Scholastic Philosophy: Key Figures and Concepts
The Ontological Argument of St. Anselm
The theme of St. Anselm’s philosophy is essentially theological. He was one of the initiators of natural theology, seeking to find necessary reasons for the truths accepted by faith. His philosophy focuses less on nature as a divine creation and more on the rational explanation of faith. The most fertile and original part of Anselm’s thought lies in his demonstrations of God’s existence, primarily found in his two most important works: Monologium and Proslogion.
In Monologium, Anselm presents three demonstrations inspired by Saint Augustine. In Proslogion, he describes the famous experiment that Kant calls “ontological,” which constitutes Anselm’s main contribution to philosophy. The demonstrations in Monologium exceed those of St. Augustine in thoroughness and constructive solidity. Anselm argues that differences in degree wouldn’t be possible without a supreme degree, which is God. However, he acknowledges the complexity of these tests and seeks a simpler one that serves as the foundation for all others.
Anselm’s Ontological Argument:
- God is that than which nothing greater can be thought. (This definition is universally agreed upon, implying everyone has an idea of God.)
- That than which nothing greater can be thought must exist not only in the mind but also in reality. (If it only existed in the mind, we wouldn’t be thinking of that than which nothing greater can be thought.)
- Therefore, God exists not just as an idea but in reality, extramentally.
Latin Averroism
Latin Averroists adopted Averroes’ interpretation of Aristotelianism, despite potential inconsistencies with Christian dogma. This wasn’t a mass movement with a defined group of philosophers; rather, it involved individuals who accepted Averroes’ interpretation without concern for its compatibility with Christian dogma.
Several theses incompatible with Christian faith were attributed to this movement and publicly condemned. The most important include:
- The world is eternal and not a free creation of God.
- God is not the efficient cause of natural processes but only the final cause.
- Nature is a deterministic chain of causes and effects (necessitarianism), excluding divine providence.
- There is only one rational understanding for all human beings, and it is immortal.
- The individual human soul is mortal, like the body.
These claims align with the Greco-Arabic necessitarian view and oppose Christian doctrines of freedom and divine providence. To avoid condemnation by the Church, Averroists seemingly defended themselves with the “double truth” theory: a statement can be true according to reason but false according to faith, and vice versa.
Essence and Existence in Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas aligned reason with Aristotelian theories of reality. He believed that in all reality, we can distinguish between individual accidents and substance. Matter is seen as potentiality, and form as the act that makes a substance belong to a specific class, i.e., the essence of a thing that makes it what it is. Initially, St. Thomas believed that the world appeared as necessary, not contingent, as products of God’s free creation. However, he recognized the need for a deeper analysis.
We can imagine a world with centaurs and mermaids, or one without them. In both cases, the notion we have of them (essence) doesn’t necessitate their actual existence. Essence and existence are distinct, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject. The subject (potentiality) is determined by the form (essence), which is the act that makes it a specific thing. However, this form (essence) is only possible (potentiality) in relation to existence, the fact that it actually is. Aquinas’ analysis highlighted the contingency of all composite beings: if essences can only be potential, they are not effective in themselves and are not necessary.
Thomas Aquinas: Five Ways to Prove the Existence of God
The First Way: Motion. We experience beings that move and change, but some movers require other movers, and so on. This either leads to an infinite chain of movers (which fails to explain motion because without a first mover, there wouldn’t be subsequent ones) or supports the existence of a prime mover, which is God.
The Second Way: Efficient Cause. Things exist because of efficient causes. There’s an order of efficient causes, but nothing can be its own efficient cause (it would have to exist before itself, which is impossible). Therefore, a first efficient cause is necessary, which is God.
The Third Way: Possibility and Necessity. We know contingent beings that could not exist. If everything were contingent, there would have been a time when nothing existed. If nothing had to exist, nothing would exist now. Therefore, a necessary being must exist, which is God.
The Fourth Way: Degrees of Perfection. We experience varying degrees of perfection. These degrees exist because there’s an absolute perfection. Without it, how could we compare things in terms of perfection? This absolute perfection is God.
The Fifth Way: Governance of the World. The world isn’t random but teleologically ordered. This implies a superior intelligence that orders the world, which is God.