Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy, Theology, and Scholasticism
Thomas Aquinas: Philosopher and Theologian
Life and Education
Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition, known as the “Angelic Doctor” and the “Universal Doctor.” He is considered one of the most important figures in Christian theology and is likely the most representative figure of medieval scholasticism. Born in 1225 at the Chateau of Roccasecca in Naples, he was the fourth son of the Counts of Aquino. Destined for the Church, he entered the Montecassino Abbey at five years old. Later, he left the abbey to join the Dominican Order. He went to Paris as a Dominican and there he met Albert the Great. Albert introduced Thomas to the philosophy of Aristotle, and the student eventually surpassed the teacher. He accompanied Albert to Cologne, Germany, to found a new Dominican abbey. He received his license in theology in Paris.
Career and Works
From that moment, his life focused on his classes and works defending Christianity. He obtained a university chair in Paris and taught alongside another professor of theology named Siger of Brabant, who also explained Aristotle but quite differently. He also taught in Rome, Bologna, and Naples. He died in 1275 on his way to Lyon, where he had been summoned to attend a council.
Among his works, the “Summae” stand out. These letters addressed particular matters and were written in the style of late medieval scholasticism. Thomas wrote two Summae:
- Contra Gentiles (defends Christianity against those who do not believe in it).
- Summa Theologica: Probably the most representative work of medieval scholasticism because it covers all subjects. It was written for the use of students and is divided into three parts:
- 1st and 3rd: Written in Paris.
- 2nd: Written in Italy.
The Summa Theologica comprises a series of questions, specifically 612, each divided into a number of articles. Its structure is:
- Statement of the thesis to be discussed, introduced by “whether…”.
- Introduction of the contrary opinion, introduced by “it seems that…”.
- Appointment of a recognized authority, normally a Christian philosopher, introduced by “on the other hand…”.
- Development of the true thesis.
- Solution to each of the arguments presented above.
Other writings include tracts, small works devoted to a single topic, like “On Being and Essence,” and commentaries on other philosophers, such as “The Metaphysics.”
Philosophical and Theological Views
The basic schema of Thomistic thought is taken from Aristotle. This is noted in:
- The theory of movement.
- The definition of God as pure act.
- The hylomorphic theory.
- The theory of causes: material, formal, efficient, and final.
- “All knowledge begins from the senses; there is nothing in the understanding that has not previously been known by the senses” (in scholasticism).
From the ethical point of view: The end is the happiness of man.
From the political point of view: A clear Aristotelian influence: society is natural to man.
From the anthropological point of view: Man is a single substance composed of matter and form. Here he introduces a definition of a human being much closer to religious thought.
Separation between essence and existence: In Aristotle, matter and form constituted a single substance that exists in reality. Thomas takes this interpretation from Arabic philosophy, stating that only in God does essence and existence exist as one, united, as perfect because He lacks nothing.
The remaining beings are contingent, that is, they may or may not exist; they are created by God. He is influenced by Plato’s “degrees of perfection” and also by the “principle of exemplary causality” (all men try to imitate God).
Thomistic Philosophy: The Relationship Between Faith and Philosophy
Thomas separates himself from the anti-dialecticians and the Averroists. Thomistic thought is certainly original, always taking his religious belief as a reference point; it is an intermediate position. Thomas says it is impossible for there to be a contradiction between the truths of faith and the truths of reason because both faith and reason have been given to us by God, and God, being perfect, will not generate contradictions in man. If there is an apparent contradiction, the truth in philosophy should be reviewed, since philosophical truth depends on man, and man can be mistaken. Reason and theology address different truths:
- “Truths of faith” are the articles of faith.
- “Natural truths” are those that reason alone can describe in physical reality, which means that reason is granted a certain autonomy and a way to obtain abstraction.
Faith and abstraction are the ways in which humans can know sensitive truths, but the ultimate truths are found in Sacred Theology. But between reason and theology, there is a confluence zone, natural theology (metaphysics). This can explain why some truths are revealed, such as the demonstration of the existence of God. These types of truths are known as preambles of faith.
The Five Ways
There are five ways to prove the existence of God. All are called “a posteriori” to separate them from Anselm’s “a priori” proof. They are named differently because they demonstrate God’s existence from its effects. All have a basic schema that is repeated:
- They begin from experience through the senses.
- They are based on the impossibility of an infinite regress, except for the 4th and 5th.
- They seek a first cause.
- All arrive at the metaphysical identification of the first cause with God.
First Way (Motion): Based on Aristotle, it states that “everything that moves is moved by something,” so there must be a first cause that has given movement to the world; this first cause is called pure act and is God.
Second Way (Efficient Cause): Everything that exists has a cause, so there must be a first uncaused cause, which is God.
Third Way (Contingency): Everything that exists may or may not exist, so there must be something necessary, which is God.
Fourth Way (Degrees of Perfection): The world has both good and not so good, that is, there are degrees of goodness, so there must be a being that possesses goodness in the absolute sense, which is God.
Fifth Way (Theological or Government of the World): Everything in the world is directed towards an end; someone had to define it, which is God.
The most difficult thing to prove is to know what God is, to define Him. Thomas uses three arguments to try to define God:
- Negative Way: Taken from the Neoplatonists, it consists in denying God everything that is imperfect in the world.
- Affirmative Way: Affirming that God is everything that is good in the world.
- Way of Eminence: Raising to the maximum everything positive that exists in humans.