Editing Divine simplicity (section)

==Jewish thought==<!-- This section is linked from [[Monism]] -->
{{See also|Jewish principles of faith#Nature of God|Tzimtzum|Apophatic theology#Judaism|Free will in theology#In Jewish thought|Kuzari#Question of attributes}}

[[Maimonides]], in ''[[The Guide for the Perplexed]]'', said:
{{Blockquote|If, however, you have a desire to rise to a higher state, viz., that of reflection, and truly to hold the conviction that God is One and possesses true unity, without admitting plurality or divisibility in any sense whatever, you must understand that God has no essential attribute in any form or in any sense whatever, and that the rejection of corporeality implies the rejection of essential attributes. Those who believe that God is One, and that He has many attributes, declare the unity with their lips, and assume plurality in their thoughts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp060.htm#page_68 |title=Moses Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Part 1, chapter 50 |publisher=Friedländer tr. [1904], at sacred-texts.com |access-date=2013-10-29}}</ref>}}

According to Maimonides, there can be no plurality of faculties, moral dispositions, or essential attributes in God. To say that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good is to introduce plurality, if these qualities are separate attributes. Maimonides concluded that it is untrue to say that God's power is greater than ours, that God's life is more permanent than ours, or God's knowledge is broader than ours. He believed that statements such as "God lives" or "God is powerful" are nonsense if they are interpreted normally, but they can be understood if analyzed as disguised negations. Maimonides also believed that negation is objectionable to the degree that it introduces complexity; God is neither this nor that, and verbal expression fails us. Citing [[Psalm 65]], he concluded that the highest form of praise of God is silence.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Seeskin|first=Kenneth|title=Maimonedes|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/maimonides/|access-date=22 April 2014|date=2006-01-24|journal=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archive}}</ref>

For others, the [[axiom]] of [[Jewish principles of faith#God is One|divine unity]] (''[[Shema]]'') forms the understanding of divine simplicity. [[Bahya ibn Paquda]] ([[Chovot HaLevavot#Unity of God|''Duties of the Heart'']] 1:8) points out that God's oneness is "true oneness" (האחד האמת), as opposed to "circumstantial oneness" (האחד המקרי). He develops this idea to show that an entity that is truly one must be free of properties, indescribable, and unlike anything else. Such an entity would not be subject to change, utterly independent, and the root of everything.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050318170731/http://www.torah.org/learning/spiritual-excellence/classes/doh-1-8.html Torah.org – The Judaism Site]</ref>

The implication of either approach is so strong that the two concepts are often presented as synonymous: "God is not two or more entities, but a single entity of oneness even more single and unique than any single thing in creation&nbsp;... He cannot be sub-divided into different parts{{snd}}therefore, He can't be anything other than one. It is a [[Mitzvah|positive commandment]] to know this, for it is written ([[Deuteronomy]] 6:4) '&nbsp;... the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Maimonides|title=Mishneh Torah|url= http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker/MadaYHT.html|no-pp=yes|page=''Mada'' 1:7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716051616/https://www.panix.com/~jjbaker/MadaYHT.html|archive-date=16 July 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite its apparent simplicity, this concept raises a number of difficulties. Since God's simplicity does not allow for any structure{{snd}}even conceptually{{snd}}divine simplicity appears to [[Logical consequence|entail]] the following [[dichotomy]]:
* God is absolutely simple, containing no element of form or structure.
* God's essence contains every possible element of perfection.

This [[paradox]] is articulated by [[Moshe Chaim Luzzatto]] in ''[[Derech Hashem]]'', who describes the dichotomy as arising from the inability to comprehend absolute unity:
{{Blockquote|God’s existence is absolutely simple, without combinations or additions of any kind. All perfections are found in Him in a perfectly simple manner. However, God does not entail separate domains{{snd}}even though in truth there exist in God qualities which, within us, are separate&nbsp;... Indeed the true nature of His essence is that it is a single attribute, (yet) one that intrinsically encompasses everything that could be considered perfection. All perfection therefore exists in God, not as something added on to His existence, but as an integral part of His intrinsic identity&nbsp;... This is a concept that is very far from our ability to grasp and imagine&nbsp;... {{full citation needed|date=July 2024}}}}