The Notebooks of Schubert Ogden

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If being a creature of x, or created by x, necessarily implies being an x, or caused by x, then, clearly, it must be incorrect to say that events are creatures of creativity. Why? Because an event is not an effect of creativity or caused by it. On the contrary, an event is caused by, or is the effect of, other events. But, then, if it is correctly said to be a creature of, or created by, anything, it cannot be creativity, but can only be the other events in its past by which it is caused and of which it is the effect (except, of course, insofar as it is, as it must be as an event, also self-caused and, to that extent, its own effect).

But now among the other events, in the past of any event are events a belonging to the unique sequence of events constituting the actuality, or concrete individuality, of a single individual, namely, the one universal individual properly called "God." Because God is the universal individual, God's field of interaction with others, and so the field of God's causation, is completely unrestricted, being interaction with, and so causation of all others. Therefore, while any event in the past of another may be correctly said to be a creator of the other event, the only thing that can be correctly said to be the creator of the event, as of all events, is not an event, not even an event in the unique sequence constituting God's actuality, but only the universal individual God.

It is not creativity but God, then, by which all events are caused, and so created, or of which they are all effects, and so creatures.

21 October 1998

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