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Work #1768

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Peter Damian
c. 1067 · Latin
Letter-treatise (Epistola 119), addressed to Abbot Desiderius of Monte Cassino · Monastic theology / pre-scholastic philosophy of religion

Can God undo the past? — the first systematic medieval argument that divine omnipotence exceeds the reach of logic

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)
Time · Extent Both
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality not engaged
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality not engaged
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Immediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity not engaged

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Both — God's eternal now and created temporal sequence. The central thesis is that God's eternity gives him power over the past.

Space

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Finite, substantival. Not a topic of sustained analysis; the focus is on time, modality, and divine power.

Matter

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Substantival, conserved. The physical world is a given of the created order.

Observer

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Embodied, active, directed toward God. Knowledge of God comes through scripture and faith, not dialectic.

Energy

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Finite, substantival, conserved. No energy concept is developed.

Information

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

Conserved. Divine knowledge is total and eternal; the soul is immortal.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

On Divine Omnipotence (De Divina Omnipotentia)

The treatise attacks dialectic using dialectical arguments — a performative tension that Damian acknowledges but does not resolve. The claim that God can undo the past threatens the intelligibility of the created order and was qualified by later scholastics who distinguished potentia absoluta from potentia ordinata.