--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God should not be called an individual…" description: "\"God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter.\" — Thomas Aquinas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/thomas-aquinas-837_god_god-should-not-be-called-an-individual-s_949368.jpg" --- # God should not be called an individual substance, since… ![“God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter.” quote by Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/thomas-aquinas-837_god_god-should-not-be-called-an-individual-s_949368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/thomas-aquinas-837_god_god-should-not-be-called-an-individual-s_949368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/thomas-aquinas-837_god_god-should-not-be-called-an-individual-s_949368.jpg) > “God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter.” [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. God is not a substance; individuation belongs to matter. **In simple terms:** God is not a thing; matter defines individuality. Key Takeaway Focus on material reality for understanding individuation. Themes theology philosophy metaphysics matter Mood thoughtful scholastic Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - philosophical debate - religious education - ethical reasoning - scientific inquiry Key Concepts Scholasticism ontological distinction Questions to Reflect On - How does matter affect identity? - What are the implications for faith? A Different Perspective Some view God as personal, challenging this view. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuation/) ## Related quotes > [God should not be called an individual substance, since the principle of individuation is matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/god-should-not-be-called-an-individual-substance-since-the-principle/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [A person is an individual substance of a rational nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/a-person-is-an-individual-substance-of-a-rational-nature/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-principal-act-of-courage-is-to-endure-and-withstand-dangers/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [We ought to cherish the body. Our body's substance is not from an evil principle, as the Manicheans imagine, but from God. And therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/we-ought-to-cherish-the-body-our-body-s-substance-is-not-from-an-evil/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“Jung came to understand that in this regard, we are all fragmented, and that the work of individuation is to fuse our disparate parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-valentine-lachman/jung-came-to-understand-that-in-this-regard-we-are-all-fragmented-and/) [Gary Valentine Lachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-valentine-lachman/) > [I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point - namely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-saw-that-everything-all-paths-i-had-been-following-all-steps-i-had/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I hold the view that the alchemist’s hope of conjuring out of matter the philosophical gold, or the panacea, or the wonderful stone, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-hold-the-view-that-the-alchemist-s-hope-of-conjuring-out-of-matter/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [We have no physical model of this endless rhythm of individuation and involvement, we do have its image in the world of art, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/we-have-no-physical-model-of-this-endless-rhythm-of-individuation-and/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [“To become—in Jung’s terms—individuated, to live as a released individual, one has to know how and when to put on and to put off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/to-become-in-jung-s-terms-individuated-to-live-as-a-released/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The God-image in man was not destroyed by the Fall but was only damaged and corrupted (“deformed”), and can be restored through God's grace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-god-image-in-man-was-not-destroyed-by-the-fall-but-was-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [It looks as if there were a single ultimate goal for mankind, a far goal toward which all persons strive. 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Kester > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. The hero in each of us is required to answer the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/the-act-of-consciousness-is-central-otherwise-we-are-overrun-by-the/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) ## More by Thomas Aquinas > [Grace does not destroy nature, it perfects it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/grace-does-not-destroy-nature-it-perfects-it/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Justice is in subjects as well as in rulers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/justice-is-in-subjects-as-well-as-in-rulers/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“A capacity as such is directed to an act. 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