Existential Thomism
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Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and
thought In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, a ...
of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and
Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...
. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions and commentaries on Aristotle are perhaps his best-known works. In theology, his '' Summa Theologica'' is amongst the most influential documents in
medieval theology The history of theology has manifestations in many different cultures and religious traditions. Terminology and connotations Plato used the Greek word '' theologia'' (θεολογία) with the meaning "discourse on god" around 380 BC in '' ...
and continues to be the central point of reference for the philosophy and theology of the Catholic Church. In the 1914 motu proprio ''Doctoris Angelici'',
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
cautioned that the teachings of the Church cannot be understood without the basic philosophical underpinnings of Aquinas' major theses:


Overview

Thomas Aquinas held and practiced the principle that truth is to be accepted no matter where it is found. His doctrines drew from Greek, Roman,
Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
and Jewish philosophers. Specifically, he was a realist (i.e. unlike
skeptics Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
, he believed that the world can be known as it is). He often affirmed Aristotle's views with independent arguments, and largely followed Aristotelian terminology and metaphysics. He wrote comprehensive commentaries on Aristotle, and respectfully referred to him simply as "the Philosopher". He also adhered to some neoplatonic principles, for example that "it is absolutely true that there is first something which is essentially being and essentially good, which we call God, .. nd thateverything can be called good and a being, inasmuch as it ''participates'' in it by way of a certain assimilation".


Metaphysics

Aquinas says that the fundamental
axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...
s of ontology are the principle of non-contradiction and the
principle of causality Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cau ...
. Therefore, any
being In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
that does not contradict these two laws could theoretically exist, even if said being were
incorporeal Incorporeality is "the state or quality of being incorporeal or bodiless; immateriality; incorporealism." Incorporeal (Greek: ἀσώματος) means "Not composed of matter; having no material existence." Incorporeality is a quality of souls, s ...
.


Predication

Aquinas noted three forms of descriptive language when predicating: univocal, analogical, and
equivocal Equivocal is the grammatical quality of ambiguity due to a term's having multiple meanings. It is the latin translation of the greek adjective "homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling ...
. * Univocality is the use of a descriptor in the same sense when applied to two objects or groups of objects. For instance, when the word "milk" is applied both to milk produced by cows and by any other female mammal. * Analogy occurs when a descriptor changes some but not all of its meaning. For example, the word "healthy" is analogical in that it applies both to a person or animal which enjoys good health and to some food or drink which promotes health. * Equivocation is the complete change in meaning of the descriptor and is an informal fallacy, for example when the word "bank" is applied to river banks and financial banks. Modern philosophers call it
ambiguity Ambiguity is the type of meaning in which a phrase, statement or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty. It is thus an attribute of any idea or statement ...
. Further, the usage of "
definition A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: intensional definitions (which try to give the sense of a term), and extensional definitio ...
" that Aquinas gives is the genus of the being, plus a difference that sets it apart from the genus itself. For instance, the Aristotelian definition of "man" is " rational animal"; its genus being animal, and what sets apart man from other animals is his
rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abil ...
.


Being

In Thomist philosophy, the definition of a
being In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
is "that which is," a principle with two parts: "that which" refers to its '' quiddity'' (literally "whatness"), and "is" refers to its ''esse'' ( Latin "to be"). ''Quiddity'' means an essence,
form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...
, or nature which may or may not exist; whereas ''esse'' refers to existence or reality. That is, a being is "an essence that exists."''Summa'', I, Q.3, art.4.
"Therefore, if the existence of a thing differs from its essence, this existence must be caused either by some exterior agent or by its essential principles."
Being is divided in two ways: that which is ''in itself'' ( substances), and that which is ''in another'' ( accidents). Substances are things which exist ''per se'' or in their own right. Accidents are qualities that apply to other things, such as shape or color: " cidents must include in their definition a subject which is outside their genus." Because they only exist in other things, Aquinas holds that metaphysics is primarily the study of substances, as they are the primary mode of being. '' The Catholic Encyclopedia'' pinpoints Aquinas' definition of ''quiddity'' as "that which is expressed by its definition." The ''quiddity'' or
form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...
of a thing is what makes the object what it is: " rough the form, which is the
actuality In philosophy, potentiality and actuality are a pair of closely connected principles which Aristotle used to analyze motion, causality, ethics, and physiology in his ''Physics'', ''Metaphysics'', '' Nicomachean Ethics'', and ''De Anima''. Th ...
of matter, matter becomes something actual and something individual," and also, "the form causes matter to be." Thus, it consists of two parts: "prime matter" (matter without form), and
substantial form Substantial form was an Aristotelian innovation designed to solve three problems. The first is how physical things can exist as certain types of intelligible things, e.g., Rover and Fido are both dogs because they have the same type of immaterial ...
, which is what causes a substance to have its characteristics. For instance, an animal can be said to be a being whose matter is its body, and whose soulThe Aristotelian and Thomist definition of the "soul" does not refer to spirit, but is perhaps better translated as "life force." Hence, plants have souls in the sense that they are living beings. The human soul is unique in that it has consciousness. Cf. '' De anima'', Bk. I. is its substantial form. Together, these constitute its ''quiddity''/essence. All real things have the transcendental properties of being: oneness, truth, goodness (that is, all things have a final cause and therefore a
purpose Purpose is the end for which something is done, created or for which it exists. It is part of the topic of intentionality and goal-seeking behavior. Related concepts and subjects: * Goal, a desired result or possible outcome * Intention, the stat ...
), etc.


Causality

Aristotle categorized causality into four subsets in the '' Metaphysics'', which is an integral part of Thomism: :* (a) refers to the material cause, what a being's matter consists of (if applicable). :* (b) refers to the formal cause, what a being's essence is. :* (c) refers to the efficient cause, what brings about the beginning of, or change to, a being. :* (d) refers to the final cause, what a being's purpose is. Unlike many ancient Greeks, who thought that an infinite regress of causality is possible (and thus held that the universe is uncaused), Aquinas argues that an infinite chain never accomplishes its objective and is thus impossible. Hence, a
first cause The unmoved mover ( grc, ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, ho ou kinoúmenon kineî, that which moves without being moved) or prime mover ( la, primum movens) is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cau ...
is necessary for the existence of anything to be possible. Further, the First Cause must continuously be in action (similar to how there must always be a first chain in a
chain link A chain-link fence (also referred to as wire netting, wire-mesh fence, chain-wire fence, cyclone fence, hurricane fence, or diamond-mesh fence) is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or linear low-density polyethylene-coated st ...
), otherwise the series collapses: Thus, both Aristotle and Aquinas conclude that there must be an uncaused Primary Mover,''Summa'', I, Q.2, art.3.
"The third way is taken from possibility and necessity, and runs thus..."
because an infinite regress is impossible. However, the First Cause does not necessarily have to be temporally the first. Thus, the question of whether or not the universe can be imagined as eternal was fiercely debated in the Middle Ages. The University of Paris's condemnation of 1270 denounced the belief that the world is eternal. Aquinas' intellectual rival, Bonaventure, held that the temporality of the universe is demonstrable by reason. Aquinas' position was that the temporality of the world is an article of faith, and not demonstrable by reason; one could reasonably conclude either that the universe is temporal or that it is eternal.


