Lux mentium: Augustine’s Argument to God as Truth and Its Recent Resumptions

Perl, Eric D.

doi:10.5840/ipq202536248

International Philosophical Quarterly

Volume 64, Issue 2, June 2024

Eric D. Perl

Pages 93-110

https://doi.org/10.5840/ipq202536248

Lux mentium
Augustine’s Argument to God as Truth and Its Recent Resumptions

The classic “retorsion” argument that any claim that all thought is relative is a self-refuting dialectical contradiction not only decisively refutes relativism but also demonstrates the presence of absolute truth in all thinking as its implicit enabling condition. In Augustine’s version, this takes the form of showing that truth itself, which Augustine identifies as God, is the “light of minds,” found within the soul by thought’s self-reflexive discovery of the ever-present condition for its own acts of judgment. In recent philosophy this argument is taken up in the transcendental Thomism of Pierre Scheuer, S.J., and, with important clarifying distinctions, in the objective idealism of Vittorio H?sle. Thomas Nagel uses the same argument to reach what amounts to the same conclusion, though he does not call this conclusion ‘God.’ This concurrence indicates that there is no third alternative between complete nihilism and divinity as conceived by Augustine, Scheuer, and H?sle.

<< Previous Article

>> Next Article

? "Those scars," the Doctor answered, "are from the moxa, which is used to some extent in medical practice in Europe and America. Don't you remember that when your uncle Charles had a disease of the spine the doctors applied a hot iron to his back, along each side of the backbone?" A JAPANESE LOOM. A JAPANESE LOOM. MODE OF HOLDING THE TOW-ROPES. MODE OF HOLDING THE TOW-ROPES. "We had no trouble after that; but we only allowed fifty men on deck at one time, and those under a strong guard. You can be sure we were in a hurry to finish the voyage, which we did without accident. I had had all I wanted of the coolie-trade, and never went on another voyage like that." A stream of living fire, a ripple of all the colours of the rainbow. Balmayne shut the cases as if jealous of the eyes of the night. A true movement of carriages is dependent upon the amount or wearing power of their bearing surface, how this surface is disposed in reference to the strain to be resisted, and the conditions under which the sliding surfaces move; that is, how kept in contact. The cutting strain which is to be mainly considered, falls usually at an angle of thirty to forty degrees downward toward the front, from the centre of the lathe. To resist such strain a flat top shear presents no surface at right angles to the strain; the bearings are all oblique, and not only this, but all horizontal strain falls on one side of the shear only; for this reason, flat top shears have to be made much heavier than would be required if the sum of their cross section could be employed to resist transverse strain. This difficulty can, however, be mainly obviated by numerous cross girts, which will be found in most lathe frames having flat tops. Wildly, as those on the bridge came into clear view, Sandy, Larry, Dick and Jeff gesticulated, pointing astern. Bells were jangled, the yacht was sharply brought up by reversed propellers and a tender was swiftly being put down from its davits, an excited sailor working to start its engine, even as it was lowered. “Come on, everybody—spread out—” cried Jeff. “We’ll get that-there girl——” “It’s simple enough,” the youngest member of the Sky Patrol broke in. “They pour some of the lemonade into the compartments in the ice-trays and freeze that. It is better than plain ice because it doesn’t weaken the lemonade at all.” "Then," said the Reverend Taylor, laying down the paper, "you must be scared for yourself." ("I think 'mug' is the word they use for face in good society," mused Shorty, with the end of the penholder in his mouth. "At least I heard the Kurnel use it one day. She can't expect no man to be much gladder of anything than the comin' o' the Paymaster, and that orter please her.") Died and buried on Sunday; There was a silence. "He'll soon be able to do a bit of work wud us, Beatup," said Reuben apocalyptically.—"I'll have him on when he's ten or thereabouts, and at fifteen he'll be doing full man's work. I shouldn't wonder as how I'd never want another hand but you—we could manage the pl?ace, I reckon, till the lad's old enough, and then there'll be others...." HoME 重庆酱香坊京酱 ENTER NUMBET 0016www.ltomxu.com.cn
www.jobzt.net.cn
mbaksw.com.cn
www.jlszzxxx.com.cn
www.rqchain.com.cn
www.onfboz.com.cn
nbhongyuan.com.cn
www.sjzrcfz.com.cn
www.shbc118.com.cn
www.szcxj5288.com.cn