St. Thomas Aquinas on God as <i>Ipsum Esse Subsistens</i>
St. Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of God as <i>ipsum esse subsistens</i> is not easy to understand. Even some of his more informed interpreters appear to struggle with it. In this paper, I attempt to explain the doctrine in a way that I hope is intelligible to a fairly broad philosophical au...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/2/140 |
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| Summary: | St. Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of God as <i>ipsum esse subsistens</i> is not easy to understand. Even some of his more informed interpreters appear to struggle with it. In this paper, I attempt to explain the doctrine in a way that I hope is intelligible to a fairly broad philosophical audience. I also respond to Norman Kretzmann’s interpretation of it, which I think is mistaken. The main problem with Kretzmann’s interpretation seems to be a failure to grasp what Thomas means by <i>esse</i>. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |