Problems of predication in theology of Aurelius Augustinus and Severinus Boethius

The work contrasts Aurelius Augustinuss and Severinus Boethiuss modes of solvingthe problems of predication. These problems have a metalinguistic nature: they appear at attempt of analysing statements about Godwith the help of traditional linguistic conceptions, which are not designed to investigate theological language with its specific object. ForAugustine and Boethius the teaching about categories is the only available instrument of analysis of different modes of predication;however, its application in theology presents significant difficulties. Part of the categories is related to statements about perceptible objects,hence arises the question of applicability of these categories in statements about God. Augustine and Boethius solve this problemby dividing categories into groups and developing special rules of predication for each group. Augustine divides categories using theopposition of the direct and metaphorical sense. With the help of metaphor, he explains the use in the biblical text of predicates relatedto accidental categories of position, possession, time and place. The predicates used in direct sense are either expressed this way aboutGod (substance and action) exclusively, or identified with the divine substance, thus losing certain categorical character (quality andquantity). Augustines method of dividing categories allows adjusting philosophical ideas of Neoplatonism with the letter of the HolyWrit; however, Augustine deviates from Aristotles teaching. He solves the problems of theological predication radically by decategorizationof all types of predicates. Unlike Augustine, Boethius does not simply use Categories, but modifies Aristotles teachingin order to base the theological science upon it. Boethius divides categories into names and circonstants. Nominal categories (substance,quality, and quantity), which are able to function as the subject of a sentence, are predicated in accordance with the thing(secundum rem); the rest of the categories are predicated in accordance with the things circumstances (secundum circumstantias rei).In a theological statement all the predicates retain their categorical meaning, except substance, which is taken outside the realm of categories.The latter fact leads to a change of the statements internal structure. Though formally statement about God is a predication, itsinternal structure is that of an existential statement, in which the existence of a substantivised predicate is stated. The modification ofstatements internal structure leads to a change in categories semantics. The circonstant categories lose the restrictions, which bind themto the area of the perceptible; the categories of quality and quantity, substantivised by the connection with the substantive verb est, donot turn into subjects. Substantial predication in theology becomes super-substantial. In the inner structure of a theological statement liesthe assertion of the superessential being of eidoi  the attributes identical to their divine origin.

Keywords

Authors

References