302. Justification of the Impious: Elements and Instantaneity

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Article 5: The Motion of Free Will Against Sin #

• The objection claims that if charity alone suffices for the deletion of sins, and charity’s object is not sin itself, then the motion of free will against sin is unnecessary
• Thomas’s Response: To the same virtue pertains both the pursuing of one opposite and the refusing of the other. Therefore, charity pertains not only to union with God but also to detestation of sins, in which the soul is separated from God
• The motion of free will toward God and the motion of free will against sin are not two separate motions but aspects of the same reorientation of the soul
• One must detest sins universally, not remember each individual sin. A general motion of detesting all sins committed suffices, including those forgotten

Article 6: Remission of Sins as Required Element #

• The objection argues that remission of sins is the substance of justification itself, and the substance of a thing should not be numbered among the things required for the thing (just as a man is not numbered with his soul and body)
• Thomas’s Response: While justification takes its species from remission of sins as its terminus ad quem, many other things are required for obtaining this term
• The infusion of grace and remission of guilt are the same act considered in two ways:
  • According to the substance of the act: they are identical (God simultaneously bestows grace and remits guilt by one act)
  • According to the objects: they differ (grace is the object infused; guilt is the object removed)
• Analogy: Generation of one thing is the corruption of another. They are the same event from different perspectives
• The remission of sins is the consummation (completion) of justification and should be included in the enumeration as the terminus or end of the process
• Thomas divides the four required elements as: (1) infusion of grace, (2) motion of free will toward God, (3) motion of free will against sin, (4) remission of guilt

Article 7: Instantaneous vs. Successive Justification #

The Problem of Succession #

• First Objection: Deliberation precedes choice. Since deliberation involves discursus (discourse/succession of reasoning), and justification requires motion of free will, justification must be successive
• Second Objection: If justification requires understanding multiple things (motion toward God and motion against sin), and a human cannot understand many things at once, justification cannot be instantaneous
• Third Objection: Grace receives more and less (can be stronger or weaker), and forms that admit of degree are received successively, not at once
• Fourth Objection: The motion of free will is meritorious and must proceed from grace. Therefore, grace must be poured in first, then free will is moved. Thus, justification is successive
• Fifth Objection: There must be a first instant when grace is in the soul and a last instant when guilt is in the soul. These cannot be the same instant, so there must be succession between them

Thomas’s Responses #

On the First Objection:

• The motion of free will that concurs in justification is consent to detesting sin and acceding to God
• This consent comes about instantaneously (subito fit)
• Deliberation may precede justification but is not of its substance; it is a “road” to justification
• Analogy: Local motion is the road to illumination, yet illumination itself occurs all at once when the sun crosses the horizon

On the Second Objection:

• Nothing prevents two things being understood simultaneously (simul) insofar as they are in some way one
• Example: We understand subject and predicate together in a statement. When we say “a square is not a circle,” we must know square and circle together, even though understanding the definition of square and understanding the definition of circle separately are not simultaneous
• Similarly, free will can be moved in two things at once when one is ordered to the other
• The motion of free will against sin is ordered to the motion of free will toward God: one detests sin because it is against God to whom he wishes to adhere
• Therefore, detesting sin and converting to God occur simultaneously (simul), just as a body recedes from one place and accedes to another at the same time

On the Third Objection:

• The reason forms admitting of degree are not received at once is not that they can be more or less, but because of the disposition of matter or subject
• When matter is properly disposed, a form is acquired instantaneously
• Example: Light would not be received instantaneously in air if the objection were correct, but it is
• God’s infinite power can dispose any created matter suddenly for form

On the Fourth Objection:

• In the same instant a form is acquired, the thing begins to operate according to the form
• Example: The minute fire is generated, it moves upward
• The motion of free will (the act of willing) is not successive but instantaneous
• Therefore, it is not necessary that grace be poured in before the free will is moved

On the Fifth Objection:

• There is no last instant in which guilt exists, but there is a last time
• There is a first instant in which grace exists
• In temporal things, these do not coincide, creating an apparent problem
• However, regarding the human mind’s spiritual aspect (mind as rational soul), both can occur in the same instant
• The human mind is connected to time through the senses but in its spiritual acts transcends temporal succession

Key Arguments #

Against Instantaneous Justification #

• Deliberation requires succession: Choice presupposes deliberation, which is a discourse having succession

  • Response: Consent is instantaneous; deliberation may precede but is not substance of justification
  • Analogy: Light illuminates instantaneously; the motion of a body approaching light is successive

• Multiple understandings cannot be simultaneous: Justification requires understanding both turning to God and detestation of sin

  • Response: Two things can be understood together when one is ordered to the other; just as subject and predicate are understood together in a proposition
  • Example: Understanding a square is not a circle requires thinking of both square and circle at once

• Grace admits of degree: Forms receiving more and less are received successively

  • Response: The reason is disposition of matter, not the form itself. Light receives more or less but is acquired instantaneously
  • God’s infinite power can suddenly dispose matter for form

• Grace precedes free will’s motion meritously: Grace must be infused before free will can merit

  • Response: In the same instant form is acquired, operation according to that form begins (fire generated moves upward immediately)
  • Willing is instantaneous, not successive motion

