How the relationship between the concept of "Being" and the meaning of "God" in Boethius' theological treatises

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA in Comparative Theology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Wisdom and Theology Department, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The central issue in this article is to understand how is the relationship between the concept of "Being" and the meaning of "God" in Boethius' theological treatises. To this end, four issues are analyzed analytically-descriptively in Theological Treatises; 1. Why did Boethius raise the issue of ontology in Theological Treatises, and what was his purpose in distinguishing between "esse" and "id quod est" in these treatises with a purely Christian and theological nature? 2. The effect of this discussion in explaining God' transcendence through the three attributes "necessity", "perfection" and "to being goodness" of being; 3. The effect of this discussion on God's "creation"; 4. Its effect on God' unity. The study of these cases led to the conclusion that Boethius, by distinguishing between "esse" and "id quod est", considers God to be a simple being in whom "esse" and "id quod est" are one, so being is necessary for Him. God' perfection is also due to His simplicity essence; because He is His own essence and substance, so any quantity and quality that is applied to God will be the carrying of substance. Boethius explains God' simplicity in terms of the originality of being and action, and equates God' being with the Goodness itself, but creatures that are not simple are something else in addition to being good. The Creator and the creature are substantial different, and His Ubiquity goes back to God' substance beyond the two categories of place and time. By distinguishing the abstract number from the concrete number, Boethius believes that the Trinity does not produces plurality, because there is no difference of merit in God and He is nothing but His own essence.

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References

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 16, Issue 39 - Serial Number 39
Special Issue: Philosophy of Education (In Persian)
September 2022
Pages 437-452

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