CategoriesAll
Whether truth resides only in the intellect?
A thing is true because it simply “is.” Not because a thing is true. Truth is not the truth for its own sake, but that it is absolute and void of another’s relative opinion based on limited knowledge or innate bias. Things that are understood to be true are known essentially or accidently. For example, the inventor knows her invention, and the idea of it is essential to her even as it is in a form created for all to observe, see and use. As for those who use her invention, they know it to be true by accident, because although the idea is not essential to them, nonetheless - they make use of her invention and have knowledge of it in the practical sense. Primarily, truth resides in the intellect - mainly the Divine Intellect, which all living creatures have a share in as far as their intellect can perceive its likeness. Second, the truth resides in things as they are related to the intellect in principle. For example, everyone knows a mother shall love her children regardless of what they do, however, not every mother loves her children regardless of what they do. The truth of the principle is “motherly love,” which is primal and innate, but based on individual factors, there are variables that shall diminish this. Truth cannot be universal or relative, but absolute - requiring the knower who is lacking in knowledge or understanding to either be wrong, correct, or a mixture of both. For example, if nobody else on earth were alive, and therefore the sun could no longer be seen or observed - would the sun cease to exist? Absolutely not, for the sun does not need the approval of mankind to exist, nor does it require humans to observe it with their intellect to be in existence, for the Divine Intellect of the Living God put it into being through His idea, which is true. Therefore, the truth is absolute. Whether truth resides only in the intellect composing and dividing? In its primary aspect, the truth resides in the intellect just as long as the knower can recognize the form of the truth being displayed in the likeness it can perceive it. In another way, something may be known by sense up to a certain degree, however, for that sense to recognize what it is experiencing it must divide and compose the attributes it is experiencing so as to weigh it against the intellect and understand what is being observed; ultimately coming to the truth of something. Sense alone cannot do this. The conclusion of truth must be reached by way of composing and dividing concepts and knowable things so as to interpret with the intellect what is being observed. Whether the true and being are convertible terms? What is true and what is being are convertible terms. Something that simply IS, must be true. The “IS” that is being referred to here is the term BEING. For something that is in “being,” it shall be observed by someone or something at some point - either in the material or spiritual principle. Even if nobody knows of the thing that is in being by their own knowledge, since no idea or knowledge is hidden from God, He can give this knowledge of being, which is true, to someone who normally would not have such knowledge - according to His will and purpose. We see this with the Saints, prophets, and blessed throughout history who have been given knowledge of events and circumstances in time periods they were never in nor would they have any knowledge of unless it wasn’t for a third party agency. In this case, the ultimate agency, which surpasses and is above all agencies - The Living God who is One. We also see that in the example of the Saints and chosen, truth is related to knowledge in so far as it refers to recognizing what is or was in being at some point. Furthermore, what is GOOD is also convertible to being, for the Lord made all things “good.” In addition to this, what is true also adds further to the intellect which is an operation of the soul and not linked to any specific corporeal organ as compared with the sense of taste to the tongue. Whether good is logically prior to the true? As it was said earlier that what is truth and goodness are convertible to being, because what is being shall contain the two, it must also be said that they both differ in idea. For what is true comes before the good, for in order for something to be good, it must exist or be, thus we have what is true manifesting before what is good. Said in another way, what is true is more closely related to being than what is good, for what is true occurs immediately in a simple fashion. A more appropriate seat or placement of the good is to understand that what is good must come before what is desirable - for example, the man knows the fish and vegetables are good for his body and shall fulfill his appetite and sustain his bodily functions, so as a result he desires to eat these things because they are good in itself and for him as well. Whether God is truth? As it was said earlier, truth is found in the intellect according to its ability to understand and perceive something accurately as it is in reality absolutely, also being observable to others around it who can also concur its absoluteness, even though this is not within the capability of everyone who observes the same thing. Recognizing the truth by way of the intellect absolutely, as opposed to relatively, is to recognize the truth to a higher degree. Objective truth is higher than subjective truth, because it takes all things into consideration as opposed to subjective truth, which does not take all things into consideration, but chooses to ignore specific variables or other truths as it relates to the truth which is being observed. Even in this, the truth as it relates to the intellect is found in the greatest and highest degree in God, who is the maximum of all intellects and truths, for His being isn’t only a part of His intellect, but is the very act of His intellect for what He chooses to do with His intellect is the measure and cause of every created intellect which springs forth from His intellect. So, in this way, it is why we say that “nothing is hidden from His sight,” and that “whatever qualities, attributes, perfections, or knowings of the intellect that is observed in a creature, can be found more perfect in the highest degree in God, whom is the source of such quality, attribute, perfection, and knowledge of the intellect.” Literally, God is “truth,” for He sets the measure for all things to bump off from - the First and Last Cause, and the One who brings all intellects, creatures, causes, beings, and happenings to their calculated end according to His will by way of His intellect. As for sin, this is not attributed to God, because sin is “not-being,” and a deficiency within the realm of potentiality (freewill choices not attributed to God) by way of an accident in which there is no truth. To reinforce this concept, there is no “truth” in non-being and deficiency; therefore, it is more accurately described as “something missing the mark” or “void of truth” and “not quite adding up to what something was meant to be,” by way of sin. Although it is “true” that someone may commit sin, to say that this person “sins by way of God '' is a fallacy involving the misrepresentation of the freewill, actuality, potentiality, essential being, potential being, and accidents. In other words, God's action is Actuality, and He is an Essential Being who made all things good, for in Him there are no accidents. By way of His agency, people come into being, thus people are beings in potentiality. People are also given a freewill as a gift by God to choose, and the choices they make are