Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Translators' Note
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminary Matters
- Part II Psychology
- Part III Logic
- Part IV Ethics
- Part V Metaphysics
- 69 Metaphysics. Preliminary Considerations
- 70 On the Soul and Its Existence
- 71 On the Spirituality of the Soul (Conclusion). On Materialism
- 72 The Relationship between the Soul and the Body
- 73 On the Immortality of the Soul
- 74 On God. Metaphysical Proofs of His Existence
- 75 Critique of Metaphysical Proofs of the Existence of God
- 76 Explanation and Critique of the Physicotheological Proof
- 77 Critique of the Physicotheological Proof (Conclusion). Moral Proofs of the Existence of God
- 78 The Nature and Attributes of God
- 79 The Relationship between God and the World. Dualism, Pantheism, and Creation
- 80 The Relationship between God and the World (Conclusion). Providence, Evil, Optimism, and Pessimism
- Appendix: Biographical Glossary
- Index
78 - The Nature and Attributes of God
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Translators' Note
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminary Matters
- Part II Psychology
- Part III Logic
- Part IV Ethics
- Part V Metaphysics
- 69 Metaphysics. Preliminary Considerations
- 70 On the Soul and Its Existence
- 71 On the Spirituality of the Soul (Conclusion). On Materialism
- 72 The Relationship between the Soul and the Body
- 73 On the Immortality of the Soul
- 74 On God. Metaphysical Proofs of His Existence
- 75 Critique of Metaphysical Proofs of the Existence of God
- 76 Explanation and Critique of the Physicotheological Proof
- 77 Critique of the Physicotheological Proof (Conclusion). Moral Proofs of the Existence of God
- 78 The Nature and Attributes of God
- 79 The Relationship between God and the World. Dualism, Pantheism, and Creation
- 80 The Relationship between God and the World (Conclusion). Providence, Evil, Optimism, and Pessimism
- Appendix: Biographical Glossary
- Index
Summary
Having established that God exists, our job now is to determine His nature – His qualities or attributes. Two methods of doing this are available. The first proceeds by analogy, elevating the attributes of imperfect beings to a state of perfection and then attributing these to God. This method begins with the principle that there must be at least as much reality in the cause as in the effect. But this is an idea we've already refuted, so this method isn't open to us.
The second method is to start from the definition of God and then examine the conditions of His attributes. This method proceeds by straight forward deduction, and it's the one we'll follow.
Our definition of God includes both metaphysical and moral attributes – the first concerning God as a being in general and the second God as a person.
Metaphysical Attributes
Infinity. God, being absolute, can't be finite, for if He were limited, He'd be relative to whatever limits Him.
Unity. Something made up of parts is relative to those parts. We can conceive of such a thing, not as existing in and of itself, but only as a function of its constituent parts. But God is absolute, so He must necessarily be one.
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- Durkheim's Philosophy LecturesNotes from the Lycée de Sens Course, 1883–1884, pp. 306 - 308Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004