Goodness

As per the ''
Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...
'' of Aristotle, Aquinas defines "
the good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
" as what all things strive for. E.g., a cutting knife is said to be good if it is effective at its function, cutting. As all things have a function/ final cause, all real things are good. Consequently, evil is nothing but ''
privatio boni The absence of good ( la, privatio boni), also known as the privation theory of evil, is a theology, theological and Philosophy, philosophical doctrine that evil, unlike good, is insubstantial, so that thinking of it as an entity is misleading. Inst ...
'', or "lack of good", as
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
defined it. Commentating on the aforementioned, Aquinas says that "there is no problem from the fact that some men desire evil. For they desire evil only under the aspect of good, that is, insofar as they think it good. Hence their intention primarily aims at the good and only incidentally touches on the evil." As God is the ultimate end of all things, God is by essence goodness itself. Furthermore, since love is "to wish the good of another," true love in Thomism is to lead another to God. Hence why John the Evangelist says, "Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love."


Existence of God

Thomas Aquinas holds that the existence of God can be demonstrated by reason, a view that is taught by the Catholic Church. The ''quinque viae'' (Latin: five ways) found in the '' Summa Theologica''
I, Q.2, art.3
are five possible ways of demonstrating the existence of God, which today are categorized as: : 1. ''Argumentum ex motu'', or the argument of the unmoved mover; : 2. ''Argumentum ex ratione causae efficientis'', or the argument of the
first cause The unmoved mover ( grc, ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, ho ou kinoúmenon kineî, that which moves without being moved) or prime mover ( la, primum movens) is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cau ...
; : 3. ''Argumentum ex contingentia'', or the argument from contingency; : 4. ''Argumentum ex gradu'', or the
argument from degree The argument from degrees, also known as the degrees of perfection argument or the henological argument is an argument for the existence of God first proposed by mediaeval Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas as one of the five ways to philo ...
; and : 5. ''Argumentum ex fine'', or the teleological argument. Despite this, Aquinas also thought that
sacred mysteries Sacred mysteries are the areas of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious belief and praxis. Sacred mysteries may be either: # Religious beliefs, rituals or practices which are kept secret from the uninitiated. # Beliefs ...
such as
the Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...
could only be obtained through revelation; though these truths cannot contradict reason: Aquinas responds to the problem of evil by saying that God allows evil to exist that good may come of it, (for goodness done out of free will is superior than goodness done from biological imperative) but does not personally cause evil Himself.


View of God

Aquinas articulated and defended, both as a philosopher and a theologian, the orthodox Christian view of God. God is the sole being whose existence is the same as His essence: "what subsists in God is His existence." (Hence why God names himself "
I Am that I Am "I Am that I Am" is a Bible translations into English, common English translation of the Hebrew language, Hebrew phrase (; )– also "I am who (I) am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be", "I crea ...
" i
Exodus 3:14
) Consequently, God cannot be a body (that is, He cannot be composed of matter), He cannot have any accidents, and He must be simple (that is, not separated into parts;
the Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...
is one
substance Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug substance ** Substance abuse, drug-related healthcare and social policy diagnosis ...
in three persons). Further, He is
goodness Goodness may refer to: * Good * ''Goodness!'', a 1969 album by jazz saxophonist Houston Person * Goodness and value theory * Goodness (band) * Goodness (Goodness album), ''Goodness'' (Goodness album) * Goodness (The Hotelier album), ''Goodness'' ( ...
itself,
perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * Perfect (1985 film), ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * Perfect (2018 f ...
, infinite, omnipotent, omniscient, happiness itself,''Summa'', II-I, Q.3, art.1.
"God is happiness by His Essence."
knowledge itself, love itself, omnipresent,
immutable In object-oriented and functional programming, an immutable object (unchangeable object) is an object whose state cannot be modified after it is created.Goetz et al. ''Java Concurrency in Practice''. Addison Wesley Professional, 2006, Section 3.4 ...
, and eternal. Summing up these properties, Aquinas offers the term ''
actus purus In scholastic philosophy, ''Actus Purus'' (English: "Pure Actuality," "Pure Act") is the absolute perfection of God. Overview Created beings have potentiality that is not actuality, imperfections as well as perfection. Only God is simultaneously ...
'' (Latin: "pure actuality"). Aquinas held that not only does God have knowledge of everything, but that God has "the most perfect knowledge," and that it is also true to say that God "is" His understanding. Aquinas also understands God as the transcendent cause of the universe, the "first Cause of all things, exceeding all things caused by Him," the source of all creaturely being and the cause of every other cause. Consequently, God's causality is not like the causality of any other causes (all other causes are "secondary causes"), because He is the transcendent source of all being, causing and sustaining every other existing thing at every instant. Consequently, God's causality is never in competition with the causality of creatures; rather, God even causes some things through the causality of creatures. Aquinas was an advocate of the "analogical way", which says that because God is infinite, people can only speak of God by analogy, for some of the aspects of the divine nature are hidden (''Deus absconditus'') and others revealed (''Deus revelatus'') to finite human minds. Thomist philosophy holds that we can know ''about'' God through his creation (general revelation), but only in an analogous manner. For instance, we can speak of God's goodness only by understanding that goodness as applied to humans is similar to, but not identical with, the goodness of God. Further, he argues that sacred scripture employs figurative language: "Now it is natural to man to attain to intellectual truths through sensible objects, because all our knowledge originates from sense. Hence in Holy Writ, spiritual truths are fittingly taught under the ''likeness'' of material things." In order to demonstrate God's creative power, Aquinas says: "If a being participates, to a certain degree, in an 'accident,' this accidental property must have been communicated to it by a cause which possesses it essentially. Thus iron becomes incandescent by the action of fire. Now, God is His own power which subsists by itself. The being which subsists by itself is necessarily one."


Anthropology

In addition to agreeing with the Aristotelian definition of man as "the rational animal," Aquinas also held various other beliefs about the
substance Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug substance ** Substance abuse, drug-related healthcare and social policy diagnosis ...
of man. For instance, as the essence ( nature) of all men are the same, and the definition of being is "an essence that exists," humans that are real therefore only differ by their specific qualities. More generally speaking, all beings of the same genus have the same essence, and so long as they exist, only differ by accidents and
substantial form Substantial form was an Aristotelian innovation designed to solve three problems. The first is how physical things can exist as certain types of intelligible things, e.g., Rover and Fido are both dogs because they have the same type of immaterial ...
.


