183. Wisdom, Philosophy, and the Divisions of Knowledge

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Wisdom Simply vs. Qualified Wisdom #

• Wisdom simply (sapientia simpliciter): Belongs to God alone; God’s wisdom is absolute and perfect
• Qualified wisdom (sapientia secundum quid): Human wisdom about particular subjects
  • Natural philosophy: wisdom about natural things (wisdom of nature, as Shakespeare calls it)
  • Geometry: wisdom about continuous quantity
  • Medicine: wisdom about numbers/health
• First philosophy (metaphysics): Called wisdom in a derivative sense; it is wisdom second and third (our wisdom, not wisdom simply)
• Thomas Aquinas consistently quotes Aristotle’s critique that only God should be said to be wise; man is wise only in an imperfect, very limited, qualified sense

The Etymology and Meaning of Philosophy #

• Philosophy as love of wisdom?: Berquist disagrees with this translation; Aristotle does not use philosophy in that sense
• Philosophy as a kind of knowledge: The knowledge that a lover of wisdom would pursue; the knowledge with the most character of wisdom
• Philosophy vs. wisdom as terms: Philosophy is less ambiguous than wisdom because it already admits that humans are not wise in the full sense but pursue a love of this knowledge
• Aristotle sometimes calls first philosophy simply “philosophy” (philosophy period, without qualification)

The Problem of Empedocles’ Theory of Knowledge #

• Empedocles’ position: We know things by the elements within us (by earth we know earth, by water we know water, by air we know air, by fire we know fire, by love we know love, by hate we know hate)
• The absurd consequence: Since Empedocles claims God has no hate in Him, God would not know hate. This means we would know something (hate) that God does not know—which is absurd
• Thomas’s use of this critique: Appears in both Scripture and Aristotle’s Metaphysics; demonstrates that any theory making human knowledge surpass divine knowledge is fundamentally wrong
• Why hate cannot be in God: If hate were in God, hate would be a principle of division/separation, making God destructible and not immortal

The Two Main Divisions of Being #

• Division 1: Substance and Accident
  • Substance is said to be being simply (ens simpliciter)
  • Accident is said to be being in a qualified way (ens secundum quid)
• Division 2: Act and Potency (Ability)
  • Act is said to be being simply
  • Potency/ability is said to be being in a qualified way

Coming to Be: Simply vs. In Some Way #

• Example of the lecturer entering the room: “Did I come to be?” requires qualification. He came to be in this room, not simply. He came to be simply in 1935/1936 (birth)
• Example of attending class: “You come to my house for class, you don’t come to be here”
• The principle: Distinguish between what happens simply (simpliciter) and what happens in some qualified way (secundum quid)
• This distinction is crucial to understanding ability and act, substance and accident

Knowledge: Actually vs. Potentially #

• If you are able to know something, you know it potentially—but this requires qualification
• You know it simply only when you know it actually (in act)
• Example: Diminutive names (like “Rosita” meaning “little Rose”) show how important this distinction is; adding the diminutive shows qualification

Becoming a Geometer #

• The example: “When I was doing geometry, did I come to be? No, I came to be a geometer.”
• He came to be simply in 1935, but came to be a geometer in a qualified way
• When he ceases to be in this room, that is ceasing to be in a qualified sense, not ceasing to be simply

The Definition of Reason #

• The ability to see a distinction is the definition of reason
• This includes the ability to see before and after
• The ability for large discourse (reasoning through complex matters) includes the ability for small discourse

Key Arguments #

The Hierarchy of Wisdom #

• God alone possesses wisdom simply
• Human wisdom is always qualified by the particular subject matter
• If Aristotle had access to God’s word, he would have to admit that theology (sacred doctrine) is more worthy of the name wisdom than first philosophy—because God is most wise
• Philosophy already admits its lover is not wise in the full sense

The Empedocles Argument #

• Premise 1: Empedocles’ theory makes human knowledge possible only through having the same elements in us
• Premise 2: Empedocles admits God has no hate
• Conclusion 1: Therefore God does not know hate (by Empedocles’ logic)
• Conclusion 2: Therefore we would know hate and God would not—making us superior to God in knowledge
• Reductio: This is absurd; any theory leading to this conclusion must be false

