Summa Theologica: Structure, Context, and Philosophy
The Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Although incomplete, the Summa Theologica is divided into three parts:
- The first part deals with God in itself and as a principle of all things.
- The second part deals with God as intelligence, will, man, and Christ.
- The third part deals with God made man.
Each part is divided into issues, which are further divided into articles. Each article carries a title beginning with “if,” but all articles follow the same structure:
- It begins with the phrase “it seems that,” introducing the contrary opinion to what is going to be defended, followed by the arguments for the contrary opinion.
- Then, it introduces the draft “but against it is,” which introduces an appointment of recognized writing that shows the need to accept the argument that is going to be defended.
- Next, it presents “I answer that it must be said,” which introduces the doctrine that is estimated to be the correct answer to the question posed in the article.
- Finally, it provides answers to each of the opposing arguments made earlier.
There are usually two objections to this form of treating philosophical questions:
- The first is that they are not really philosophical questions since their solution is guaranteed certainty beforehand by faith.
- The second is that from a religious point of view, the word of God cannot be dominated by a human conceptual system.
Philosophical Context
Saint Thomas lived during the peak of scholasticism. In the 13th century, the three most significant philosophical currents were Augustinian Platonism, Latin Averroism, and Thomism. Scholasticism is the philosophy and theology cultivated and developed in the schools of the Middle Ages. Its central problem is how to lead man to the understanding of revealed truth.
- Augustinian Platonism defends the superiority of faith over reason, stating that we have an innate knowledge of God, the way for contemplation on it.
- Latin Averroism was ordered by the Church. Its basic tenets are: the world has been created by God from nothing, but it is eternal; God is the first mover; the individual soul is immortal; there is a twofold truth: the truths of faith and reason are different truths.
- Thomism: The Aristotelian theory set by Saint Thomas includes: the theory of hylomorphism of reality and the four causes (agent, material, formal, and final); the theory of knowledge as a theory of abstraction, which is a natural process that begins in the senses and ends in the intellect; the theory about man, which makes him a single substance whose principles are the soul and body; the conception of God as pure act.
Socio-Cultural Context
In the 13th century, the modern era of states was beginning to take shape, and the papacy was trying to take over the political direction in the West. Medieval Europe was experiencing a period of flowering. The economy had achieved some stability, and trade was flourishing. Cities enjoyed great prosperity, and great Gothic cathedrals were being built.
Cultural events to highlight include the foundation of mendicant orders, universities, and the translation of Aristotle’s works. Universities were born from cathedral schools, where teachers and students had formed corporations that eventually received the title of Universitas magistrorum et scholarium. Each university was grouped into four faculties: Theology, Law, Medicine, and Arts. The Arts were seven: three (Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic) were called the Trivium, and the other four (Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy) were called the Quadrivium. At the University of Paris, the largest in theology, Aristotle would be the recipient of the Christian West.
General Assessment of Saint Thomas’ Philosophy
Saint Thomas’ philosophy has a close relationship with his time. His philosophy can be considered a philosophical foundation of the world and of man, expressing a coherent and systematic set of values and beliefs, as well as his vision of reality in which God plays a key role. It poses a problem for Christian philosophy to reconcile the truths revealed by God with the truths discovered by reason. This makes the task of pure philosophical thinking impossible, since the starting point is always faith. Thus, philosophy becomes a slave to theology.