Soul

Thomists define the soul as the substantial form of living beings. Thus, plants have "vegetative souls," animals have "sensitive souls," while human beings alone have "intellectual" – rational and immortal – souls. The appetite of man has two parts, rational and irrational. The rational part is called the will, and the irrational part is called passion.


Ethics

Aquinas affirms Aristotle's definition of happiness as "an operation according to perfect virtue", and that "happiness is called man's supreme good, because it is the attainment or enjoyment of the supreme good." Aquinas defines virtue as a good habit, which is a good quality of a person demonstrated by his actions and reactions over a substantial period of time. He writes: Aquinas ascertained the cardinal virtues to be
prudence Prudence ( la, prudentia, Contraction (grammar), contracted from meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of th ...
, temperance, justice, and fortitude. The cardinal virtues are natural and revealed in nature, and they are binding on everyone. There are, however, three theological virtues: faith,
hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
, and charity (which is used interchangeably with love in the sense of '' agape''). These are
supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
and are distinct from other virtues in their object, namely, God. In accordance with Roman Catholic theology, Aquinas argues that humans can neither wish nor do good without
divine grace Divine grace is a theological term present in many religions. It has been defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptati ...
. However, "doing good" here refers to doing good per se: man ''can'' do, moved by God even then but "only" in the sense in which even his nature depends on God's moving, things that happen to be good in some respect, and are not sinful, though if he has not grace, it will be without merit, and he will not succeed in it all the time. Therefore, happiness is attained through the perseverance of virtue given by the Grace of God, which is not fully attained on earth; only at the beatific vision. Notably, man cannot attain true happiness without God. Regarding emotion (used synonymously with the word "passion" in this context), which, following John Damascene, Aquinas defines as "a movement of the sensitive appetite when we imagine good or evil," Thomism repudiates both the Epicurean view that happiness consists in
pleasure Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious anima ...
(sensual experiences that invoke positive emotion), and the Stoic view that emotions are vices by nature. Aquinas takes a moderate view of emotion, quoting Augustine: "They are evil if our love is evil; good if our love is good." While most emotions are morally neutral, some are inherently virtuous (e.g. pity) and some are inherently vicious (e.g. envy). Thomist ethics hold that it is necessary to observe both circumstances and
intention Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...
to determine an action's
moral value In ethics and the social sciences, value theory involves various approaches that examine how, why, and to what degree humans value things and whether the object or subject of valuing is a person, idea, object, or anything else. Within philosophy, ...
, and therefore Aquinas cannot be said to be strictly either a deontologicalist or a
consequentialist In ethical philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative ethics, normative, Teleology, teleological ethical theories that holds that the wikt:consequence, consequences of one's Action (philosophy), conduct are the ultimate basis for judgm ...
. Rather, he would say that an action is morally good if it fulfills God's antecedent will. Of note is the
principle of double effect The principle of double effect – also known as the rule of double effect; the doctrine of double effect, often abbreviated as DDE or PDE, double-effect reasoning; or simply double effect – is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosop ...
, formulated in the ''Summa'', II-II, Q.64, art.7, which is a justification of
homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
in self-defense. Previously experiencing difficulties in the world of Christian philosophy, the doctrine of Just War was expounded by Aquinas with this principle. He says:


Law

Thomism recognizes four different species of law, which he defines as "an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated": # Eternal law, which is "the type of Divine Wisdom, as directing all actions and movements;" # Natural law, "whereby each one knows, and is conscious of, what is good and what is evil," which is the rational being's participation in the eternal law; # Human or temporal law, laws made by humans by necessity; and # Divine law, which are moral imperatives specifically given through revelation. The development of natural law is one of the most influential parts of Thomist philosophy. Aquinas says that "
he law of nature He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
is nothing other than the light of the intellect planted in us by God, by which we know what should be done and what should be avoided. God gave this light and this law in creation... For no one is ignorant that what he would not like to be done to himself he should not do to others, and similar norms." Aquinas argues that the
Mosaic covenant The Mosaic covenant (named after Moses), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the biblical Mount Sinai), refers to a covenant between God and the Israelites, including their proselytes, not limited to the ten commandments, nor the event wh ...
was divine, though rightfully only given to the Jews before Christ; whereas the New Covenant replaces the Old Covenant and is meant for all humans.


Free will

Aquinas argues that there is no contradiction between God's
providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
and human free will: Aquinas argues that God offers man both a prevenient grace to enable him to perform supernaturally good works, and cooperative grace within the same. The relation of prevenient grace to voluntariness has been the subject of further debate; the position known here as "Thomist" was originated by
Domingo Báñez Domingo Báñez (also Dominico Bannes Mondragonensis) (29 February 1528 in Valladolid – 22 October 1604 in Medina del Campo) was a Spanish Dominican and Scholastic theologian. The qualifying ''Mondragonensis'' sometimes attached to his name s ...
and says that God gives an additional grace (the "efficient grace") to the
predestined Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...
which makes them accept, while Luis de Molina held that God distributes grace according to a middle knowledge, and man can accept it without a different grace. Molinism is a school that is part of Thomism in the general sense (it originated in commentaries to Aquinas), yet it must be borne in mind that, here, Thomism and Molinism oppose each other. (The question has been declared undecided by the Holy See.)


Epistemology

Aquinas preceded the existence of the discipline of epistemology, which began among modern thinkers whose positions, following in the wake of Descartes, are fundamentally opposed to Aquinas'. Nonetheless, Aquinas' thought is more measured than the crowd that requires epistemology. A Thomistic theory of knowledge can be derived from a mixture of Aquinas' logical, psychological, metaphysical, and even Theological doctrines. Aquinas' thought is an instance of the
correspondence theory of truth In metaphysics and philosophy of language, the correspondence theory of truth states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world and whether it accurately describes (i.e., corresponds with) that world ...
, which says that something is true "when it conforms to the external reality." Therefore, any being that exists can be said to be true insofar that it participates in the world. Aristotle's '' De anima'' (''On the Soul'') divides the
mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
into three parts: sensation,
imagination Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...
and
intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gree ...
ion. When one perceives an object, his mind composites a sense-image. When he remembers the object he previously sensed, he is imagining its
form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...
(the image of the imagination is often translated as "phantasm"). When he extracts information from this phantasm, he is using his intellect. Consequently, all human knowledge concerning
universals In metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common, namely characteristics or qualities. In other words, universals are repeatable or recurrent entities that can be instantiated or exemplified by many particular things. For exa ...
(such as species and properties) are derived from the phantasm ("the received is in the receiver according to the mode of the receiver"), which itself is a recollection of an experience. Concerning the question of "Whether the intellect can actually understand through the intelligible species of which it is possessed, without turning to the phantasms?" in the '' Summa Theologica'', Aquinas quotes Aristotle in the ''sed contra'': "the soul understands nothing without a phantasm." Hence the peripatetic axiom. (Another theorem to be drawn from this is that error is a result of drawing false conclusions based on our sensations.) Aquinas' epistemological theory would later be classified as
empiricism In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
, for holding that sensations are a necessary step in acquiring knowledge, and that deductions cannot be made from pure reason.


