Understanding the Doctrine of the Trinity

Some Terminology

ABSTRACT: In this essay, I hope to define the terms "same", "distinct", and separate. This is because, understanding how these terms fit into the Doctrine of the Trinity is a constant source of confusion for many a churchgoer.

Something I've noticed again and again is that often times when many a lay persons of the church are called to explain the Doctrine of the Trinity(DOT), they allways use the term 'separate' to describe the relations between Persons of the Trinity. This is a big no no. The word separate should never ever be used to describe the DOT in any manner...in any manner other than to explain what the DOT is not about. Likewise, recently when I had to clarify some aspects of this Doctrine to someone, I realized that I also would have to clarify a number of terms for myself in order to be able to explain this doctrine more properly. What are these terms ? Answer: 'separate', 'distinct', and 'same'. In order to avoid confusion, one must be clear on what these terms mean and how they are to be used.

Lets think of all of objects/things that exist in the Universe - everything. It seems to me that with respect to identity, they are all related to one another in 1 of 3 ways. Either object A is distinct from object B, or A is the same as B, or A is a separate object from B.

( I ) same:
example: My right hand is the same thing as my right hand.

[Definition 1.1: A is the same as B if A possesses all the properties that B does, and furthermore neither A, nor B possess any properties that the other does not.

Definition 1.1': A is the same as B if A contains all of the essential properties that B does. i.e. A's essense is B's essence.]

*Note - If you dont like the [formal talk], just skip it.

( II ) separate : An apple is a separate object from an orange. It is not the same thing as an orange. Likewise, it is not distinct from an orange.

[Definition: A is a separate object from B if A's essence differs from that of B's, while A may have some accidental properties in common with B.]

( III ) distinct:
Here things get wierd. Its difficult to find real world examples here that are not a bit strange.

example 1: A thinker is distinct from his/her thoughts.
A thinker is not the same thing as his thoughts, nor separate from them. You cant have a thinker w/out thoughts, nor can you have thoughts w/out a thinker...floating in space. Yes, I know this is up for debate in philosophy.

example 2: - example a la Physics:
Wave- particle duality. (I'm not a physicist, so take this one with a grain of salt.)

example 3:
The color light red is distinct from dark red. Light red is not the same as dark red, and yet it is not a separate color either.

[Definition: A is distinct from B if A contains the same essential properties as B, and yet does not neccessarily contain the same accidental properties as B. i.e. While A contains the same essence as B, A may have properties about itself that B does not.]

Quite possibly, some of you might wonder about the term "different". How does this term get used ? Whats its place in all of this ? I think that the term different spans across the the definitions of distinct and separate. That is, when most people use the term different, they mean separate or distinct.

*NOTE(1) - If you are unfamiliar with the notion of essential and accidental properties, please see my previous essay.

*NOTE(2) - I myself have philosophical problems with this essay as yet. I hope to resolve them in the future. It may take me a lifetime however. Ha Ha !

by A. Raj Rao

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