What’s a mode and vantage in divine simplicity?

Question #39: What’s a “mode” and “vantage” in divine simplicity, especially in the Self-Standing Givenness Ontology (SSGO)?

In SSGO, a self-standing relational mode is the core explanatory principle that shows how each divine Person can fully embody the one, simple divine essence without introducing composition. It is a foundational or “primitive” concept indicating that the Person actually is God’s essence in a unique, irreducible manner. A vantage, by contrast, describes the specific relational stance or identity-the Father’s unbegottenness, the Son’s begottenness, or the Spirit’s proceeding-that characterizes how that same single essence is “lived” (“lived” as in how the divine essence is ordered in act from within the divine nature, specifically how each Person actualizes or expresses their entirety in terms of being in a relational way).

In the argument for divine simplicity, the self-standing relational mode solves the puzzle of having three truly distinct Persons while preserving God’s absolute oneness. Each Person is the entire essence, realized in that irreducible mode. The vantage then names the relational way each Person is distinct, without adding extra “parts” or “properties” to God. Because a vantage indicates how the essence is expressed in the Father, Son, or Spirit’s relational identity, it does not multiply God’s being. Thus, the self-standing relational mode refers to the Person’s full possession of the essence, while the vantage is the relational stance marking how that essence is manifested in each distinct Person.

(for more see questions #12, #15, #27, #30, & #38)

Also see Part III here: Introduction to defending divine simplicity and understanding SSGO