Proportion and attribution (Thomas Aquinas)

Aquinas recognised that language was often used in two main ways:

• Univocally: the same term means the same thing whatever the context
  • There was a term that had exactly the same meaning wherever and whenever it was used, i.e. 'carpet' means the same when I say 'bedroom carpet' or 'the carpet in the mosque'
• Equivocally: the same term has completely different meanings according to the context it is used in
  • The noun 'set' could refer to a mathematical device, a television, a place where a play is performed, a number of repetitions, etc

Neither of these uses were helpful in trying to gain a deeper insight into God's nature

• Univocal language could not possibly describe God - God is so different from us that any use of a univocal word would be hopelessly inadequate
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