Analogy (Aquinas 101)

Everything that exists in some way has being, is good, has a kind of unity to it, and a truth or intelligibility. But what about the source of all that exists?

If God is the cause of all that exists, then the effects of must in some way resemble the cause. If things in the world have goodness within them, this must in some way reflect, however imperfectly, the goodness of God. From this way of thinking you can begin to speak about an analogy between creatures and God.

Analogy (Aquinas 101) - Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P.

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[ElizabethDMadison]

I went to the website and found an awesome seminary lecture that was valuable to me. Thank you for all of what you are doing, I signed up for the emails a while back but have not kept up with watching, but this specific subject matter especially meets some present needs for me.

[maryjohnstone]

Very good video, as always thanks.loved the explanation of analogy of things and God!

[Primitarian]

An important insight that I think is largely forgotten in our modern age though it actually has more potential resonance today than it did in Aquinas' day. Today a computer surpasses humanity in every facet of univocal thinking, but not so in analogical thinking. Accordingly, it seems to me that philosophy and theology have greater potential for serving humanity today than it did, say, during the Enlightenment, when univocal thinking alone often ushered in major advances, for today most of that low hanging fruit has been plucked.

[winstonbarquez]

Metaphysically, we do not say that God is good, rather we say that God is goodness itself.

[gailwedgeworth]

I have learned so much from the videos. I am so grateful. I wish I had known these essential philosophical and theological principles when I was young. I might have avoided much moral confusion if I had.

[jaisabuero]

Very helpful video for our class in metaphysics huhuhu we are following the Thomistic way

[kristindreko]

Thank you for this video!
May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you!

[HosannaInExcelsis]

I heard Bishop Barron saying that Nominalism has a univocal view of God’s being whereas St Thomas has an analogical view. Can you help me explain why nominalism rejects the analogical view?

[Enigmatic_philosopher]

Here is a philosophical critique of the video on analogy by Aquinas 101, along with some expansion on alternative perspectives:

The video provides a good basic overview of Aquinas' use of analogy in philosophy and theology. Drawing connections between different realities based on relations of similarity and dissimilarity is a key philosophical method. However, the video would benefit from addressing some critiques and alternatives to analogy.

One alternative is to rely more heavily on univocal language - using terms in exactly the same sense when referring to God and creation. Analogy implies God shares some similarities but also differences from created things. A more univocal approach collapses some distinctions between the divine and mundane.

Additionally, equivocal language could be used - acknowledging words refer to totally different realities when applied to God versus humans. Analogy strikes a middle ground between univocity and equivocity.

The video also does not address critiques of the use of language and conceptual thought in regard to transcendent realities like God. Postmodern and mystical philosophies argue human language and concepts are inadequate to fully capture the divine nature. Analogy may still be too anthropomorphic from this perspective.

Expanding on alternatives like apophatic theology, mystical philosophies, or using more metaphorical language could enrich the video. Analogy risks oversimplifying the similarities while downplaying the radical dissimilarities between finite and infinite being. Acknowledging and wrestling with the limits of language and concepts would strengthen the philosophical value of this overview of analogy.

Overall the video succeeds as a very basic introduction to analogy, but exploring criticisms of analogy and alternate philosophical frameworks would provide needed nuance.

[davidrasch]

Watching this I reflect on just how much words are abused in everyday like, like the word great. Gone are the days when children were familiar with standard dictionaries. Now, in their place is WIKI and who knows where they get their information.

[HosannaInExcelsis]

Isn't this the opposite of Ockham's nominalism?

[theboyisso]

Amazing video. Thanks I'm looking forward to learn more.

[edwinmorillo]

Han ganado otro subscriptor! Me encanta esto!

[Alphardus]

"Whenever we proceed by analogy, we borrow from creatures certain characteristics in order to attribute them to God either equivocally or eminently. Thus God has will, understanding, Goodness, wisdom and so on, but has them equivocally or eminently. Analogy cannot do without equivocation or eminence, and hence contains a subtle anthropomorphism, just as dangerous as the naive variety.” - Gilles Deleuze, 1992.

This is still Anthropomorphism, The Sanctuary of Ignorance.

[aisthpaoitht]

It seems that Scotus got it right with formal distinctions. Analogies must share SOMETHING in common, or else the analogy doesn't work.

[iqgustavo]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🗣️ Aquinas uses analogy to describe different ways of speaking about things: univocal, equivocal, and analogical speech.
00:56 📚 Analogical speech involves using the same word to describe things that are partially alike and partially diverse, like "good sweater" and "good person."
01:23 🌐 The horizontal analogy of being refers to the diverse categories of being in the world, each expressing being and goodness differently.
01:49 🙏 The vertical analogy of being suggests that everything reflects some aspect of God's being, and God's goodness is of a higher and incomprehensible nature compared to goodness in created realities.

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[rebelape]

Aren't 2 analogous items genuinely different?" God is my rock" isnt literally true so "God is a person" shouldn't literally be true either right?

[ubiquem]

why did this guy squeeze himself into a dogs blanket?