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Single Idea 7829
[filed under theme 28. God / A. Divine Nature / 3. Divine Perfections
]
Full Idea
To ascribe to God those attributes which make a man perfect would be as wrong as to ascribe to a man the attributes that make perfect an elephant or an ass.
Gist of Idea
God no more has human perfections than we have animal perfections
Source
Baruch de Spinoza (Letters to Blijenburgh [1665], 1665), quoted by Matthew Stewart - The Courtier and the Heretic Ch.10
Book Ref
Stewart,Matthew: 'The Courtier and the Heretic' [Yale 2007], p.162
A Reaction
This would be a difficulty for Aquinas's Fourth Way (Idea 1432), and one which I think Aquinas might acknowledge, given his desire that we should be humble when trying to comprehend God (Idea 1410). It leaves us struggling to grasp the concept of God.
Related Ideas
The
21 ideas
with the same theme
[existence of good qualities in their purest form]:
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22920
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Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord
[Jeremiah]
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439
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God knows everything, and nothing is impossible for him
[Epicharmus]
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152
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The mind of God is fully satisfied and happy with a vision of reality and truth
[Plato]
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175
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Gods are not lovers of wisdom, because they are already wise
[Plato]
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3048
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Stoics say that God the creator is the perfection of all animals
[Chrysippus, by Diog. Laertius]
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22738
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The Divine must lack the virtues of continence and fortitude, because they are not needed
[Sext.Empiricus]
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19371
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Nine principles of God: goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, will, virtue, truth and glory
[Lull, by Arthur,R]
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1865
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It is heresy to teach that natural impossibilities cannot even be achieved by God
[Anon (Par)]
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9111
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God is not wise, but more-than-wise; God is not good, but more-than-good
[William of Ockham]
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2275
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It is self-evident that deception is a natural defect, so God could not be a deceiver
[Descartes]
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7829
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God no more has human perfections than we have animal perfections
[Spinoza]
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4866
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God is a being with infinite attributes, each of them infinite or perfect
[Spinoza]
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17025
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If a perfect being does not rule the cosmos, it is not God
[Newton]
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5041
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God does everything in a perfect way, and never acts contrary to reason
[Leibniz]
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2114
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This is the most perfect possible universe, in its combination of variety with order
[Leibniz]
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12988
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The universe contains everything possible for its perfect harmony
[Leibniz]
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1414
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A perfection is a simple quality, which is positive and absolute, and has no limit
[Leibniz]
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5048
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Perfection is simply quantity of reality
[Leibniz]
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19327
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The intelligent cause must be unique and all-perfect, to handle all the interconnected possibilities
[Leibniz]
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6959
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We can't assume God's perfections are like our ideas or like human attributes
[Hume]
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18980
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If there is a 'greatest knower', it doesn't follow that they know absolutely everything
[James]
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