Impact

Aquinas shifted
Scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...
away from neoplatonism and towards Aristotle. The ensuing school of thought, through its influence on Catholicism and the ethics of the Catholic school, is one of the most influential philosophies of all time, also significant due to the number of people living by its teachings. Before Aquinas' death,
Stephen Tempier Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
,
Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...
, forbade certain positions associated with Aquinas (especially his denial of both universal '' hylomorphism'' and a plurality of
substantial form Substantial form was an Aristotelian innovation designed to solve three problems. The first is how physical things can exist as certain types of intelligible things, e.g., Rover and Fido are both dogs because they have the same type of immaterial ...
s in a single substance) to be taught in the Faculty of Arts at Paris. Through the influence of traditional Augustinian theologians, some theses of Aquinas were condemned in 1277 by the ecclesiastical authorities of Paris and Oxford (the most important theological schools in the Middle Ages). The
Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
opposed the ideas of the Dominican Aquinas, while the Dominicans institutionally took up the defense of his work (1286), and thereafter adopted it as an official philosophy of the order to be taught in their ''studia''. Early opponents of Aquinas include
William de la Mare William de La Mare ( fl. 1272–1279) was an English Franciscan theologian. Biography William de la Mare's origins are unknown. He obtained a master's degree (Master Regent) in Paris in 1274/5. In Paris, he came under the influence of Bonaventura ...
, Henry of Ghent, Giles of Rome, and Jon Duns Scotus. Early and noteworthy defenders of Aquinas were his former teacher Albertus Magnus, the ill-fated Richard Knapwell,
William Macclesfeld William of Macclesfield (died 1303–04) was an English Dominican theologian, with the nickname ''Doctor Inclytus''. He was created Cardinal in December 1303 by Pope Benedict XI; it is unclear whether this was before his death. Life He was ...
,
Giles of Lessines Giles of Lessines OP (died ) was a thirteenth-century Dominican scholastic philosopher, a pupil of Thomas Aquinas. He was also strongly influenced by Albertus Magnus. He was an early defender of Thomism. He is also known as an early scientist, a ...
,
John of Quidort John of Paris (in French ''Jean de Paris''), also called Jean Quidort and Johannes de Soardis (c. 1255 – September 22, 1306), was a French philosopher, theologian, and Dominican friar. Life John of Paris was born in Paris at an unknown dat ...
, Bernard of Auvergne and
Thomas of Sutton Thomas of Sutton (died after 1315) was an English Dominican theologian, an early Thomist. He was ordained as deacon in 1274 by Walter Giffard, and joined the Dominicans in the 1270s; he may have been a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford before tha ...
. The
canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
of Aquinas in 1323 led to a revocation of the condemnation of 1277. Later, Aquinas and his school would find a formidable opponent in the ''via moderna'', particularly in William of Ockham and his adherents. Thomism remained a doctrine held principally by Dominican theologians, such as
Giovanni Capreolo John Capreolus, in French Jean Capréolus and in Latin Johannes Capreolus (c. 1380 – 6 April 1444), was a French Dominican theologian and Thomist. He is sometimes known as the ''Prince of the Thomists''. His ''Four Books of Defenses of the T ...
(1380–1444) or
Tommaso de Vio Thomas Cajetan (; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 151 ...
(1468–1534). Eventually, in the 16th century, Thomism found a stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, through for example the Dominicans Francisco de Vitoria (particularly noteworthy for his work in natural law theory),
Domingo de Soto Domingo de Soto, O.P. (1494 – 15 November 1560) was a Spanish Dominican priest and Scholastic theologian born in Segovia (Spain), and died in Salamanca (Spain), at the age of 66. He is best known as one of the founders of international law a ...
(notable for his work on economic theory),
John of St. Thomas John of St. Thomas, O.P., born João Poinsot (also called John Poinsot in English; 9 July 1589 – 15 June 1644), was a Portuguese Dominican friar, Thomist theologian, and professor of philosophy. He is known for being an early theorist in the ...
, and
Domingo Báñez Domingo Báñez (also Dominico Bannes Mondragonensis) (29 February 1528 in Valladolid – 22 October 1604 in Medina del Campo) was a Spanish Dominican and Scholastic theologian. The qualifying ''Mondragonensis'' sometimes attached to his name s ...
; the Carmelites of Salamanca (i.e., the Salmanticenses); and even, in a way, the newly formed Jesuits, particularly
Francisco Suárez Francisco Suárez, (5 January 1548 – 25 September 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thomas ...
, and Luis de Molina. The modern period brought considerable difficulty for Thomism. "Gradually, however, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there came a decline in the study of the works of the great Scholastics." Pope Leo XIII attempted a Thomistic revival, particularly with his 1879 encyclical ''
Aeterni Patris ''Aeterni Patris'' (English: Of the Eternal Father) was an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in August 1879, (not to be confused with the apostolic letter of the same name written by Pope Pius IX in 1868 calling the First Vatican Council). ...
'' and his establishment of the Leonine Commission, established to produce critical editions of Aquinas' ''opera omnia''. This encyclical served as the impetus for the rise of Neothomism, which brought an emphasis on the ethical parts of Thomism, as well as a large part of its views on life, humans, and theology, are found in the various schools of Neothomism. Neothomism held sway as the dominant philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church until the Second Vatican Council, which seemed to confirm the significance of Ressourcement theology. Thomism remains a school of philosophy today, and influential in Catholicism, though "The Church has no philosophy of her own nor does she canonize any one particular philosophy in preference to others." In recent years, the cognitive neuroscientist Walter Freeman proposes that Thomism is the philosophical system explaining cognition that is most compatible with
neurodynamics Neural oscillations, or brainwaves, are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system. Neural tissue can generate oscillatory activity in many ways, driven either by mechanisms within individual neurons or by ...
, in a 2008 article in the journal ''Mind and Matter'' entitled "Nonlinear Brain Dynamics and Intention According to Aquinas."


Connection with Jewish thought

Aquinas did not disdain to draw upon Jewish philosophical sources. His main work, the '' Summa Theologica'', shows a profound knowledge not only of the writings of
Avicebron Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
(Ibn Gabirol), whose name he mentions, but also of most Jewish philosophical works then existing. Aquinas pronounces himself energetically against the hypothesis of the eternity of the world, in agreement with both
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Jewish theology Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcil ...
. But as this theory is attributed to Aristotle, he seeks to demonstrate that the latter did not express himself categorically on this subject. "The argument," said he, "which Aristotle presents to support this thesis is not properly called a demonstration, but is only a reply to the theories of those ancients who supposed that this world had a beginning and who gave only impossible proofs. There are three reasons for believing that Aristotle himself attached only a relative value to this reasoning..." In this, Aquinas paraphrases Maimonides' '' Guide for the Perplexed'', where those reasons are given.


