ARNAULD’S GOD RECONSIDERED

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, I defend a novel interpretation of Antoine Arnauld’s conception of God, namely a partially hidden conception of God. I focus on divine simplicity and whether God acts for reasons. I argue that Arnauld holds the view that God, God’s action, and God’s attributes are (i) identical and (ii) conceptually distinct but that (iii) there are no conceptual priorities among them. Next, I argue that Arnauld’s view about whether God has any type of reasons is agnosticism but that there are certain types of reasons we know that God does not have, for example, practical reasons.