Thursday, August 18, 2016

Zeus? I think not. Aristotle on Deity in Metaphysics



In Book Twelve, Aristotle writes:

“In this way, however, is the Deity disposed to existence, and the principle of life is, at any rate, inherent in the Deity; for the energy or active exercise of Mind constitutes life, and God—as above delineated—constitutes this energy; and essential energy belongs to God as his best and everlasting life. Now, our statement is this,--that the Deity is an animal that is everlasting and most excellent in nature; so that with the Deity life and duration is uninterrupted and eternal; for this constitutes the very essence of God.”

This doesn't sound like a description of Zeus; it has more the feel of Spinoza than it does the Greek pantheon, or for that matter, scholasticism. 

No comments:

Post a Comment