Scholarly perspectives


Individual thinkers


René Descartes

Thomism began to decline in popularity in the modern period, which was inaugurated by René Descartes' works '' Discourse on the Method'' in 1637 and '' Meditations on First Philosophy'' in 1641. The
Cartesian Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—from his Latinized name ''Cartesius''. It may refer to: Mathematics *Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory *Cartesian coordinate system, modern ...
doctrines of mind–body dualism and the fallibility of the senses implicitly contradicted Aristotle and Aquinas:


G. K. Chesterton

In describing Thomism as a philosophy of common sense,
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...
wrote:


History

J. A. Weisheipl emphasizes that within the Dominican Order the history of Thomism has been continuous since the time of Aquinas: An idea of the longstanding historic continuity of Dominican Thomism may be derived from the
list of people associated with the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas This is a partial list of alumni, faculty and staff associated with the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, Italy. Medieval origin: 1222 The Santa Sabina ''Studium Conventuale'' *Jacek Odrowąż, O.P. 1220 among the ...
. Outside the Dominican Order Thomism has had varying fortunes leading some to periodize it historically or thematically. Weisheipl distinguishes "wide" Thomism, which includes those who claim to follow the spirit and basic insights of Aquinas and manifest an evident dependence on his texts, from "eclectic" Thomism which includes those with a willingness to allow the influence of other philosophical and theological systems in order to relativize the principles and conclusions of traditional Thomism. John Haldane gives an historic division of Thomism including 1) the period of Aquinas and his first followers from the 13th to 15th centuries, a second Thomism from the 16th to 18th centuries, and a Neo-Thomism from the 19th to 20th centuries. One might justifiably articulate other historical divisions on the basis of shifts in perspective on Aquinas' work including the period immediately following Aquinas' canonization in 1325, the period following the Council of Trent, and the period after the Second Vatican Council. Romanus Cessario thinks it better not to identify intervals of time or periods within the larger history of Thomism because Thomists have addressed such a broad variety of issues and in too many geographical areas to permit such divisions.


First Thomistic School

The first period of Thomism stretches from Aquinas' teaching activity beginning in 1256 at Paris to Cologne, Orvieto, Viterbo, Rome, and Naples until his canonization in 1325. In this period his doctrines "were both attacked and defended" as for example after his death (1274) the condemnations of 1277, 1284 and 1286 were counteracted by the General Chapters of the Dominican Order and other disciples who came to Aquinas' defense.


1325 to the Council of Trent

After Aquinas' canonisation, commentaries on Aquinas increased, especially at Cologne which had previously been a stronghold of Albert the Great's thought. Henry of Gorkum (1386-1431) wrote what may well be the earliest commentary on the Summa Theologiae, followed in due course by his student
Denis the Carthusian Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471), also known as Denys van Leeuwen, Denis Ryckel, Dionysius van Rijkel, Denys le Chartreux (or other combinations of these terms), was a Roman Catholic theologian and mystic. Life Denis was born in 1402 in that ...
.


Council of Trent to ''Aeterni Patris''

Responding to prevailing philosophical rationalism during the Enlightenment Salvatore Roselli, professor of theology at the College of St. Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'' in Rome, published a six volume ''Summa philosophica'' (1777) giving an Aristotelian interpretation of Aquinas validating the senses as a source of knowledge. While teaching at the College Roselli is considered to have laid the foundation for Neothomism in the nineteenth century. According to historian J.A. Weisheipl in the late 18th and early 19th centuries "everyone who had anything to do with the revival of Thomism in Italy, Spain and France was directly influenced by Roselli’s monumental work.


''Aeterni Patris'' to Vatican II

The Thomist revival that began in the mid-19th century, sometimes called "neo-scholasticism" or "neo-Thomism," can be traced to figures such as '' Angelicum'' professor
Tommaso Maria Zigliara Tommaso Maria Zigliara, OP (29 October 1833 – 11 May 1893) was a Corsican priest of the Catholic Church, a member of the Dominicans, a theologian, philosopher and a cardinal. Early life Zigliara was born on 29 October 1833 at Bonifacio a s ...
, Jesuits
Josef Kleutgen Joseph (or Josef) Wilhelm Karl Kleutgen (9 April 1811 – 13 January 1883) was a German Jesuit theologian and philosopher. He was a member of the Society of Jesus, and contributed significantly to the establishment of Neo-scholasticism.
, and
Giovanni Maria Cornoldi Giovanni Maria Cornoldi (29 September 1822 – 18 January 1892) was an Italian Jesuit academic, author, and preacher. Life Born at Venice, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1840 and taught philosophy at Brixen and Padua for many years. In 1879 ...
, and
secular priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...
Gaetano Sanseverino Gaetano Sanseverino (7 August 1811 – 16 November 1865) was an Italian philosopher and theologian. He made a comparative study including the scholastics, particularly Thomas Aquinas, and of the connection between their doctrine and that of ...
. This movement received impetus from Pope Leo XIII's
encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
''
Aeterni Patris ''Aeterni Patris'' (English: Of the Eternal Father) was an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in August 1879, (not to be confused with the apostolic letter of the same name written by Pope Pius IX in 1868 calling the First Vatican Council). ...
'' of 1879. Generally the revival accepts the interpretative tradition of Aquinas' great commentators such as Capréolus,
Cajetan Cajetan and Kajetan is the Anglicized and Germanized form of the Italian given name Gaetano. People with this name include: * Thomas Cajetan (1469–1534), Italian Dominican theologian, cardinal, and opponent of Martin Luther * Saint Cajetan (Gaet ...
, and
John of St. Thomas John of St. Thomas, O.P., born João Poinsot (also called John Poinsot in English; 9 July 1589 – 15 June 1644), was a Portuguese Dominican friar, Thomist theologian, and professor of philosophy. He is known for being an early theorist in the ...
. Its focus, however, is less exegetical and more concerned with carrying out the program of deploying a rigorously worked out system of Thomistic metaphysics in a wholesale critique of modern philosophy. Other seminal figures in the early part of the century include
Martin Grabmann Martin Grabmann (5 January 1875 – 9 January 1949) was a German Roman Catholic priest, medievalist and historian of theology and philosophy. He was a pioneer of the history of medieval philosophy and has been called "the greatest Catholic scholar ...
(1875-1949) and Amato Masnovo (1880-1955). The movement's core philosophical commitments are summarized in "Twenty-Four Thomistic Theses" approved by
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
. In the first half of the twentieth century '' Angelicum'' professors Edouard Hugon,
Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange Réginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange (; 21 February 1877 – 15 February 1964) was a French Catholic philosopher, theologian and Dominican friar. He has been noted as a leading neo-Thomist of the 20th century, along with Édouard Hugon and Mar ...
among others, carried on Leo's call for a Thomist revival. Their approach is reflected in many of the manuals and textbooks widely in use in Roman Catholic colleges and seminaries before Vatican II. While the Second Vatican Council took place from 1962 to 1965
Cornelio Fabro Cornelio Fabro Stigmatines, CSS (Talmassons, Flumignano, Province of Udine, Udine, 24 August 1911 – Rome, 4 May 1995) was an Italian Catholic priest of the Stigmatines, Stigmatine Order and a scholastic Thomism, Thomist philosopher. He was the fo ...
was already able to write in 1949 that the century of revival with its urgency to provide a synthetic systematization and defense of Aquinas' thought was coming to an end. Fabro looked forward to a more constructive period in which the original context of Aquinas' thought would be explored.


