THE CONCEPT OF "AGENT" in THE MIDDLE AGES and GOD

Both in the history and in the contemporary times, we can see some debates about what the concept of 'agent' and whether it can be attributed to God in any manner. In this study, I took in to consideration what eminent Muslim thinkers, like Avicenna, al-Ghazali, and Averroes, understood the concept of 'agent' and how they attributed the concept to God as well as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus. In the mediaeval period, agent could be understood in two ways: natural agent and per se agent. Natural agent acts according to its nature in univocal way and it cannot act rather than that way. Per se agent acts according to its intellect and will. In this context, while per se agent can be attributed to human and God because of their acts depends on their intellect and will, natural agent can be attributed to fire because of its act depends on its nature. Based on this distinction, al-Ghazali, Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus understood God's agency as a per se agent. For them, God acts according to His intellect and will rather than His nature. They concluded that God could change whole system what He created.