On the Semantics of Doctrine of Analogy

Abstract

In the first part of the paper, the doctrine of analogy as it was developed by Thomas Aquinas will be delineated. Then, two fundamental semantic problems of this theory will be worked out. In a third step, two possible alternatives to the Thomistic theory will be presented. According to the first, one could, like William Alston or Richard Swinburne, argue for a form of univocity between the meanings of the predicates that are supposed to be true of both God and human beings. The second favored solution relies on a meta-ontological distinction between fundamental and non-fundamental truths and provides a consistent theory of how one can make true and literal statements about the nature of God without having to give up divine simplicity.