Aquinas' analogies of attribution and proper proportion
Summary
Aquinas argued that when we use words like "good," "wise," or "loving" about God, we're not using them in exactly the same way as we use them about humans (that would be univocal), nor are we using them in completely different ways as if the words mean nothing alike (that would be equivocal). Instead, we use them analogically. There are two main types: Analogy of Attribution—human qualities like goodness come from God as their source. For example, bread is called "healthy" because it causes health; similarly, when humans are good, this "goodness" is caused by and derives from God's goodness. Analogy of Proportion—qualities are shared between different kinds of things according to their nature. For example, "life" applies to a plant, an animal, a human, and God—but in proportion to their natures: God's "life" is infinitely greater than ours, but the word is meaningful for both. This approach avoids cutting God down to size with human-only language while also avoiding making talk about God meaningless.
Detailed Explanation
Why Does Analogy Matter in Religious Language?
When people say, "God is good," do they mean:
- Exactly the same "good" as "my friend is good"? (Univocal—fails, as God is totally different.)
- Something so different we don't even know what "good" means for God? (Equivocal—fails, as language becomes meaningless.)
Aquinas' analogical approach finds a middle ground: Words have similar, but not identical, meaning when applied to God and creatures.
1. Analogy of Attribution
What It Means:
Aquinas' analogy of attribution is about how qualities in effects point to similar (but greater) qualities in the source or cause.
Example: Medicine & Health
- The medicine is healthy because it causes health in the patient.
- The urine is healthy because it shows the animal it belongs to is healthy.
- "Health" as a predicate makes most sense in the cause (the animal), and secondarily in anything that refers to or comes from the healthy cause (the urine, medicine).
Applied to God:
- God is the source of all goodness, wisdom, and life.
- When we say humans are good, it's because this goodness is derived from God's own, perfect goodness.
- Our qualities "point to" and reflect God's ultimate version of those qualities.
The Bread Analogy:
If bread is said to be "good," it is because it is made by a good baker—the bread "shares in" the baker's goodness by being a good product.
Likewise, everything created is good because God is ultimately the "good baker" (the cause/source of all goodness).
How It Works for God:
- God is the cause; we are the effects
- Our love is caused by and dependent on God's love
- Our wisdom is derived from God's wisdom
- Creation's goodness reflects God as its source
2. Analogy of Proper Proportion
What It Means:
Aquinas' analogy of proportion looks at how a quality is present in different ways, according to the nature of each being.
Example: Life
- A plant, an animal, a human, and God all have "life"—but the depth, richness, and complexity of life increases with the being's nature.
- A plant's life is very basic, an animal's more complex, a human's even more so, and God's "life" is beyond all.
Example: Knowledge
- When we say a computer "knows" things, it just means data is stored.
- When a human "knows," it means understanding, interpretation, meaning.
- When God "knows," it means total, perfect, infinite knowledge.
So, the same word is applied with meaning "in proportion to the nature" of each thing.
So, what does "God is good" mean?
Not that God is "good" in just the way people are good, but that God has goodness in the way that is fitting to God's infinite, perfect nature, as people have goodness in the limited way fitting to being human.
How It Works:
A : B :: C : D (A is to B as C is to D)
"God's knowledge is to God as human knowledge is to humans."
God knows everything completely and perfectly to God as humans know some things incompletely to humans. The relationship is the same (knower to object of knowledge), but the scope and perfection differ infinitely.
Why This Matters
Avoids univocal language:
We don't "cut God down to size" with language only fit for humans.
Avoids equivocal language:
We don't make talking about God meaningless.
Allows meaningful talk about God:
We can say something true and positive about God, knowing it is an analogy, not a direct description.
Quick Reference: Aquinas' Analogies Table
| Analogy Type | What it means | Example | How it works for God |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attribution | Effect has quality because cause has it | Healthy urine from healthy bull; good bread from good baker | Creation's goodness reflects God as its source |
| Proper Proportion | Quality present in each per their nature | Life in plant, animal, human, God—all to different degrees | God's attributes/faculties exist in infinite, perfect degree; humans in finite way |
Scholarly Perspectives
"When we predicate 'good' of God and of creatures, we do not use the term equivocally. Since the effect depends on its cause, the names we attribute to God and to creatures are said to be used analogously, because the meaning is partly the same and partly different."
"When we say God is wise and a human is wise, we mean that both possess wisdom according to their natures, but God's wisdom is infinite and perfect and human wisdom is finite and imperfect."
Key Takeaways
- ✓Aquinas uses analogy to talk meaningfully about God—neither exactly like us, nor totally unlike us
- ✓Analogy of attribution: human qualities like goodness come from, and reflect, God as the cause/source
- ✓Analogy of proportion: qualities like life, love, wisdom are present in God in proportion to His infinite nature, and in us in our limited way
- ✓Makes positive religious language possible, while respecting God's difference from creation
- ✓Avoids making God seem merely like a human (univocal), or so unlike that language is meaningless (equivocal)
- ✓Foundation for natural theology—using reason and observation to say something about God
- ✓Example of attribution: bread is good because made by good baker; creation is good because made by good God
- ✓Example of proportion: life exists in plant, animal, human, God—each according to their nature
- ✓Allows believers to say 'God is good' meaningfully without claiming complete understanding
- ✓Middle ground preserves both God's transcendence and the meaningfulness of religious language