In classical theism, the doctrine of divine simplicity (also known as absolute divine simplicity) states that God is simple in that he is a single, unified entity with no distinction between his attributes. His essence is identical with his existence; that is to say, his essence is simply to exist, which makes Him fundamentally distinct from all other entities.

Overview

The entity of God is taken to be identical to his attributes, eliminating any distinctions between them. Characteristics such as omnipresence, goodness, truth and eternity are identical to God's being, rather than attributes that make up that entity as a collection of abstract entities inherent to God as in a creature; in God, essence and existence are not distinguished.

Simplicity denies any physical or metaphysical composition in the divine being. God is the divine nature itself, with no accidents (things that inhere) accruing to his nature. There are no real divisions or distinctions of this nature; the entirety of God is whatever is attributed to him. For example, God does not goodness, but goodness; God does not existence, but existence. Divine simplicity is the hallmark of God's transcendence of all else, ensuring that the divine nature is beyond the reach of ordinary categories and distinctions (or, at least, their ordinary application). "Simplicity in this way confers a unique ontological status that many philosophers find highly peculiar." When it comes to God's essential nature or attributes, there are no parts or accidents; this is not to be confused with God's accidental or contingent relation to the world (God's non-essential or contingent properties, not God's nature).

Varieties of this doctrine exist among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophical theologians, especially during the height of scholasticism. Its origins may be traced back to ancient Greek thought, finding apotheosis in Plotinus' Enneads as the Monad.

History

Views similar to divine simplicity were held by philosophers such as Plato, Thales and Anaximenes. Classical statements about divine simplicity can be found in Augustine, Anselm and Thomas Aquinas. In early Christianity, Philo of Alexandria said that the belief of God as utterly simple was widely held. One of the earliest mentions of divine simplicity in Christian theology is by Irenaeus (130). Early Christian theology viewed simplicity as necessary for preserving God's transcendence; Athenagoras of Athens, in the second century, said that God is indivisible and unchangeable.

According to Maimonides, there can be no plurality of faculties, moral dispositions, or essential attributes in God. To say that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good is to introduce plurality, if these qualities are separate attributes. Maimonides concluded that it is untrue to say that God's power is greater than ours, that God's life is more permanent than ours, or God's knowledge is broader than ours. He believed that statements such as "God lives" or "God is powerful" are nonsense if they are interpreted normally, but they can be understood if analyzed as disguised negations. Maimonides also believed that negation is objectionable to the degree that it introduces complexity; God is neither this nor that, and verbal expression fails us. Citing Psalm 65, he concluded that the highest form of praise of God is silence.

For others, the axiom of divine unity (Shema) forms the understanding of divine simplicity. Bahya ibn Paquda (Duties of the Heart 1:8) points out that God's oneness is "true oneness" (האחד האמת), as opposed to "circumstantial oneness" (האחד המקרי). He develops this idea to show that an entity that is truly one must be free of properties, indescribable, and unlike anything else. Such an entity would not be subject to change, utterly independent, and the root of everything.

The implication of either approach is so strong that the two concepts are often presented as synonymous: "God is not two or more entities, but a single entity of oneness even more single and unique than any single thing in creation ... He cannot be sub-divided into different partstherefore, He can't be anything other than one. It is a positive commandment to know this, for it is written (Deuteronomy 6:4) ' ... the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.

Despite its apparent simplicity, this concept raises a number of difficulties. Since God's simplicity does not allow for any structureeven conceptuallydivine simplicity appears to entail the following dichotomy:

  • God is absolutely simple, containing no element of form or structure.
  • God's essence contains every possible element of perfection.

This paradox is articulated by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in Derech Hashem, who describes the dichotomy as arising from the inability to comprehend absolute unity:

Christian thought

Simplicity (or metaphysical, absolute simplicity) states that the characteristics of God are not parts of God which make up God. God is simple; God is those characteristics. God does not have goodness, but is goodness; God does not existence, but existence. According to Thomas Aquinas, God is God's existence and God's essence is God's existence. God is goodness, which is his nature, which is his essence, which is his existence. William F. Vallicella says, "To say that God lacks metaphysical parts is to say inter alia that God is free of matter-form composition, potency-act composition, and existence-essence composition. There is also no real distinction between God as a subject of his attributes and his attributes." God exhausts what it means to be God and, in principle, there cannot be more than one God. According to Duns Scotus, there is a formal distinction between God's attributes.

Yann Schmitt says,