Cosmological argument --> Aquinas

just a quick question ....i was reading over aquinas' five ways and observed in the first way he talks about Motion, in the sense that all objects have potentiuality and actuality + need an external force to change their potentuality into actuality..He goes on about there not being an infinte cycle of motion but the bit im intrested in is when he refers to God as the first mover.........do you think he insights that god has no potentuality...or full actuality...or neither?

Cheers.

Reply 1

humeiscool!

According to Aquinas God has necessary existence as opposed to contingent existence and so exists in a state of actuality-he never had potentiality at any point, otherwise he would not be God.

But, I remember ages ago reading about a 'wholly simple God'. I may be making this up SO CHECK FOR YOURSELF, but because he claims God has a necessary existence, concepts such as potentiality and actuality don't truly apply to God, only to contingent (and therefore changing things).

I'm sorry this is rather vague!

Reply 2

Jigglypuff

I agree with the above. God is fully actualized: it is humans who need to fulfill our potential and become actualized. The second point raised by humeiscool is interesting too, I don't know if it was Aquinas who said it though.