St. Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy, Life, and Enduring Legacy
St. Thomas Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and Philosophy
The Compatibility of Faith and Reason
St. Thomas Aquinas, a revered theologian and admirer of Aristotle, asserted that Aristotelian philosophy was entirely compatible with Christian faith. He believed that theological and philosophical truth is singular and unique, accessible through various paths. The ultimate truth, God, is the final object of all knowledge. While divine revelation provides profound insights, knowledge of God can also be approached through reason, starting from the observation of created things. Philosophy, built upon sensory experiences, offers a limited understanding of God. However, Christian faith expands the boundaries of reason, providing deeper insights into God’s nature and humanity’s destiny. Revelation, therefore, complements and completes human reason.
Life and Historical Context
The Thirteenth Century Landscape
St. Thomas Aquinas lived during the Middle Ages, specifically the thirteenth century, a period marked by constant warfare and the Carolingian Empire’s efforts to unify peoples and defend Christianity across Europe. Monasteries served as the primary cultural centers, responsible for maintaining, preserving, and disseminating traditions and teachings. This era also saw the establishment of the first universities, whose role in knowledge dissemination significantly contributed to human advancement.
Scholasticism and Medieval Thought
The philosophy of this era was dominated by Scholasticism, a theological and philosophical movement that sought to use Graeco-Latin sources to understand Christian religious revelation. Consequently, there was significant influence from classical thinkers, as well as Jewish and Arab scholars such as Maimonides, Avicenna, and Averroes. Five key issues characterized medieval philosophy:
- The relationship between faith and reason, and their relative importance and truth.
- Attempts to prove God’s existence through reason.
- The relationship between the celestial world and the earthly realm, often with a disregard for the latter.
- The question of universals and the reality they represent.
- The problem of human freedom.
Key Influences and Major Works
Synthesizing Diverse Traditions
These ideas, problems, and lessons profoundly influenced St. Thomas Aquinas and his extensive body of work. He masterfully incorporated and synthesized elements from Scripture, the Patristic and medieval traditions, and the philosophy of St. Augustine. Furthermore, his writings reveal significant Aristotelian elements, including theories of motion, hylomorphism, and the concept of the Prime Mover, alongside influences from other thinkers like Plato and Averroes.
Seminal Works and Their Structure
St. Thomas Aquinas’s major works include:
- Summa Theologica: Its primary theme is the rational demonstration of God’s existence. Its profound impact led to its use as a textbook in universities of the time.
- Summa Contra Gentiles: A comprehensive defense of Christian doctrine against non-believers.
Both Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles share a similar structure: they are divided into treatises, which are further broken down into questions, and these, in turn, into articles. Each article typically comprises five parts: the question itself, arguments against the proposed answer, arguments in favor, the author’s response, and a solution to the initial arguments.
Beyond these monumental works, St. Thomas also authored commentaries on Scriptures and other authors like Peter Lombard, Aristotle, and Boethius. He also wrote numerous minor works and pamphlets, such as De Ente et Essentia (On Being and Essence) and De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas (On the Unity of the Intellect Against the Averroists).
Enduring Impact and Legacy
St. Thomas Aquinas successfully integrated Aristotelian thought with the Christian message. His Thomistic doctrine was officially adopted by the Catholic Church, leading to a resurgence of his philosophical influence and the development of Neo-Thomism. The fundamental problem of faith versus reason, which he so thoroughly addressed, continues to be debated today, with ongoing discussions between those who interpret biblical texts literally and those who embrace the innovations brought forth by science and reason.
Political Philosophy
For St. Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate end of the state is the common good. Positive law serves as the means by which the state aims to achieve this, with goals including peace, morality, and the provision of necessary goods for living well. The pursuit of the common good is the sole justification for the existence of civil authority. Laws are considered unjust if they fail to align with these objectives; in such cases, citizens are not morally obliged to comply, as such laws would be contrary to natural law.