism:Aquinas'snaturaltheologyinSumma
contragentilesI/byNormanKretzmann.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1. Thomas, Aquinas,Saint,1225?–1274.Summacontragentiles.
2.Metaphysics.3. Theism.4. Naturaltheology. I.Title.
BX1749.T7K741996210′ .92—dc2096-26276
ISBN0-19-823660-3
For Eleonore
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Preface
The chapters of thisbook are revisions of theWildeLectures in Comparativeand Natural Religion, which I delivered
attheUniversityofOxfordinthespring of1994 under thegeneraltitle‘PhilosophyfromtheTopDown’. I'mgrateful
to the Wilde Lecture Committee for inviting me, to Professor Richard Swinburne and Sir Anthony and Lady Nancy
Kenny for hostingme and my wife, Barbara EnsignKretzmann, during our stay in Oxford, and to Balliol College for
providing me with a study in college.
Most of the research for, and the writing of, the lectures that became Chapters One–Five were done during the
academicyear 1992–3, whileI was a Senior Fellowof theNational Humanities Center in North Carolina. I'm grateful
for their support. The Center's staff, its facilities and services, and the stimulating company of the other Fellows
providedanidealsettingforthework.AndsinceIwasluckyenoughtohavemyofficenexttoScottMacDonald'sand
to drive to and from the Center with him every day, the poor man could hardly avoid talking to me about every
problem I ran into—whichmay havehelped prepare him towritehishelpfulcomments onevery chapter,for whichI
thank him.
The lectures thatbecame Chapters Six–Eight I wroteinthesummer and thefallof 1993, whenI returned toteaching
at Cornell.(Aversion of ChapterEight appeared in a special issue of the Modern Schoolman, 72 (1995), 125–48.) In the
spring semester of 1994 I was the mostly grateful recipient of almost more critical comments than I could use,
generouslyprovidedby themembers ofmy graduateseminaronAquinas's natural theology: Professor JohnBoler(of
theUniversityof Washington),Dr Blake Dutton, HannesJarka-Sellers, LucyBellJarka-Sellers, Claudia Eisen Murphy,
Sean Eisen Murphy, Nadia Small, and KatherineWelch. In 1994–5 I conducted a tutorial on the same topic for Mark
Case and Christina Van Dyke, who provided me with further help as I was turning the lectures into chapters. I am
grateful to them, and to my terrific research assistant, Nancy Davenport, who is responsible for the book's index
locorum.
William Alston, Christopher Hughes, Anthony Kenny, William
viii PREFACE
Rowe, and Richard Sorabjiall read thewhole manuscript, at their own request. If they hadn't volunteered, they would
have been recruited. I found their detailed written comments invaluable. And I will never forget Hughes's brilliant,
hours-long, critical talk with me about one of the lectures just before I delivered it.
As soon as I had a rough draft of anypart ofthisbook, I sentitfirst toEleonore Stump, as I'vedonewitheverything
I'vewrittenfor twodecadesandmore. Withthisbook, as withallthosemanyother things, shehelpedmemorethanI
cansay. Beginningintheyears whenshewasmystudentatCornell,I'velearnedmorefromher thanfrom anyoneelse
I know. The first impetus toward everything I'm trying to do in this book and its proposed sequels stems from her.
And so I'm very pleased to be able to dedicate it to her, my co-worker and my friend.
Norman Kretzmann
January 1996
Contents
Abbreviations xii
Introduction 1
1. Aims of this book 1
2. Attitudes toward natural theology 3
3. Alston on natural theology 5
4. ‘The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology’ 9
5. Conclusion 20
One. Theology from the Bottom Up 23
1. Theology and philosophy 23
2. Theology in philosophy 25
3. Aquinas's work 27
4. ST and catholica veritas 29
5. ST and sacra doctrina 32
6. Sacra doctrina and natural theology 39
7. The purpose of SCG 43
8. The pedagogical motivation for SCG 47
9. Summa philosophica 51
Two. The God of the Self-Movers 54
1. The place of existence arguments in natural theology 54
2. How Aquinas sets the stage for natural theology in SCG 55
3. The arguments for God's existence in SCG I.13 60
4. The structure of G2 64
5. The stages of G2 65
Three. The Existence of Alpha 84
1. Orientation 84
2. How to proceed 86
3. How Aquinas proceeds in SCG 88
4. Two presuppositions of Aquinas's procedure 90
5. A third presupposition: the eliminative method 91
6. The existence of Alpha 95