what we call "accidents," which can also be sinful. As it was stated earlier, sin is non-being, thus the more someone sins and refuses to rectify it, the more subject they become to non-existence, and when the freewill action of non-being matures or reaches its terminal illness phase, death enters the equation, because death itself is also non-being, as opposed to life, which is God and life in the spirit. For in summary by way of scripture it is said: "You will die in your sin." Many nonbelievers and opponents to the free will confuse this critical intersection and understanding, or they do not understand the basic elements and components of it, hence they enter into a fallacy of accidents as Saint Thomas Aquinas mentions. Whether there is only one truth, according to which all things are true? As it was stated earlier, truth exists primarily in the intellect, and secondarily among things in accordance with the Divine Intellect which is from God alone (for He has given us the ability to see the truth in the things He ordains to exist in our natural environment). When speaking of truth in the human mind in accordance with a created intellect, there can be many truths a human is aware of by way of the things known to him in the degree or level he can understand them. Furthermore, we know the Divine Intellect from God knows all things because it is literally the source of the truth that is to be had, which is absolute. He has given every intellect in existence a share of the divine intellect, although not every creature can apprehend it to the same degree. Some have a higher degree of knowing by way of the divine intellect, while others have a lesser degree of knowing and recognizing truth by way of that same intellect. In this sense, all things that are true are one. In another way, we know they vary in degrees as each intellect can perceive them. Also, in a different way, how we apply analogical and equivocal concepts may have elements of the truth for a stated purpose, but may not display the fullness of what something is true in the literal sense. For example, telling someone “it's hotter than hell out here,” or “my name is mud,” takes elements of truthful things and concepts to portray an artistic state of being one wishes to convey to another. Now that it is established that there is only one truth which many kinds of truths in varying degrees can formulate, it is also important to take notice of subjective truths, which is not in the realm of absoluteness. For if someone lies about another, and speaks falsehood, even if they believe in their own lies, the truth shall remain unaltered. Even if other people were to believe a lie or falsehood from another, it would not make it the truth - even if a mob with pitchforks and burning torches threaten to put someone to death over a statement or belief which is contradictory to the truth, and if that subjected person were to say what the mob preferred him to say under duress so as not to execute him, it will not mean that the truth they are being forced to manipulate now becomes altered in any way, nor does this mean the lie they have grown to accept will now somehow become more true. For as mentioned earlier, God is the Highest Principle, and the First and Last Cause, to which all truth flows from. He would know what the truth is, regardless of what the mob says or how violent the mob may become. Even in the same way, if there were elements of the truth in the mob’s false position, but were still false in what they believe or say, their version of the truth would never become “THE” truth to God, who is above all creatures, species, genuses, created things of spiritual and corporeal matter, and who is of His own Order. For as it was stated earlier, sin is an accident caused by the free will choices of creatures, and for when a creature decides to engage in what is non-being (sinful actions), such as lying or manipulation of the truth, that creature no longer has the light of truth in them, but the opposite, which is darkness and death. For the Lord hates those who lie and pursue falsehood, because He is the truth and the light, and for whoever cannot accept the truth or draw near to it, they shall oppose the truth and pull further away from it into darkness, where their falsehoods shall remain and not be exposed to the unbearable searing truth of light which is His presence. Whether created truth is eternal? Things that are professed and announced upon the lips for everyone to hear is a product of the intellect which is also the spiritual soul. For a woman’s intellect deems something to be true, and then it follows that she must proclaim the truth to other people around her so as her intellect apprehends what is being said with the tongue. Although humans can create their own ideas and thoughts by the freewill, these thoughts shall not be eternal (as in everlasting in the pool of divine intellect) outside of something that God already foreknew. It is impossible that a created intellect could fashion an idea that was not already knowable to God in pre-existence through His Divine Intellect, which alone is eternal, and before any created intellect that came into existence. Created truths that endure and are absolutely true and shall be eternal are chiefly sourced in God, who already knew the truth that would be professed and proclaimed upon the tongues of mortals for all to witness and hear. In conclusion, the truth in the divine intellect alone has eternity, and as it was mentioned earlier, the intellects of creatures and mortal beings such as humans have varying shares of this which they are able to contemplate, profess, understand, and formulate in varying degrees according to their intellect as they have the ability to apprehend it, thus some stars shall shine more brightly than others, and some mortals shall be less beautified than others when all is accomplished. Whether truth is immutable? The truth upon the created intellect may vary as new knowledge is brought to light so far as the intellect can recognize it and apply it going forward. In the same way, the opinion of someone can change from true to false, and false to true, often alternating its positions based on variable factors revealed to the intellect at later times (light of grace, new knowledge, clash of wills in debate proving an argument wrong and demonstrating the humility to accept fault so as to change a position, and manipulation). Now, the created intellect is subject to a lack of knowing some things while also having the ability to know many things. However, there also exists an intellect that has no alternation of opinion and contains the knowledge of which nothing can escape or remain hidden from, and this is what we know as the immutable truth which is the divine intellect. In other words, it is the “gold standard” of truth, which nothing else shall surpass in value or truthfulness, and in this way, the truth of the divine intellect is immutable. Furthermore, in the divine intellect, true and false cannot change, as by way of the created intellect which experiences mutable truths to it by way of the forms it encounters and recognizes or is not familiar with. Truth in the divine intellect is immutable.
I am blessed to be a Third Order Lay Dominican. However, the ideas expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the endorsement of or position of the Order of Preachers as a whole.
Commentary regarding Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae derived from: ST part (I), Q. 1-26 from newadvent.org with permission. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
0 Comments
|
mr. scott lowry, op
|
RSS Feed