Thomas Aquinas’ Political Doctrine & Rationalism in Philosophy
Thomas Aquinas’ Political Doctrine
The political doctrine of Thomas Aquinas is integrated into his theological system. Thomas, following Aristotle, believes that the ultimate end of human beings is happiness. However, as a Christian, he believes that perfect happiness cannot be achieved in this life. The most important thing for humans is to achieve eternal salvation, and this is the work of the Church. The political theory of Thomas Aquinas is inspired by Aristotle’s Politics: humans are naturally sociable, and civil society is necessary for the perfection of human life. Thomas follows Aristotle in the analysis of the forms of government and his preference for a monarchy. Thomas Aquinas posits that both society and government are natural to humans, adding that both institutions have their existence justified by God. For Thomas Aquinas, there are not two ultimate goals of human existence, but one ultimate end of a supernatural character. This leads him to subordinate the state to the Church and to assign a religious mission to the state as well. The state is recognized as having independence in regard to the common good. However, that independence is not absolute: the state does not have the full autarky that Aristotle recognized.
Characteristics of Rationality
- Exaltation of reason: Reason is the only reliable source of knowledge, and the unlimited power of reason is a faculty that systematically and structurally coincides with reality.
- Contempt of sensitive knowledge: Devaluing and rejecting sensitive knowledge for being particular and contingent.
- Affirmation of the existence of innate ideas: The contents of the mind are innate. Innate ideas do not mean that one is born with them; these ideas arise in us independently of sensibility, and their validity does not rest on the sensible. There is actual innateness and virtual innateness.
- Rational evidence: The sole basis of scientific knowledge is the immediate acceptance of certain and obvious propositions by reason. The true principles of learning must be self-evident.
Faith and Reason
The relationship between faith and reason, and its solution, tries to prove that the Gospels and philosophy are compatible and that the truths revealed are above all truth. The first solutions to this conflict were given by the powers of the Church, especially the pundits. Two things can be said about this movement: the most important is that everything that cannot be proven and that true knowledge is not a rational but an emotional issue. For St. Augustine, faith remains the basis. From the 7th century onwards, scholasticism began, where the most important aspect was the expansion of Christianity; more than demonstrating, all the authors were interested in reflecting on the existence of God. The most famous is Anselm of Canterbury. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the works of Aristotle were recovered, making him the greatest philosopher, although some of his ideas clashed with the tenets of Christianity. Averroes offered the solution of the theory of double truth. There are two truths: the rational and the revealed. This theory was accepted by philosophers but rejected by ecclesiastical authorities. Aquinas, in the 12th century, developed a theory to overcome the difficulties of the double truth. According to him, there are areas between faith and reason, full of virtue in faith as intelligence. This is called Preambula Fidei and forms the basis of philosophy. Later, William of Ockham argued that faith and theory can be separated because it is easier to advance science that way.
- Solipsism: In the 17th century, humans were considered beings turned in on themselves, who do not know directly but through their own thinking. The reality of the world is not clear, but it has to be deduced.
- Mathematics, a scientific paradigm: All of rationalism is concerned with finding an ideal method for knowledge that would provide accurate results and allow the construction of a philosophical system based on evidence and logical necessity.
- Substantialist metaphysics: They developed an idea based on the same definition: a substance is ‘self-subsistent,’ that is, it does not need anything to survive. From this definition, each author draws conflicting definitions.