Recent schools and interpretations

A summary of some recent and current schools and interpretations of Thomism can be found, among other places, in ''La Metafisica di san Tommaso d'Aquino e i suoi interpreti'' (2002), by Battista Mondin, ''Being and Some 20th Century Thomists'' (2003), by
John F. X. Knasas John Francis Xavier Knasas (born 1948) is an American philosopher. He is a leading existential Thomist in the Neo-Thomist movement, best known for engaging such thinkers as Bernard Lonergan, Alasdair MacIntyre and Jeremy Wilkins in disputes ov ...
as well as in the writing of Edward Feser. Accessed 27 March 2013


Neo-Scholastic Thomism

Neo-Scholastic Thomism Neo-scholasticism (also known as neo-scholastic Thomism Accessed 27 March 2013 or neo-Thomism because of the great influence of the writings of Thomas Aquinas on the movement) is a revival and development of medieval scholasticism in Catholic th ...
identifies with the philosophical and theological tradition stretching back to the time of St. Thomas. In the nineteenth century authors such as
Tommaso Maria Zigliara Tommaso Maria Zigliara, OP (29 October 1833 – 11 May 1893) was a Corsican priest of the Catholic Church, a member of the Dominicans, a theologian, philosopher and a cardinal. Early life Zigliara was born on 29 October 1833 at Bonifacio a s ...
focused not only on exegesis of the historical Aquinas but also on the articulation of a rigorous system of orthodox Thomism to be used as an instrument of critique of contemporary thought. Due to its suspicion of attempts to harmonize Aquinas with non-Thomistic categories and assumptions, Neo-Scholastic Thomism has sometimes been called "
strict observance Thomism Neo-scholasticism (also known as neo-scholastic Thomism Accessed 27 March 2013 or neo-Thomism because of the great influence of the writings of Thomas Aquinas on the movement) is a revival and development of medieval scholasticism in Catholic the ...
." A discussion of recent and current Neo-Scholastic Thomism can be found in ''La Metafisica di san Tommaso d'Aquino e i suoi interpreti'' (2002) by Battista Mondin, which includes such figures as
Martin Grabmann Martin Grabmann (5 January 1875 – 9 January 1949) was a German Roman Catholic priest, medievalist and historian of theology and philosophy. He was a pioneer of the history of medieval philosophy and has been called "the greatest Catholic scholar ...
, Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Sofia Vanni Rovighi (1908–1990),
Cornelio Fabro Cornelio Fabro Stigmatines, CSS (Talmassons, Flumignano, Province of Udine, Udine, 24 August 1911 – Rome, 4 May 1995) was an Italian Catholic priest of the Stigmatines, Stigmatine Order and a scholastic Thomism, Thomist philosopher. He was the fo ...
(1911–1995), Carlo Giacon (1900–1984),
Tomáš Týn Tomáš Týn O.P., (May 3, 1950 – January 1, 1990) was a Czech Roman Catholic priest, professor of moral theology at the University of Bologna and member of the Czech Dominican Province. Biography Tomáš Týn was a Dominican theologian ...
(1950–1990), Abelardo Lobato (1925–2012), Leo Elders (1926–2019) and
Giovanni Ventimiglia Giovanni Ventimiglia is a Swiss–Italian philosopher. He is full Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lucerne (Switzerland) and Vice Dean of its Faculty of Theology. He is director of the new Centre for Theology and Philosophy of Religion ...
(b. 1964) among others. Fabro in particular emphasizes Aquinas' originality, especially with respect to the ''actus essendi'' or act of existence of finite beings by participating in being itself. Other scholars such as those involved with the "Progetto Tommaso" seek to establish an objective and universal reading of Aquinas' texts.


Cracow Circle Thomism

Cracow Circle Thomism (named after Cracow) has been called "the most significant expression of Catholic thought between the two World Wars." Accessed 15 March 2013 The Circle was founded by a group of philosophers and theologians that in distinction to more traditional Neo-Scholastic Thomism embraced modern formal logic as an analytical tool for traditional Thomist philosophy and theology. Inspired by the logical clarity of Aquinas, members of the Circle held both philosophy and theology to contain "propositions with truth-values…a structured body of propositions connected in meaning and subject matter, and linked by logical relations of compatibility and incompatibility, entailment etc." "The Cracow Circle set about investigating and where possible improving this logical structure with the most advanced logical tools available at the time, namely those of modern mathematical logic, then called 'logistic'." Étienne Gilson (1884–1978), the key proponent of existential Thomism, tended to emphasize the importance of historical exegesis but also to deemphasize Aquinas's continuity with the Aristotelian tradition, and like
Cornelio Fabro Cornelio Fabro Stigmatines, CSS (Talmassons, Flumignano, Province of Udine, Udine, 24 August 1911 – Rome, 4 May 1995) was an Italian Catholic priest of the Stigmatines, Stigmatine Order and a scholastic Thomism, Thomist philosopher. He was the fo ...
of the Neo-scholastic school, to highlight the originality of Aquinas's doctrine of being as existence. He was also critical of the Neo-Scholastics' focus on the tradition of the commentators, and given what he regarded as their insufficient emphasis on being or existence accused them of "
essentialism Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle sim ...
" (to allude to the other half of Aquinas's distinction between being and essence). Gilson's reading of Aquinas as putting forward a distinctively "Christian philosophy" tended, at least in the view of his critics, to blur Aquinas's distinction between philosophy and theology.
Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aquinas fo ...
(1882–1973) introduced into Thomistic metaphysics the notion that philosophical reflection begins with an "intuition of being," and in ethics and social philosophy sought to harmonize Thomism with
personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleierm ...
and pluralistic democracy. Though "existential Thomism" was sometimes presented as a counterpoint to modern existentialism, the main reason for the label is the emphasis this approach puts on Aquinas's doctrine of existence. Contemporary proponents include Joseph Owens and
John F. X. Knasas John Francis Xavier Knasas (born 1948) is an American philosopher. He is a leading existential Thomist in the Neo-Thomist movement, best known for engaging such thinkers as Bernard Lonergan, Alasdair MacIntyre and Jeremy Wilkins in disputes ov ...
.


