29 Matching Annotations
  1. Mar 2019
    1. more truly withheld from God than given to him

      Is this because of the negation argument and how negation gets closer to an understanding of God?

    1. Yet, granted that everyone understands that by this word “God” is signified something than which nothing greater can be thought, nevertheless, it does not therefore follow that he understands that what the word signifies exists actually, but only that it exists mentally.

      Ok I love how he's coming at Anselm

    2. For by this word is meant that thing than which nothing greater can be conceived. But that which exists in reality and mentally is greater than that which exists only mentally.

      This reminds me of Anselm!

    3. not a practical but a speculative science.

      This seems to overlook the ways that religion has guided peoples actions both historically and today.

    4. other knowledge, i.e. inspired of God

      It's interesting that he distinguishes this from theology. Maybe the distinction comes because it is "inspired BY God," rather than about God?

  2. Feb 2019
    1. it alone is indicative of the essence without associating any other notion with it.

      This seems to suggest that the "essence" of something is the thing stripped of all its attributes, kind of like Aristotle and his rich or bare particulars.

    2. being indicative of the essence of Him

      "YHWH" is the only proper descriptor of God, which is funny because he also says we can't comprehend or pronounce "YHWH"

    3. clear unequivocal indication of His essence

      It's interesting that God's name "YHWH" is unpronounceable, because that itself kind of reminds me of when Maimonides just got done saying about how God is unfathomable and we can't really ascribe any qualities to Him.

    4. the representation of the ship as it is

      I'm not sure I agree with the ability to use this across the board, especially with regard to physical objects (as opposed to its possible uses with saying what the divine is NOT, etc.).

    1. he was punished by being deprived of that intellectual apprehension.

      Is he saying that the real sin was not as the much the disobedience, but more Adam gaining the capacity to pass judgement on other beings, like God?

    2. contradictory or contrary state-ments

      These remind me of Augustine's writings about interpreting and understanding scripture.

    3. Its external meaning also ought to contain in it something that indicates to someone considering it what is to be found in its internal meaning,

      Literal meaning should hint at the figurative meaning.

    4. amphibolous

      "capable of two meanings"

    1. buthe knew he could not praise it with language that consisted of sounds andtherefore fell under (the category of) language.

      This reminds me of Divine Names and how PD said that anything we can conceive of to call God falls short of actual descriptions.

    2. farrJ

      ha

    3. eighth stage

      what are the "stages" he is referencing here?

    4. The body is the mount[markab],the spiritthe rider.

      Implies a direction of the soul over the body.

    1. multiplicity in which each [member] is a necessary existent.

      It seems like he's talking about the Trinity again

    2. if it ceases to exist,

      it's interesting that Avicenna says that it's possible for something to "cease to be," since some of the Greek philosophers said that was impossible

    3. one science

      metaphysics?

    4. No affirmative information about the absolutely nonexistent is [ever] given.

      Is this because, like in Parmenides, you can't think about "what is not" because it "is not?"

    5. We will prove the existence of the First Principle and [show] that He is one, Truth, and the utmost in majesty.

      God as the first principle

    6. prime matter

      Does "prime matter" refer to God?

    7. first causes

      this reminds me of Aristotle's primary cause

    1. reaches down even to demonic life

      based off his Chapter 4 discussion of evil just being a lack of good, wouldn't the demonic life already have goodness?

    2. He is not

      interesting word choice, because this is danger close to what he says about evil not existing in itself

    3. if the material is lacking in this receptivity,

      any deviation from the pattern of the "stamp" isn't God's fault, but the fault of the person or object receiving the imprint

    4. monad

      "single unit"

    1. upwards from particular to universal conceptions we strip off all qualities in order that we may attain to a naked knowledge

      this reminds me of Aristotle and his whole "bare particulars" thing