The Metaphysical Principle: Being Simply vs. Being in Some Way #

• In both major divisions of being (substance/accident and act/potency), one is being simply and one is being in a qualified way
• This principle applies universally to all statements about coming to be and existing
• Understanding this distinction is essential to metaphysical reasoning

Important Definitions #

• Sapientia (Wisdom): In the fullest sense, knowledge of first causes and principles; possessed perfectly only by God; humans possess it only in qualified forms pertaining to particular subjects
• Philosophia (Philosophy): The kind of knowledge that a lover of wisdom pursues; admits human limitation while aspiring to wisdom
• Ens simpliciter (Being simply): That which exists in the primary sense (substance, act)
• Ens secundum quid (Being in a qualified way): That which exists in a derivative sense (accident, potency/ability)
• Ahamartia/Peccatum (Sin/defect in nature): Used not only for moral sin but for any defect in nature (e.g., a baby missing a leg is a peccatum naturae)

Examples & Illustrations #

Shakespeare and Wisdom #

• Berquist cites Shakespeare’s reference to “the wisdom of nature”
• Shakespeare shows understanding of natural wisdom as distinct from wisdom simply

Diminutive Names #

• Names like “Rosita” (little Rose) illustrate the principle of qualification through diminutive forms
• This linguistic feature demonstrates how important the distinction between absolute and qualified states is

Coming to Be: Personal Examples #

• Berquist’s birth (1935/1936): He came to be simply at this time
• Entering the room for class: He came to be in the room (qualified)
• Becoming a geometer: He came to be a geometer (qualified)
• Leaving the room: He ceases to be in the room (qualified), not ceasing to be simply

The Critique of Empedocles #

• Empedocles’ theory: We know fire by fire, water by water, earth by earth, air by air, love by love, hate by hate
• The problem: Since God has no hate, God cannot know hate; therefore we know something God doesn’t know
• The implication: Hate in God would be a principle of division/separation, making Him destructible and not immortal

Notable Quotes #

“Natural philosophy is not wisdom simply, but wisdom about natural things, right? The wisdom of nature, as Shakespeare calls it.” — Berquist, on qualified vs. simple wisdom

“Only God alone should be said to be wise. Only God is wise in the full sense, and man is only wise in some imperfect, very limited, qualified sense.” — Berquist, paraphrasing Aristotle via Thomas Aquinas

“The ability to see a distinction is the definition of reason.” — Berquist

“If Aristotle had access to the word of God, we’d have to agree that this is more wisdom, you know, theology than first philosophy.” — Berquist, on the relative standing of philosophy and theology

“A natural form of necessity produces an operation suitable to it… But a habit in the soul is not produced of necessity, does not produce by necessity its own operation. Because a man uses the habit when he wishes.” — Thomas Aquinas (cited by Berquist), on natural forms vs. habits

Questions Addressed #

What is the difference between wisdom simply and qualified wisdom? #

• Answer: Wisdom simply belongs to God alone and is absolute and perfect. Qualified wisdom pertains to human knowledge about particular subjects (natural things, quantities, health, etc.). Human philosophy is wisdom in a derivative sense.

What does philosophy really mean? #

• Answer: Philosophy is not literally “love of wisdom” but rather the kind of knowledge that a lover of wisdom pursues. It is the knowledge with the most character of wisdom that humans can achieve, admitting that humans are not wise in the full sense.

What is wrong with Empedocles’ theory of knowledge? #

• Answer: It leads to the absurdity that humans know things (like hate) that God does not know. Since God is most wise and infinitely superior to human wisdom, any theory making human knowledge surpass divine knowledge is fundamentally wrong.

How do we distinguish between coming to be simply and coming to be in some qualified way? #

• Answer: Coming to be simply refers to initial existence (birth). Coming to be in a qualified way refers to acquiring properties or states while already existing. This distinction applies to substance/accident and act/potency divisions of being.