Causa sui

The term Causa sui (Latin causa for reason, cause and sui for itself ) called in philosophy sometimes cause the self, that is, if some cause of its own being is. In the scholasticism of the expression causa sui ablativisch used ( causa as ablative ) and is not " cause of itself ", but with " its own sake " translate.

Will use the term, inter alia, in Plotinus, Descartes, Spinoza, Schelling, Hegel, Kant and Nietzsche. God is often referred to as Causa sui with the unconditional being. In scholastic terminology causa sui would be understood as " cause of itself ", however, a contradiction, since nothing can even bring the cause. The ablativische use as " for its own sake -existent ", however, expresses no causal relationship with oneself, but a teleological: God exists for its own sake and not a purpose for him outward. However, the use of causa sui as a " cause of itself " is not necessarily contradictory: for example, means freedom to be the cause of one's actions. The neo-scholasticism rejects the application of the concept of God from a Spinozist. In his reply to the objections of the Caterus against his " Meditations on First Philo Sophia " Descartes uses the term causa sui, as applied to God, " his self-existent power " within the meaning of. While for the classical scholasticism was only the limited principle that all contingent things a cause require, but not God accepts Leibniz the concept of causa sui as a " cause of itself " and requires that all beings of a cause shall require, including God. This ( classical theology and natural theology contradictory ) view of God is later Bertrand Russell described as contradictory and lead to the existence of God into the field.