Key Concepts in Aquinas’ Philosophy
On Being and Essence
Being: That which makes a being what it is. Being is not only the essence but an essence responsible for existence. It is found on the side of existence, not on the side of the essence.
Beings (Entities): That which is; that which exists. Aquinas uses this term to distinguish between essence and existence.
Necessary: That which cannot *not* be or be otherwise. It is something which is impossible to be contradicted.
Contingent: That which can not exist or is not contrary to existing. It is the opposite of Necessary (unnecessary).
Essence and Existence: Essence is a potentiality which is actualized by the act of existing. Both matter and form are involved.
- Existence: The actualization of both the material and the form.
- Abstraction: The process of separating some aspect of a whole for the purpose of knowledge or consideration.
On Analogy
Analogy: Terms are classified as follows:
- Univocal: If the meaning is the same in all applications.
- Equivocal: If the meaning is completely different and has nothing to do with each other in two or more concepts.
- Analogous: If the meaning is not exactly the same in all applications, but there is some connection that guarantees the unity of the concept. Analogy exists between univocity and equivocality.
There are two types of analogy:
- Analogy of Attribution: When the term is applied in each case, by preference, to something that corresponds to the meaning.
- Analogy of Proportionality: When what is meant by the term is given, in different cases, according to a certain proportion.
Other Key Concepts
Obvious: A term used by Aquinas to argue that the existence of God is self-evident and requires no proof.
Creation: For Aquinas, the essence of corporeal beings includes raw material and is not eternal; things exist only by God’s creation.
Freedom: The property of human beings that allows for self-determination in choosing the means suitable to an end.
Conscience: What guides each individual to do good. It is the reflection of divine law embodied in each person through conscience.
Important Expressions
Agent Intellect and Patient Intellect: Aquinas divides the intellect into the agent intellect (active) and the patient intellect (passive).
- Agent Intellect (Active): The ability to universalize from sensory images.
- Patient Intellect (Passive): The ability to know the universal.
Conscience: All individuals tend toward an end, but all tend toward a higher end: the good. As a reflection of divine law, which compels us to do good and avoid evil, conscience demands the exercise of the mind to channel freedom.
There Must Be Something Necessary: It is imperative that there is something that is necessary in itself and does not have outside itself the cause of its necessity, but is the cause of the necessity of others, which all call God.
Natural Law: In the 5th way, if nature tends to balance but has no intelligence, it cannot be by chance; there must be something that intentionally gives it this tendency toward equilibrium.