Skip to content
Carmelics
Topics
Thinkers
Changes
Contributors
Loading account…
Statements
321,452
Perspectives
108,905
Topics
42
Home
/
Original
/
inverse
See Original
Inverse View
It is not the case that The claim that there is only one God is true only of the conceptual unity of the universal nature of divinity, not of three numerically identical substances
?
Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.
Reasons For
2 perspectives
Reason for 1 of 2
?
1.
Gregory of Nyssa's 'That There Are Not Three Gods' explicitly argues that 'God' names a shared nature, yet insists this does not entail tritheism through numerical plurality of substances.
?
How convincing is this?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
2.
If divine unity were merely conceptual universality, Gregory's anti-tritheist argument would collapse into nominalism about divine nature, which Gregory himself explicitly rejects.
?
How convincing is this?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
Reason for 2 of 2
?
1.
Athanasius and the Nicene tradition grounded the homoousios in ontological identity of substance, not merely generic resemblance between three numerically distinct individuals.
?
How convincing is this?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
2.
A conceptual or universal unity of the kind Philoponus proposes is indistinguishable from the Arian and Eunomian position that the three are united only by category, which the Council of Nicaea condemned.
?
How convincing is this?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
Reasons Against
1 perspective
Reason against
?
1.
When Basil and Gregory of Nyssa spoke of 'one ousía, three hypostáseis,' they used 'ousía' in the secondary, abstract sense of essence or universal nature, not as a primary substance
?
How convincing is this?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
2.
Universals exist only in the mind and not as mind-independent individual entities
?
How convincing is this?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
Next step
Based on where you are in your exploration
Strongest counterpoint
Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.