River Forest Thomism

According to River Forest Thomism (named after River Forest, Illinois), the
natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
s are
epistemologically Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...
prior to metaphysics, preferably called metascience. This approach emphasizes the Aristotelian foundations of Aquinas's philosophy, and in particular the idea that the construction of a sound metaphysics must be preceded by a sound understanding of natural science, as interpreted in light of an Aristotelian philosophy of nature. Accordingly, it is keen to show that modern physical science can and should be given such an interpretation.
Charles De Koninck Charles De Koninck (29 July 1906 – 13 February 1965) was a Belgian-Canadian Thomist philosopher and theologian. As director of the Department of Philosophy at the Université Laval in Quebec, he influenced Catholic philosophy in French Canada a ...
, Raymond Jude Nogar, James A. Weisheipl, William A. Wallace, and
Benedict Ashley Benedict M. Ashley, O.P. (born Winston Norman Ashley, May 3, 1915 – February 23, 2013), was an American theologian and philosopher who had a major influence on 20th century Catholic theology and ethics in America through his writing, teaching, an ...
, are among its representatives. It is sometimes called "Laval Thomism" after the
University of Laval A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in Quebec, where De Koninck was a professor. The alternative label "River Forest Thomism" derives from a suburb of Chicago, the location of the Albertus Magnus Lyceum for Natural Science, whose members have been associated with this approach. It is also sometimes called "Aristotelian Thomism" (to highlight its contrast with Gilson's brand of existential Thomism) though since Neo-Scholastic Thomism also emphasizes Aquinas's continuity with Aristotle, this label seems a bit too proprietary. (There are writers, like the contemporary Thomist
Ralph McInerny Ralph Matthew McInerny (February 24, 1929 – January 29, 2010) was an American author and philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame. McInerny's most popular mystery novels featured Father Dowling, and was later adapted into the '' ...
who have exhibited both Neo-Scholastic and Laval/River Forest influences, and the approaches are not necessarily incompatible.)


Transcendental Thomism

Unlike the first three schools mentioned above, transcendental Thomism, associated with
Joseph Maréchal Joseph Maréchal, SJ (; 1 July 1878 – 11 December 1944) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, philosopher, theologian and psychologist. He taught at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the University of Leuven and was the founder of the school of ...
(1878–1944), Karl Rahner (1904–84), and Bernard Lonergan (1904–84), does not oppose modern philosophy wholesale, but seeks to reconcile Thomism with a
Cartesian Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—from his Latinized name ''Cartesius''. It may refer to: Mathematics *Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory *Cartesian coordinate system, modern ...
subject-centered approach to knowledge in general, and Kantian
transcendental philosophy In philosophy, transcendence is the basic ground concept from the word's literal meaning (from Latin), of climbing or going beyond, albeit with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages. It includes philosophies, syste ...
in particular. It seems fair to say that most Thomists otherwise tolerant of diverse approaches to Aquinas's thought tend to regard transcendental Thomism as having conceded too much to modern philosophy genuinely to count as a variety of Thomism, strictly speaking, and this school of thought has in any event been far more influential among theologians than among philosophers.


Lublin Thomism

Lublin Thomism, which derives its name from the
Catholic University of Lublin John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin ( pl, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, la, Universitas Catholica Lublinensis Ioannis Pauli II, abbreviation KUL), established in 1918. It is the only private college in Poland with the s ...
in Poland where it is centered, is also sometimes called "phenomenological Thomism." Like transcendental Thomism, it seeks to combine Thomism with certain elements of modern philosophy. In particular, it seeks to make use of the
phenomenological Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...
method of philosophical analysis associated with Edmund Husserl and the
ethical personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleier ...
of writers like
Max Scheler Max Ferdinand Scheler (; 22 August 1874 – 19 May 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Considered in his lifetime one of the most prominent German philosophers,Davis, Zachar ...
in articulating the Thomist conception of the human person. Its best-known proponent is Karol Wojtyla (1920–2005), who went on to become Pope John Paul II. However, unlike transcendental Thomism, the metaphysics of Lublin Thomism places priority on existence (as opposed to essence), making it an existential Thomism that demonstrates consonance with the Thomism of Étienne Gilson. The phenomenological concerns of the Lublin school are not metaphysical in nature as this would constitute idealism. Rather, they are considerations which are brought into relation with central positions of the school, such as when dealing with modern science, its epistemological value, and its relation to metaphysics.


Analytical Thomism

Analytical Thomism described by John Haldane, its key proponent, as "a broad philosophical approach that brings into mutual relationship the styles and preoccupations of recent English-speaking philosophy and the concepts and concerns shared by Aquinas and his followers" (from the article on "analytical Thomism" in ''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', edited by Ted Honderich). By "recent English-speaking philosophy" Haldane means the
analytical tradition Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United Sta ...
founded by thinkers like Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, which tends to dominate academic philosophy in the English-speaking world. Elizabeth Anscombe (1919–2001) and her husband
Peter Geach Peter Thomas Geach (29 March 1916 – 21 December 2013) was a British philosopher who was Professor of Logic at the University of Leeds. His areas of interest were philosophical logic, ethics, history of philosophy, philosophy of religion and t ...
are sometimes considered the first "analytical Thomists," though (like most writers to whom this label has been applied) they did not describe themselves in these terms, and as Haldane's somewhat vague expression "mutual relationship" indicates, there does not seem to be any set of doctrines held in common by all analytical Thomists. What they do have in common seems to be that they are philosophers trained in the analytic tradition who happen to be interested in Aquinas in some way; and the character of their "analytical Thomism" is determined by whether it tends to stress the "analytical" side of analytical Thomism, or the "Thomism" side, or, alternatively, attempts to emphasize both sides equally.


24 Thomistic theses of Pius X

With the decree ''Postquam sanctissimus'' of 27 July 1914,
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
stated that 24 theses formulated by "teachers from various institutions ..clearly contain the principles and more important thoughts" of Aquinas.


Ontology

# Potency and Act divide being in such a way that whatever is, is either
pure act In Scholasticism, scholastic philosophy, ''Actus Purus'' (English language, English: "Pure Actuality," "Pure Act") is the absolute perfection of God. Overview Created beings have potentiality that is not actuality, imperfections as well as perfec ...
, or of necessity it is composed of potency and act as primary and intrinsic principles. # Since act is perfection, it is not limited except through a potency which itself is a capacity for perfection. Hence in any order in which an act is pure act, it will only exist, in that order, as a unique and unlimited act. But whenever it is finite and manifold, it has entered into a true composition with potency. # Consequently, the one God, unique and simple, alone subsists in absolute being. All other things that participate in being have a nature whereby their being is restricted; they are constituted of essence and being, as really distinct principles. # A thing is called a being because of "esse". God and creature are not called beings univocally, nor wholly equivocally, but analogically, by an analogy both of attribution and of proportionality. # In every creature there is also a real composition of the subsisting subject and of added secondary forms, i.e. accidental forms. Such composition cannot be understood unless being is really received in an essence distinct from it. # Besides the absolute accidents there is also the relative accident, relation. Although by reason of its own character relation does not signify anything inhering in another, it nevertheless often has a cause in things, and hence a real entity distinct from the subject. # A spiritual creature is wholly simple in its essence. Yet there is still a twofold composition in the spiritual creature, namely, that of the essence with being, and that of the substance with accidents. # However, the corporeal creature is composed of act and potency even in its very essence. These act and potency in the order of essence are designated by the names ''form'' and ''matter'' respectively.


