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Plato, the philosopher whose Realm of True Forms, which contains perfect things whose shadows appear on earth, ignited the discussion of perfection.
Image adapted from JestEducaiton on YouTube.
God: Perfections and Paradoxes?
God: Perfections and Paradoxes?
What are perfections and what do they tell us about God?
The idea of perfection comes from Plato's Realm of True Forms, a place where everything exists in its idealized concept. According to Plato, there is no perfection in the world, only shadows of the objects in the Realm of True Forms. This idea has been appropriated by other philosophers, and connected to God in particular.
Aquinas states that God mustn't "exist in matter or form." On the other hand, Descartes claims that existence itself is a perfection. While Descartes attributes all perfections to God, an idea he likely gained from Socrates, Aquinas notes that humans cannot know enough of God's essence to understand or define him.
Descartes asserts that since he is not perfect (due to his lack of knowledge), there must be a perfect being that gave him the idea of perfection in the first place. These arguments force us to ponder the relationship between perfection, infinity, and existence to reach a definite conclusion on the nature of things.
USS Constitution
USS Constitution
Painting before photography was created
USS Constitution
USS Constitution
After photography
Ep-2-Perfection.mp4Transcript (edited for clarity):
Episode II: Perfection
[00:00] Henry: So Descartes and many other philosophers envision God as a perfect being, but what is perfection, and why does it matter?
[00:07] Genie: I think perfection is perceived differently by different people, and our perception of perfection is ultimately what makes sentiment and personal value be explored within the context of the real world, so going drawing the knowledge here of a broken or otherwise no longer running watch, despite the watch not being perfect anymore, it is still going to have sentimental value as long as there is an owner to that object, and because it's once been cared for and used to the extent that it no longer is materially valuable, in another way of looking at it, this would essentially mean that a materialistic object has been loved and arguably it's now more inherently valuable and has more value attached than when it first came unscratched and unbroken.
[00:58] Henry: And on that idea, perfections being inherently subjective, when we look at our view of God and us attributing perfections to him, that isn’t a requisite element of God's nature. God can still exist, even if we don't perceive him as perfect, but ultimately what requires our perception of God as perfect is us seeing him as an all-powerful being, who is benevolent and not a deceiver. Those attributes, combined with our values, help us view God as a perfect being. If I was a Satanist, and I believed that God's work in the world was ultimately counter to my beliefs, I might not view God as perfect, despite God having the same attributes as a Christian would see in him.
[01:49] Genie: And I think this is really where the subjective view of God comes in, and going back to the example of the ship that we discussed in class, when an old ship has become broken down enough, it may no longer have any material value in the world, but the experiences and various memories are what ultimately make that ship so special. And that's why we continue to proudly display things like the USS Constitution by the Boston harbor, because they hold so many memories, even with having so many parts replaced over time, it becomes valuable in a way that can't be achieved with perfection.
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