Jean-Baptiste Gonet (1616ca.–1681): The First Four-Dimensionalist Philosopher

Abstract Jean-Baptiste Gonet, O.P. (c. 1616–1681), articulated a distinctly eternalist philosophical framework in his Clypeus Theologiae , wherein he maintained that God’s eternity encompasses past, present, and future entities in a mode of real coexistence. According to Gonet, divine eternity serves as the ontological measure of all things, and God apprehends past and future entities in their actual reality rather than merely as intentional objects, a position that diverges from earlier philosophical interpretations. Gonet sought to reconcile this eternalist perspective with the doctrines of creation in time and human free will. He did so by introducing a nuanced distinction in the interpretation of the verb “coexists” within the proposition “past/future entity x coexists with God.” When the verb is understood in relation to temporal reality, x is conceived as non-existent; however, when interpreted in reference to divine eternity, x is understood to possess real existence ( in re ), rather than existing solely as a conceptual entity within the divine intellect. Gonet’s system represents a rare and sophisticated attempt to integrate a Christian metaphysical framework with an eternalist ontology. This paper will examine the core arguments developed by the French Dominican, analyzing their implications within both theological and philosophical discourse.