• Last instant of guilt cannot coincide with first instant of grace: Opposites cannot exist simultaneously

  • Response: In temporal things there is no last instant of prior form but a first instant of following form
  • Regarding the spiritual acts of the rational mind, both can occur in the same instant

Important Definitions #

Motion of Free Will (Motio Liberi Arbitrii) #

• Not physical locomotion but motion according to detestation (detestatio) and desire (appetitio)
• Consists of two aspects: (1) detestation of sin, (2) desire for God
• These two aspects occur simultaneously (simul) because they are ordered to one another
• Instantaneous (subito), not successive

Detestation (Detestatio) #

• The motion of free will against sin
• Active hatred or rejection of sin because it separates the soul from God
• Need not involve remembering individual sins; universal detestation suffices
• Caused by and ordered to the motion toward God

Remission of Guilt (Remissio Culpae) #

• The terminus ad quem of the justification process
• The consummation or completion of justification
• The same act as the infusion of grace, but considered from the perspective of the object removed (guilt) rather than the object infused (grace)

Instantaneous (Subito) #

• Without temporal succession; in an indivisible instant
• The indivisible of time (instant) in the strict sense
• How grace is infused and how justification is completed

Terminus a quo / Terminus ad quem #

• Terminus a quo: The term from which; sin or injustice in justification
• Terminus ad quem: The term to which; justice or grace in justification
• A motion takes its species from its terminus ad quem

Examples & Illustrations #

Locomotion and Soul’s Motion #

• When moving from one’s house to the monastery, one must simultaneously recede from the house (terminus a quo) and accede to the monastery (terminus ad quem)
• One cannot come to the monastery without leaving home; one cannot go home without leaving the monastery
• The motion itself is the same; only the perspective changes (coming vs. going)
• Similarly, in justification, detesting sin and converting to God are the same motion viewed from different angles

Illumination and Grace #

• Light illuminates diaphanous matter instantaneously, not successively
• The air is purged of darkness and receives light in the same indivisible instant
• God’s causation through infinite power can dispose any created matter suddenly for receiving grace
• Even though the sun’s approach (motion bringing light) is successive, the illumination itself is instantaneous when the sun crosses the horizon

Understanding Subject and Predicate #

• When understanding a simple definition (e.g., “what is a square?”), the mind understands one thing at a time
• When making a judgment (e.g., “a square is not a circle”), the mind must understand square and circle together (simul)
• This is possible because the two are understood as ordered to one another in the judgment
• Similarly, the motion toward God and motion against sin are understood together because one is ordered to the other

Fire Generated and Motion Upward #

• The instant fire is generated, it begins to move upward (its operation according to its form)
• This demonstrates that acquiring a form and beginning to operate according to that form are not successive but simultaneous
• Analogously, grace is infused and free will is moved in the same instant

Water Heating and Combustion #

• Water gradually receives heat until reaching the point of combustion
• Once properly disposed, the substantial form (fire) is acquired instantaneously
• The heating (successive disposition) differs from the acquisition of form (instantaneous)
• God may dispose the soul gradually, but once disposed, grace is infused instantaneously

Notable Quotes #

“The motion of free will, which runs together to the justification of the impious, is consent, right, to the detesting of sin and to acceding to what? God, huh? Which can consent, huh? Subito fit, huh? Comes about instantly, right?” - Thomas Aquinas (via Berquist)

“Just as a body at the same time is receding from one place and acceding to the what? Other, right, huh?” - Thomas Aquinas (via Berquist), illustrating simultaneous motion in justification

“The affections are emotions of our soul. The titsia is a diffusion, right, huh? Spelling out, so to speak. Timor is a flight of the soul, right? For we, what, go forward when we desire right, we flee when we, what, fear and so on.” - Augustine (via Thomas via Berquist), explaining how motion language applies to the soul’s affections

“It is necessary that the human mind when it is, what, justified that by the motion of free will he recede from sin and accede to, what, justice, huh?” - Thomas Aquinas (via Berquist)

Questions Addressed #

Article 5: Is the motion of free will against sin required for justification? #

• Question: If charity alone suffices for remitting sins, and charity’s object is not sin, why is motion of free will against sin necessary?
• Answer: To the same virtue pertains pursuing one opposite and refusing the other. Charity, in pursuing union with God, necessarily includes detestation of sin. One need not remember all sins; universal detestation suffices

Article 6: Should remission of sins be numbered among things required for justification? #

• Question: Since justification is the remission of sins, how can remission be numbered among required elements (like substance with its accidents)?
• Answer: Remission is the terminus ad quem (end) of justification, not a presupposed element. The infusion of grace and remission of guilt are the same act viewed from different perspectives (objects), analogous to generation and corruption

Article 7: Does justification occur instantaneously or successively? #

• Question: Given that deliberation takes time, grace admits of degree, and guilt cannot coexist with grace, how can justification be instantaneous?
• Answer: Justification is instantaneous. Consent (which is the essential motion of free will) occurs without temporal succession. Grace is infused in an indivisible instant, like illumination. Deliberation may precede but is not of the substance of justification. The apparent problem of opposing forms (guilt and grace) is resolved by recognizing that in temporal order there is no last instant of guilt but a first instant of grace, and in the spiritual order of the rational mind, both can coincide