17. Beatitude as Uncreated and Created: Nature and Operation

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Distinction Between Uncreated and Created Beatitude #

• Uncreated Beatitude: God Himself, who is beatitude by His very substance (essentia) and being
• Created Beatitude: The human participation in God’s blessedness through the act of vision and enjoyment
• The object of beatitude (God) is uncreated; the essence of beatitude (our act of seeing God) is created
• God is beatitude not through the obtaining or partaking of some other good, but through His very nature
• Humans are blessed by partaking (participating) in God’s beatitude, as they are called gods by partaking

Two Senses of “End” (Finis) #

• First sense: The thing which we wish to obtain (the object itself) — e.g., money is the end of the avaricious man
• Second sense: The obtaining, possession, or enjoyment of the thing desired — e.g., the possession of money is the end of the avaricious man
• As regards the cause or object: beatitude is something uncreated (God Himself fulfills the will by His infinite goodness)
• As regards the very essence of beatitude (essentia): beatitude is something created (our act of participating in God’s goodness)

Beatitude as Operation (Operatio) #

• Beatitude must be an operation because each thing is perfect insofar as it is in act (actus)
• Ability without act is imperfect (potentia sine actu); beatitude is the last perfection of man
• Operation is the second act (actus secundus) — the ultimate actualization of a being’s potentiality
• The form or nature is the first act (actus primus); the operation is the second act
• Example: knowing in ability is potentiality; actually considering is the second act

Why Beatitude Cannot be Mere State or Possession #

• Boethius’s definition: Beatitude is a state made perfect by the bringing together of all goods — but this describes the common notion of beatitude, not its essence
• Aristotle’s precision: Beatitude is defined by showing through what man is in such a state — namely, through a certain operation
• Augustine’s insight: God told Moses, “I will show you myself” (not “every good” as a collection) — God is all goods in unity, which we understand in a composed way

Life as Being vs. Life as Operation #

• Life as being (ad esse): The very existence of the living being — beatitude is NOT life in this sense
• Life as operation (ad operari): The doing or activity of the living being — beatitude IS life in this sense (eternal life)
• Examples: “active life,” “contemplative life,” “voluptuous life” — these name life as operation
• John 17:3: “This is eternal life, that they know you, the one true God” — eternal life is identified with knowing, an operation

Two Kinds of Operations #

• Operations proceeding outward (exeuntes in materiam exteriorem): Make external matter into something else (e.g., cutting wood, drying something)

  • These cannot be beatitude because they perfect the object made, not the agent essentially
  • Example: Making a chair perfects the chair, not the carpenter as such
  • Teaching perfects the student, not the teacher essentially (though the teacher may learn accidentally)
  • This is where Marx’s mistake lies: confusing the accidental perfection of the agent with the essential operation

• Operations remaining in the agent (manentes in agente): Perfect the one acting (e.g., understanding, willing, sensing)

  • Example: To understand is to perfect the knower
  • This kind of operation can be beatitude

Beatitude in This Life vs. Perfect Beatitude #

• In this life: Imperfect beatitude is possible through contemplation of truth

  • Operations are interrupted by sleep, rest, and other occupations
  • The more continuous and unified the contemplative operation, the more one participates in beatitude
  • Aristotle says we should call such people “blessed as men” (secundum quid), not absolutely (simpliciter)
  • The active life (occupied with many things) has less notion of beatitude than the contemplative life (devoted to one thing — truth)
  • Even when not actually contemplating, the contemplative person is “ready” to do so and orders sleep and rest to support contemplation

• In heaven: Perfect beatitude is continuous, eternal, and uninterrupted

  • The operation by which the mind is joined to God will be one, continuous, and eternal
  • No interruption by sleep, occupation, or rest
  • God promises us this perfect beatitude when we will be as the angels in heaven
  • The beatitude ceases to be imperfect when the operation becomes continuous and eternal

Key Arguments #

The Perfection Argument #

1. Each thing is perfect insofar as it is in act (actus)
2. Ability (potentia) without act is imperfect
3. Beatitude is the last perfection of man
4. Therefore, beatitude must consist in act (operation), not in mere potentiality or possession

The Essentiality Argument #

1. Operations proceeding outward perfect the object, not the agent essentially
2. Operations remaining in the agent perfect the agent itself
3. Beatitude must perfect the one blessed
4. Therefore, beatitude must be an operation remaining in the agent (understanding, willing, sensing)

The Continuity Argument #

1. If beatitude were interrupted (as operations in this life are), it would lack perfection
2. Beatitude is the last perfection of man
3. In this life, operations are interrupted by sleep and other occupations
4. Therefore, perfect beatitude cannot be had in this life
5. But in heaven, the operation joining the mind to God is continuous and eternal
6. Therefore, perfect beatitude in heaven consists in such an uninterrupted operation

Important Definitions #

• Beatitude (beatitudo): The last end of man; the ultimate perfection and fulfillment achieved through the possession and enjoyment of the uncreated good (God). Essentially consists in an operation by which the human intellect and will are united to God.

• Operation (operatio) or Act (actus): The actualization or exercise of a power; the second act (actus secundus) as distinguished from the form or nature itself (first act). Each thing is perfect insofar as it is in act.

• Ability (potentia): Potentiality; the capacity to act. Without actualization (act), ability remains imperfect.

• Finis (End): Has two meanings: (1) the thing desired (id quod desideratur), the object; (2) the obtaining or enjoyment of that thing (adipiscentia vel fruitio). As the object, beatitude is uncreated (God); as the obtaining/enjoyment, it is created (our act).

• Sumum bonum (Highest Good): God alone, who by His infinite goodness is able to perfectly fulfill the human will.

