7603
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God is not a creator (involving time and change) and is not concerned with the inferior universe [Aristotle, by Armstrong,K]
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Full Idea:
Aristotle's god had not created the world, since this would involve an inappropriate change and temporal activity; everything yearns towards god, but god remains indifferent, since he cannot contemplate anything inferior to himself.
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From:
report of Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], God) by Karen Armstrong - A History of God Ch.1
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A reaction:
Trust Aristotle to come up with the only rational and consistent account of a deity anyone has ever offered. Endless paradoxes and inconsistencies arise if god steps into time, makes things, changes, and responds to prayers.
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16165
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For Aristotle God is defined in an axiom, for which there is no proof [Aristotle, by Frede,M]
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Full Idea:
Aristotle is committed to the view that strictly speaking there is no proof of the essence and existence of God. There will be a real definition of him as an axiom of special theology, and then a deduction of theological theorems.
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From:
report of Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], God) by Michael Frede - Aristotle's Conception of Metaphysics p.94
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A reaction:
The cynical response would be 'why not start with a Great White Rabbit, then?', but I presume one must read what Aristotle says (late in 'Metaphysics') to understand why this particular axiom is chosen. Economy, power etc.?
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22286
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Existence is not a first-level concept (of God), but a second-level property of concepts [Frege, by Potter]
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Full Idea:
For Frege (unlike Kant) existence is a genuine concept, but of the second level, not the first. Since God's perfections are of the first level, existence is not a candidate to be one of them.
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From:
report of Gottlob Frege (Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Foundations) [1884], §053) by Michael Potter - The Rise of Analytic Philosophy 1879-1930 09 'App'
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A reaction:
That is, God's perfections are of God, but existence is a concept of concepts (that they are instantiated). So existence is a metaconcept. I'm not convinced. If I bake a successful cake, its existence is its most wonderful feature.
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