Cosmology

# Neither the matter nor the form have being of themselves, nor are they produced or corrupted of themselves, nor are they included in any category otherwise than reductively, as substantial principles. # Although extension in quantitative parts follows upon a corporeal nature, nevertheless it is not the same for a body to be a substance and for it to be quantified. For of itself substance is indivisible, not indeed as a point is indivisible, but as that which falls outside the order of dimensions is indivisible. But quantity, which gives the substance extension, really differs from the substance and is truly an accident. # The principle of individuation, i.e., of numerical distinction of one individual from another with the same specific nature, is matter designated by quantity. Thus in pure spirits there cannot be more than one individual in the same specific nature. # By virtue of a body's quantity itself, the body is circumscriptively in a place, and in one place alone circumscriptively, no matter what power might be brought to bear. # Bodies are divided into two groups; for some are living and others are devoid of life. In the case of the living things, in order that there be in the same subject an essentially moving part and an essentially moved part, the substantial form, which is designated by the name soul, requires an organic disposition, i.e. heterogeneous parts.


Psychology

# Souls in the vegetative and sensitive orders cannot subsist of themselves, nor are they produced of themselves. Rather, they are no more than principles whereby the living thing exists and lives; and since they are wholly dependent upon matter, they are incidentally corrupted through the corruption of the composite. # On the other hand, the human soul subsists of itself. When it can be infused into a sufficiently disposed subject, it is created by God. By its very nature, it is incorruptible and immortal. # This rational soul is united to the body in such a manner that it is the only substantial form of the body. By virtue of his soul a man is a man, an animal, a living thing, a body, a substance and a being. Therefore, the soul gives man every essential degree of perfection; moreover, it gives the body a share in the act of being whereby it itself exists. # From the human soul there naturally issue forth powers pertaining to two orders, the organic and the non-organic. The organic powers, among which are the senses, have the composite as their subject. The non-organic powers have the soul alone as their subject. Hence, the intellect is a power intrinsically independent of any bodily organ. # Intellectuality necessarily follows upon immateriality, and furthermore, in such manner that the further the distance from matter, the higher the degree of intellectuality. Any being is the adequate object of understanding in general. But in the present state of union of soul and body, quantities abstracted from the material conditions of individuality are the proper object of the human intellect. # Therefore, we receive knowledge from sensible things. But since sensible things are not actually intelligible, in addition to the intellect, which formally understands, an active power must be acknowledged in the soul, which power abstracts intelligible likeness or species from sense images in the imagination. # Through these intelligible likenesses or species we directly know universals, i.e. the natures of things. We attain to singulars by our senses, and also by our intellect, when it beholds the sense images. But we ascend to knowledge of spiritual things by analogy. # The will does not precede the intellect but follows upon it. The will necessarily desires that which is presented to it as a good in every respect satisfying the appetite. But it freely chooses among the many goods that are presented to it as desirable according to a changeable judgment or evaluation. Consequently, the choice follows the final practical judgment. But the will is the cause of it being the final one.


God

# We do not perceive by an immediate intuition that God exists, nor do we prove it '' a priori''. But we do prove it ''
a posteriori ("from the earlier") and ("from the later") are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. knowledge is independent from current ex ...
'', i.e., from the things that have been created, following an argument from the effects to the cause: namely, from things which are moved and cannot be the adequate source of their motion, to a first unmoved mover; from the production of the things in this world by causes subordinated to one another, to a first uncaused cause; from corruptible things which equally might be or not be, to an absolutely necessary being; from things which more or less are, live, and understand, according to degrees of being, living and understanding, to that which is maximally understanding, maximally living and maximally a being; finally, from the order of all things, to a separated intellect which has ordered and organized things, and directs them to their end. # The metaphysical motion of the Divine Essence is correctly expressed by saying that it is identified with the exercised actuality of its own being, or that it is subsistent being itself. And this is the reason for its infinite and unlimited perfection. # By reason of the very purity of His being, God is distinguished from all finite beings. Hence it follows, in the first place, that the world could only have come from God by creation; secondly, that not even by way of a miracle can any finite nature be given creative power, which of itself directly attains the very being of any being; and finally, that no created agent can in any way influence the being of any effect unless it has itself been moved by the first Cause.


Criticism

In his ''
Against Henry, King of the English ''Against Henry, King of the English'', originally in Latin as ''Contra Henricum Regem Anglie'', was a book written in 1522 by Martin Luther against Henry VIII of England. It was a response to Henry's book, ''Assertio septem sacramentorum.''Richar ...
'', Luther criticized the use of the proof by assertion and a reliance on style over substance in the Thomist form of disputation, which he alleged as being, "It seems so to me. I think so. I believe so." Luther also argued that the Thomist method led to shallowness among theological debates in England at the time.Martin Luther against Henry King of England
translated by the Rev. E. S. Buchanan, M.A., BSc New York: Charles A. Swift, 1928
Thomism was criticized by Bertrand Russell in '' A History of Western Philosophy'' (1946). Besides this, neo-scholasticism in general, including Thomism, is criticized by some Catholics.


See also

* Criticism of the Catholic Church#Nature of theology * Brian Davies * Peter Kreeft *
Brian Leftow Brian Leftow (born 1956) is an American philosopher specializing in philosophy of religion, medieval philosophy, and metaphysics. He is the William P. Alston Professor for the Philosophy of Religion at Rutgers University. Previously, he held the N ...
*
List of Thomist writers (13th–18th centuries) This list of Thomist writers runs from the 13th to the 18th century, stopping short of neo-Thomism. It includes writers who engaged with the thought of Thomas Aquinas, but might not strictly be considered Thomist thinkers. ''Source'': The ''Cathol ...
*
Alasdair MacIntyre Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (; born 12 January 1929) is a Scottish-American philosopher who has contributed to moral and political philosophy as well as history of philosophy and theology. MacIntyre's '' After Virtue'' (1981) is one of the most ...
* Rule according to higher law *
Rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
* School of Salamanca * Thomistic sacramental theology *
Thomistic Institute The Thomistic Institute is an academic institute of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, a Catholic pontifical faculty run by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) located in Washington, D.C. Foun ...


References


Further reading


''Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought''
by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange * * ''Modern Thomistic Philosophy'' by Richard Percival Phillips, an introduction on the Thomistic philosophy of nature
Introductory chapter by Craig Paterson and Matthew Pugh on the development of Thomism

The XXIV Theses of Thomistic Philosophy
an


External links


Thomas Aquinas' Works in English

Corpus Thomisticum
– Aquina's complete works

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