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The Difference Of Theology and Some Philosophies of Nothing
Author(s) -
Cunningham Conor
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
modern theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.144
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1468-0025
pISSN - 0266-7177
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0025.00161
Subject(s) - dualism , philosophy , nothing , epistemology , anticipation (artificial intelligence) , rest (music) , significant difference , theology , medicine , statistics , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , cardiology
This article argues that theology thinks differently than philosophy because it is able to think an ontological difference and differences. Theology is able to do this, I argue, because of a trinitarian understanding of creation. A trinitarian understanding of creation does not rest upon any dualism which could domesticate difference. For example, according to Aquinas, creation is not a change. Consequently, there is no dualism of before and after. This means that God does not look to some external register from which to understand what difference is (as is the case with the Neoplatonist One, who can ‘create’ only one effect, and must do so necessarily). God creates difference qua difference, from divine unity. Furthermore, I argue that all knowledge is related to difference. For this reason, knowledge is itself an eschatological anticipation of the beatific vision.