论世界的永恒——托马斯·阿奎那与波纳文图拉之争及其意义

On Eternity of the World

世界是不是永恒的,以及在基督教信仰的基础上,如何理解和看待世界的永恒性,是中世纪神哲学争论的重大问题。托马斯·阿奎那认为,世界有开端乃信仰的对象,属于教理神学的信条,理性对之无能为力,自然理性既不能证明世界的永恒性,也不能证明世界不是永恒而有开端的;波纳文图拉则坚持"世界有开端"是理性可以证明的。他们的争论正好构成康德四个二律背反的第一个。

Medieval philosophers argue severely whether the world exists forever. Thomas Aquinas argues that the beginning of the world can not be demonstrated but is a truth knowable only through revelation. Bonaventura not only holds that we know by faith and revelation that the world has a beginning; he also asserts that reason can demonstrate it. The controversy between them forms the first of Kant' s four Antinomies.