The Portals of Doubt

THE THOMIST A SPECULATIVE QUARTERLY REVIEW Ol!, THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY EDIToRs: THE DoMINICAN FATHERs oF THE PRoviNCE oF ST. JosEPH Publishers: Sheed and Ward, Inc., New York City VoL. VIII JULY, 194.1> No.3 THE PORTALS OF DOUBT great deal of contemporary thought has been vitiated by what may be called a see-saw complex. By this is meant the tendency of mind characteristic of many modern philosophers and scientists to completely unbalance, and even to turn upside down, the natural and necessary order existing among things and persons. This inversion is particularly evident in that group of relations which are neither totally real, nor solely logical, but mixed.. Among Scholastics such a relation is termed non-mutual and is listed among those which have as their foundation the exercise of causality so ordering two terms to one another that one depends upon the other for its being. But "whenever two terms are so related to one another, that one depends upon the other, but not conversely, there is a real relation in that which depends upon the other. But in that upon which it depends there is only a relation of reason. The reason for this is that it is impossible to consider one thing as being referred to another without understanding 293 294 PAUL FARRELL also that there is an opposite :relation on the part of the other term." 1 Non-mutual relations occur whenever " a relation in one extreme is a reality; while in the other extreme it is an idea only, and this happens when two extremes are not of the same order . . . for instance, the term ' on the right ' is not applied to a column, unless it stands on the right side of an animaL Such a :relation is not really in the column, but in the animal." 2 Saint Thomas teaches that non-mutual relations exist between the object as it exists in a cognitive faculty and as it exists in reality and between the Creator and creatures. Thus there is a real relation of dependence in sense and intellectual knowledge upon the realities existing in nature, for knowledge is measured by reality. But since the things themselves are outside this order of sensible and intellectual existence, there is no real relation in them to knowledge, but only one of reason in so far as they are apprehended as terms by the intellect. So too, " as God is outside the whole order of creation, and aU creatures are ordered to Him and not conversely, it is clear that creatures are really related to God Himself. On the other hand there is no real relation in God to creatures, but it is so only in the mind in so far as creatures are referred to Him." 3 Thus traditional thought maintains that the human intellect is measured by things and does not measure them in knowing them; hence mind is dependent upon reality. Likewise it teaches that the Divine Intellect is a measure, not a thing measured; and, consequently, the relation existing between God and things is one of dependence of things upon God. Modern thought completely inverts these relations. It asserts that the human intellect in knowing things causes their being, goodness, and beauty. Thus the human mind is endowed with the divine power of creation. Nor is there any reluctance to extend this stolen power even to creating God Himself. As one author puts it: " We also help to maintain and sustain 1 De Veritate, q. 4, a. 6; Summa Theol., I, q. ~8, a. l. • Summa Theol., I, q. 13, a. 7; Comm. in Meta., V, L. 17. • ibid. THE PORTALS OF DOUBT 295 the nature of God and are not merely His subjects . God Himself is involved in our acts and their issues . . . not only does He matter to us but we matter to Him. He is in the strictest sense not a creator but a creature." 4 This attitude of mind did not mushroom into being overnight. Rather, it is but one phase of a historical process which has endured for more than six centuries. The theme and driving force of this process has been the exaltation of man...