RE: A question about Thomism
August 7, 2023 at 7:34 am
(This post was last modified: August 7, 2023 at 7:35 am by Angrboda.)
(August 7, 2023 at 3:08 am)Belacqua Wrote:(July 25, 2023 at 9:04 am)Angrboda Wrote: This is a question for anyone who has an opinion, but I know there are several on the forum who are knowledgable about Thomism, so I ask.
How is simultaneity defined in Thomistic philosophy?
Do you have a specific argument or quotation in mind? I'm just thinking that Thomas wrote a hell of a lot of pages on a hell of a lot of topics, and it's possible that "simultaneity" might have different nuances depending on the subject.
For example if it's about events occurring at the same time chronologically it might be different than if we're talking about metaphysical causation. That kind of thing.
If we knew the passage you're quoting, I suppose it would make sense to check the Latin, as well. As you know the translation of certain terms into English has caused lots and lots of confusion over the years. For example the Latin causa, as Thomas uses it, does not mean the same as the English "cause." So we'd want to avoid that kind of "false friend" mistranslation.
No, just some general questions about how time complicates things like Thomistic conceptions of cause. It seems that when it comes to a cause, either it/they must come / exist before the caused effect, or it is not necessary that it/they comes before the effect. But if a cause is timeless, how do we make sense of the questions? And it isn't aimed exclusively at Aquinas.