• Essentia (Essence): The very nature or being of something. God’s beatitude is His very essence; human beatitude (as created) is the essence or nature of our participation in God’s goodness.

• Substantia (Substance): Being; existence. God is beatitude to His very substance (essentially and necessarily); humans participate in beatitude through an operation.

• Operatio manens in agente (Operation remaining in the agent): An operation whose perfection belongs to the agent itself (e.g., understanding, willing). These can be beatitude.

• Operatio exeuntes in materiam exteriorem (Operation proceeding outward): An operation whose perfection belongs to an external object (e.g., making, cutting). These cannot be beatitude essentially.

• Actus primus (First Act): The form or nature of a being; its fundamental principle of being.

• Actus secundus (Second Act): The operation or activity by which a being exercises its nature; the actualization of potentiality.

• Eternal life (vita aeterna): Another name for beatitude, emphasizing the operation of knowing God continuously without interruption or change.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Avaricious Man and Money #

Berquist uses this example to illustrate the two senses of “end”:

• Money is the end (the object desired)
• The possession of money is the end (the obtaining/enjoyment)
• Similarly, God is the end (uncreated); the attainment of God through vision is the end as created beatitude

Making a Chair #

Making a chair perfects the chair, not the carpenter essentially. Teaching similarly perfects the student, not the teacher essentially (though the teacher may learn accidentally in the process). This shows why operations proceeding outward cannot be beatitude.

The Contemplative Life vs. Active Life #

The contemplative life devoted to understanding truth has a greater notion of beatitude than the active life occupied with many things, because contemplative operation is more continuous and unified. Even when the contemplative person rests or sleeps, he is “ready” to contemplate and orders rest to support contemplation.

McDonald’s Hamburgers #

Making McDonald’s hamburgers day after day may perfect the hamburgers, but it does not necessarily perfect the worker in knowledge or skill. This illustrates that perfecting an external object is accidental to the perfection of the agent.

The Guardian Angel and Human Understanding #

Berquist reflects on how a guardian angel might view human attempts to understand angels. The angel would find it amusing that humans, so far below angels in nature, attempt to comprehend what angels are — illustrating the vast difference in perfection between different orders of beings.

Mozart, Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Einstein #

When trying to imagine the excellence of an angel, we might say: imagine a man with the musical gifts of Mozart, the poetic gifts of Shakespeare and Homer, the philosophical gifts of Aristotle, the theological gifts of Thomas, and the scientific gifts of Einstein, all rolled into one. Yet each angel possesses the whole perfection of his kind in a simple unity — something humans cannot grasp easily.

Notable Quotes #

“God alone, by his infinite goodness, is able to perfectly fulfill the will of man.” — Thomas Aquinas

“This is eternal life, that they know you, the one true God.” — John 17:3

“Each thing is perfect insofar as it is in act.” — Principle cited by Thomas Aquinas

“Ability without act is something imperfect.” — Thomas Aquinas

“Let us call them blessed as men.” — Aristotle, on imperfect beatitude in this life

“The one blessed is in the state of a perfect good.” — Thomas Aquinas (commenting on Boethius)

Questions Addressed #

Article 1: Is Beatitude Something Uncreated? #

Objections:

1. Boethius says God is beatitude itself
2. Beatitude is the highest good; the highest good is God; therefore beatitude is God
3. The human will naturally tends toward God alone; therefore beatitude is the same as God

Counter-objection: Nothing made is uncreated, but the beatitude of man is something made (according to Augustine)

Thomas’s Answer:

• As regards its object/cause: Beatitude is uncreated (God Himself, who by infinite goodness perfectly fulfills the will)
• As regards its very essence/nature: Beatitude is created (the human act of obtaining/enjoying God)
• God is beatitude to His very substance; humans are blessed by partaking in God’s beatitude
• The obtaining and enjoyment of the last end (God) is something created existing in the blessed person

Article 2: Is Beatitude an Operation? #

Objections:

1. Life is not an operation but the very being of the living one; beatitude is eternal life; therefore beatitude is not an operation
2. Boethius defines beatitude as a state made perfect by the bringing together of all goods, implying it is not an operation
3. Beatitude signifies something existing in the blessed; operation proceeds from the one operating, not existing in him
4. Beatitude remains in the blessed without interruption; operation comes and goes; therefore beatitude is not an operation
5. Of one man there is one beatitude; operations are many; therefore beatitude is not an operation
6. Beatitude is uninterrupted; human operations are interrupted by sleep; therefore beatitude is not an operation

Thomas’s Answer:

• Beatitude, as the last perfection of man, must be an operation
• Each thing is perfect insofar as it is in act; ability without act is imperfect
• Operation is the “second act” — the ultimate actualization of a being
• The perfection of a living thing is its operation, not its mere being or form
• Aristotle: Happiness is an operation according to perfect virtue
• Life has two senses: (1) being of the living one (beatitude is not this), (2) operation of the living one (beatitude IS this)
• Two kinds of operations: (1) proceeding outward (making) — cannot be beatitude, (2) remaining in the agent (understanding, willing) — can be beatitude
• In this life, beatitude is imperfect because the operation is interrupted; in heaven, it is perfect because the operation is continuous and eternal

Structural Overview #

Berquist follows Thomas’s methodical approach:

1. Statement of the question and enumeration of the eight articles to follow
2. Presentation of three objections to Article 1
3. Counter-objection
4. Thomas’s answer (Respondeo dicendum)
5. Replies to the objections (Ad primum/secundum/tertium dicendum)
6. Presentation of objections to Article 2 and partial treatment

The lecture emphasizes the logical structure and the way Thomas’s distinctions (particularly between object and essence, being and operation, this life and heaven) resolve apparent contradictions.