Saint Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy and Theology
**Saint Thomas Aquinas**
Introduction
Until the 18th century, the prevalence of Platonic inspiration characterized this dominance. The work of St. Augustine contributed to the total ignorance of Aristotle’s philosophy. Only parts of his logic were known.
Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle
Aquinas never accepted these Averroist theses:
- a) The Eternity of the World: God has revealed that the temporal world has a beginning, and we believe this. The truth about the creation of the world is a credible but unprovable truth.
- b) The Immortality of the Soul: Taking from Aristotle, Aquinas reinterpreted and claimed individual understanding is immortal.
- c) The Theory of Double Truth: Faith and reason.
Aquinas incorporates Aristotelian theses:
- Structure of Reality and Interpretation of Nature: Aristotle’s theory of movement, the classification of substantial change, and changes in accidental movement. The conception of hylomorphism: beings are composed of matter and form. The theory of the four causes: material, formal, efficient, and final.
- Anthropology: Aquinas accepted the Aristotelian definition of the soul as the beginning of life. This leads him to admit the hylomorphic conception of human beings.
- Ethics: Aquinas accepts the Aristotelian principle that the ultimate end of the human being is happiness, as well as the principle that perfect happiness consists in contemplation. However, perfect happiness is reached in the contemplation of God in the afterlife.
Works
There are three types of works:
- Comments on Aristotle
- Summas
- Disputed Questions
The comments explain the writings of Aristotle; they are both works of interpretation and critical works. The Summas allow for the direct study of thought. There are two: Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles.
Ethics and Politics
a) Ethics
Aristotle argues that every agent acts towards an end, and for the human agent, it is the pursuit of happiness. Aristotle says happiness has to be a perfect activity, the highest of powers: reason. Aquinas distinguishes between “acts of man,” which are made without knowledge and liberty, and “human actions,” which are performed with knowledge and liberty. Human actions can be judged as good or bad, those that are taken from the human being as rational and free. Human acts come from the will; the will has the good known by the understanding. There are two types of goods:
- Transcendent Good: God. The human will is oriented towards the good.
- Private Goods: The will is not determined. The object of practical reason is the good. Good for humans is that which suits their nature. The human being has a natural inclination to preserve their being, to spread the kind, to seek truth, and to live in society. This duty is imposed by reason and is founded on human nature, a natural law. Natural law is grounded in human nature and is identical to all human beings; it is universal. Since nature is always the same, natural law is immutable, as is the very nature of human beings; it is evident. Natural law is based on eternal law. Eternal law is the ordinance God has given to the universe.
b) Politics
Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s politics. Between both, there is a radical difference. For Aristotle, the natural end of human life is achieved through the state. For Aquinas, the end of the human being is only about natural life, and to acquire future life. For Aristotle, humans are social beings and political by nature. The evident sign of social nature is the ability to express ideas through language. The common good requires:
- Peace within the state
- Unified leadership of the activity of citizens
- That the needs of citizens are adequately provided
The function of the legislature is to apply natural law and make it explicit in particular cases. Aquinas classifies forms of government into good and bad:
- Good: Democracy, aristocracy, monarchy
- Bad: Demagoguery, oligarchy, tyranny
Reason and Faith
The arrival of Aristotle to the West and the theory of truth required thoughtful Christians to rethink the problem of the relationship between reason and faith or theology and the distinction of a twofold order of knowledge:
- Natural: Due to the work of mere human reason forces, resulting in philosophy.
- Supernatural: Stems from the revelation of God. Theology is based on revelation, on the authority of God. The articles of faith are knowledge of supernatural origin that, although we must accept as such, we cannot understand.
The Limits of Reason and Faith
The theory of knowledge of Aristotle is the starting point for raising the question of reason and faith. The knowledge we have of God is imperfect and analogical. The analogy can be established between the realities of limited and imperfect.
Contents of Reason and Faith
Theology and philosophy are distinguished not by their contents, which may be common, but by the form of access to them.
Theology-Philosophy Collaboration
The consistency of the truth is necessary; the truth is unique. If there is disagreement between philosophy and theology, the error cannot be found in Divine revelation; it must be in the philosophy. Divine revelation is necessary to show these philosophies are mistaken or to prove an area where rational decision must belong to faith. Both benefit from mutual collaboration.
- Revelation can serve in guiding reason, negatively and positively, to avoid errors and indicate the term to which the philosopher must come.
- Reason can also serve faith by illustrating and clarifying the mysteries of revelation.
There is collaboration between reason and faith as a result of rational Christian theological discipline.