Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Scholasticism: A Synthesis of Reason and Faith
Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Scholasticism
The Context of Scholasticism
The works of St. Thomas Aquinas showcase the relationship between cultural phenomena, philosophers, and theologians within medieval Christian scholasticism. This wasn’t the only scholasticism; Jewish and Arab scholasticism developed around the same time, or perhaps slightly earlier, with key figures like Ibn Gabirol and Maimonides in Jewish thought, and Avicenna and Averroes (the prominent commentator on Aristotle) in Arab thought. Medieval Christian scholasticism spanned from the 11th to the 15th centuries. Aquinas belonged to its peak in the 13th century, a period where the central question of reason and faith found a harmonious and balanced expression.
Characteristics of Christian Scholasticism
Christian scholasticism is marked by four key features:
- Lack of autonomy
- Lack of originality
- No sense of history
- Close connection with teaching
Scholasticism relied heavily on pre-existing thought, primarily reflecting on accepted truths revealed by God—truths of faith. This lack of autonomy led to prioritizing the criterion of authority, hindering philosophical originality. Scholastic philosophy incorporated and adapted Platonism and Aristotelianism, but without a historical understanding. Plato and Aristotle were treated as contemporaries, overlooking their distinct cultural contexts. This lack of originality emphasized the transmission of knowledge over creative thought, thus highlighting the importance of teaching.
The Influence of Aristotle
Aquinas’s philosophical and theological thought was deeply rooted in Aristotle. This was innovative, as Aristotle’s work wasn’t fully or accurately known in the Middle Ages. It initially arrived through often unreliable Arabic translations and later through direct translations from Greek. The initial reaction was opposition, as Aristotle denied creation and the soul’s immortality.
Thomistic Aristotelianism
Aquinas’s Aristotelianism wasn’t pure but adapted to Christian thought. Aquinas’s strength lay not in originality but in synthesizing Christianity, Neoplatonism, and Aristotelianism, resulting in Thomistic Aristotelianism. This approach viewed Aristotle through a Christian lens, assuming any apparent contradiction between Aristotle and Christian thought stemmed from Aristotle’s lack of clarity.
The Rise of Averroism
During the latter half of the 13th century, Latin Averroism, based on Averroes’s interpretations, emerged as a rival to Thomistic Aristotelianism. Averroism adhered more closely to the original Aristotle. Averroists argued that God wasn’t entirely free in creating the world and didn’t know individual things but only Himself. They also believed in the eternity of the world, subject to laws God must respect, and that the soul, being the form of the body, dies with it. These theses were considered heterodox. Averroes advocated for the doctrine of double truth: what is true according to reason doesn’t have to be true according to faith.
Aquinas’s Response
Aquinas’s response was clear: truth is singular, known through both faith and reason. This is evident in the Summa Theologica, where the Five Ways affirm the compatibility of Aristotelian philosophy and the existence of God as revealed truth.