St. Thomas Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and Philosophy

Posted on Nov 21, 2024 in Philosophy and ethics

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Leading figure of 13th-century scholasticism and Christian thought. Notable works: Commentaries, Summa Theologica, and Summa contra Gentiles.

Reason and Faith

Aquinas sought to establish the boundaries between reason and faith, philosophy and theology. He argued that:

  • Reason (knowing) and faith (believing) are distinct powers.
  • They are not contradictory.
  • There is a zone of confluence, called preambles of faith.
  • Mutual collaboration is possible, with reason providing dialectical tools and faith establishing extrinsic content.

Philosophy of Being

Based on Aristotle’s hylomorphic theory, Aquinas distinguished between essence and existence.

  • Essence: What makes a being what it is.
  • Existence (actus essendi): The act by which an entity exists.

Finite beings receive existence from another, ultimately God, in whom essence and existence coincide.

God

God causes everything ex nihilo (from nothing). He is the uncreated Being, and all other beings participate in His Being. Creatures can be efficient causes (secondary causes) acting in reliance on the First Cause.

Knowledge of God

Humans have innate knowledge of God, discoverable through five ways, moving from visible effects to their cause:

  1. The argument from motion.
  2. The argument from causation.
  3. The argument from contingency.
  4. The argument from degrees of perfection.
  5. The argument from design.

Through analogy, we can attain imperfect but real knowledge of the divine essence.

Anthropology

Aquinas applied Aristotle’s hylomorphic theory to humans, who are composed of matter (body) and form (soul). The soul is incorruptible, immortal, and subsistent, created directly by God.

Knowledge

Knowledge begins with sense perception of concrete particulars. Intellectual knowledge grasps universal essences through abstraction:

Sensible Data → Memory → Agent Intellect → Patient Intellect → Concept → Judgment

Ethics and Politics

Aquinas’s ethics are teleological, directed towards God as the supreme good. Human happiness lies in knowing and participating in God.

  • Divine Law: God’s guidance and governance of the world.
  • Natural Law: Participation in divine law by creatures, derived from human nature’s inherent tendencies.
  • Positive Law: Legal rules governing society, based on natural law and directed towards justice.

Historical Context

13th century: Height of medieval Europe, characterized by:

  • Strengthening of royal power.
  • Growth of agriculture, population, and cities.
  • Development of Gothic art.
  • Rise of new religious orders (Franciscans, Dominicans).
  • Emergence of universities (e.g., University of Paris).

Philosophical Framework

Triumph of Aristotelianism in the West. Aquinas synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Christian thought, addressing the relationship between faith and reason.

Influences

  • Christian Thought (Platonic and Augustinian).
  • Aristotle (metaphysics, ethics, logic).
  • Maimonides (reconciling faith and reason).
  • Avicenna (distinction between essence and existence).

Impact

Aquinas’s thought was initially controversial but eventually accepted and defended by the Church. He was canonized in 1323.