Scholastic Philosophers: Aquinas, Augustine, Anselm, Averroes, Plato, and Aristotle
Thomas Aquinas and Augustine
Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine are part of both the scholastic and the patristic traditions. In the conflict between faith and reason, faith prevails in Saint Augustine, but two alternatives are presented. One is the *credo ut intelligam*: “I believe in order to understand.” First, I believe to understand later if I can demonstrate it with reason. The other is *credo ut intelligam*: reason to understand the truth given to us by faith.
Anselm and Aquinas
Both belong to scholasticism. Regarding the problem of faith and reason, both advocate for a rational belief. However, they have opposing views on the evidence for the existence of God. Saint Anselm offers *a priori* evidence of a rationalist nature, such as the ontological argument. Saint Thomas Aquinas offers *a posteriori* evidence of an empiricist type, such as the Five Ways.
Aquinas and Augustine on Angels
Both belong to scholasticism. They have opposing views regarding angels. Augustinians believe that angels have bodies, despite being spiritual, because only God is perfect. If angels were perfect, they would not exhibit hylomorphism, which is present in all created beings. On the other hand, Saint Thomas Aquinas says that angels do not have bodies but possess some power that differentiates them from God. The angels of God are different in essence, and there is no other god like Him. For this reason, hylomorphism is present in all created beings except God. For Saint Thomas Aquinas, the only created beings with bodies are those that are not angels.
Aquinas and Averroes on Faith and Reason
Both belong to scholasticism. Saint Thomas Aquinas leans towards faith, while Averroists propose the theory of double truth, where neither faith nor reason prevails over the other.
Aquinas and Plato: Epistemology and the Nature of Reality
Saint Thomas Aquinas is a classic medieval philosopher. The truths of faith of Saint Thomas are listed in opposition to the *noesis* of Plato. At this level of epistemology, nothing is taken for granted; everything is demonstrated. The relationship between the world and God in Saint Thomas is like the relationship between the sensible world and the intelligible world in Plato. The perfections observed in the sensible world come from the intelligible world and, ultimately, from the idea of the Good. In Saint Thomas, this ultimate reality is God. This is the explanation of the fourth Thomistic Way, which states that sensible things in the world have different degrees of perfection, and these degrees of perfection must exist in a perfect being, which is God. Another relationship of similarity is found in the fifth Way, which states that everything has a specific purpose and must have a first or last cause. This idea is developed in Plato’s idea of the Good. There are elements of both empiricism and rationalism in Plato’s philosophy.
Aquinas and Aristotle: Truth, Reason, and the Prime Mover
When it comes to finding the truth, both are moderate empiricists, with the difference that Aristotle defends the autonomy of reason against faith, while Saint Thomas says that reason is sometimes a slave of faith. Both defend the idea that the mind is not innate at birth but is a *tabula rasa*. They agree on the concept of the Prime Mover, the first and last cause of movement, which is God. This idea can also be related to the conception of potency and act. Matter can be related to potency (what we can be but are not), and act can be related to what a thing is now.