Aristotle's View Of God Essay

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The second opinion is the opinion of Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist who thinks that whilst a division of this universe might have been left to chance, there still exists a being who watches over, protects, orders, and governs what is in existence. In his opinion God, an eternal being, is the one who controls the spheres and everything they contain, and from these spheres other being come to existence that are unvarying in their species but not individuals. According to Aristotle God is a self-absorbed being much like the sun, he helps human beings and provides them with what they need but leaves them to be by themselves and does not want anything from them, he is just there to support the world. He also talks about justice; …show more content…

Like Aristotle, he thinks that God watches over only human species and not animals and plants, for he does not believe that falling of a leaf happens through divine providence or death of an ant is because God has decreed and willed it so, anything related earthly creatures that are not human all happen by chance. This does not mean that Maimonides wants to ascribe God as powerless or weak, for divine providence is connected to intellect. If God cares for humans and not other creatures it is because his wisdom requires it that way. He backs his belief by stating that he has never seen a text in a prophet’s book that says all creatures are watched over by God, because even the fact that human are watched over is an appalling thing let alone animals and plants. He rejects the attitude that suggests there is no difference between man and animals, because he thinks of it as a disturbing notion that destroys the social order, moral and human intellect and virtue. As for the other three opinions, while he agrees that human beings have providence of God but at the same time rejects them because he thinks they sometimes go too far in their claims which result in confusion and at times contradiction “I am referring to the opinions of those who abolish providence with respect to human individuals, putting the latter on a par with the individuals of the other species of the animals” (Ch.17,