Thomism

Thomism is the system of philosophy developed by thirteenth-century Christian theologian St. Thomas Aquinas. His philosophy fused elements from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle with the theology of the medieval church. Aquinas believed that both faith and logic could be used to explain Christian doctrine and lead to proof of the existence of God. Among its many tenets, Thomistic thought considered such elements as the role of free will in human existence and the nature of the soul. His defining work, the Summa Theologica (c. 1265-1274), is one of the most significant influences on the philosophical doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.

Background

Thomas Aquinas was born into a wealthy Italian family around the year 1225. As a boy, he attended school at a nearby monastery and later studied at the University of Naples. After being impressed by a Dominican monk at the school, Aquinas joined the Dominican Order and went to study theology at the University of Paris.

During this time, medieval Europe was nearing the end of the Crusades, a series of wars fought in an attempt to regain the holy land from the Muslims. As they traveled through the Middle East, the Crusaders encountered the philosophical writings of Ancient Greece and the Islamic world. They brought the newly acquired knowledge back to Europe, where medieval scholars readily consumed it.

One of those scholars was Aquinas, who was introduced to the works of Islamic and Jewish philosophers such as Al-Ghazali, Averroes, and Maimonides. The most profound influence on Aquinas was the writings of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived in the fourth century Before the Common Era (BCE). Aristotle's use of logic, reason, and the scientific method in an attempt to understand reality was instrumental in the foundation of Western philosophy.

Overview

Aristotle's views on logic and reason seemed contradictory to medieval theology, which held that the universe could only be understood through faith and divine revelation. The prevailing religious philosophy of the time was predominantly based on the work of St. Augustine, a church leader who died in 430 Common Era (CE). The Greek philosopher Plato, the teacher of Aristotle, influenced Augustine. Plato developed the concept of the natural world being made up of ideal universal forms. Thomism was Aquinas's attempt to move the existing philosophy of Christianity away from Plato and closer to the teachings of Aristotle.

Aquinas believed that truth learned through reason and faith could coexist in Christian theology because God created them both. The truth of reason could be perceived by the senses, while divine truth must be received through faith. For example, a person observing the wonders of the natural world can see the hand of an intelligent creator, but only faith can identify the true God as that creator.

Aquinas believed that human beings were made up of the "prime matter" of the body and the "substantial form" of the soul. The soul was similar to angels, who he believed were also made of substantial form. Souls were unique, and no two could be identical. Because the soul was not made of matter, Aquinas felt it could not be destroyed and was, therefore, immortal.

Aquinas argued that the natural laws of the universe come from the very mind of God and are eternal and unchanging. God's master plan guided the universe, yet to Aquinas, humans had some degree of free will. He believed that humans make decisions based on the interaction between the human will and human intellect. Humans have a fundamental desire, inspired by God, to seek happiness and an outcome they see as good. The intellect can identify the source of this happiness, but humans are granted the free will to choose their own path. In Aquinas's view, the ultimate happiness was the grace granted by God and the knowledge and love of God.

Thomistic philosophy offered five theological points to prove the existence of God. The first proof argued that since everything in the universe is acted upon, or moved, by another force, there must come a point where one encounters the ultimate force, or "prime mover" of all existence. The second proof follows a similar logic, in that everything in the world follows a chain of efficient causes. Since no result can be its own cause, the chain of efficient causes continues until it reaches the one self-sufficient cause, or God.

The third proof holds that since everything in the natural world did not exist at one point, there must have been a time when nothing existed. However, the world obviously exists, so a being who had always existed must have created it. The fourth proof argues that since everything in life has an ultimate measure—for example, there is always a tallest mountain or a hottest climate—God must be the ultimate form of goodness. In his final proof, Aquinas stated that because everything follows a natural order, such as planets moving in their orbits, this order could not have sprung from nothing and must have arisen from something.

The monks of the Dominican Order adopted Aquinas's philosophy and championed his ideas, but other groups in the church attacked his views. The archbishop of Paris tried to have Aquinas's philosophy condemned, but the Roman Church denied the attempt.

Aquinas died in 1274 and was canonized a Saint by Pope John XXII in 1323. His primary work, Summa Theologica (A Summation of Theological Knowledge), was unfinished at the time of his death but went on to be used as a primary philosophical defense of Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.

Aquinas's work fell out of favor for several centuries, until it experienced a revival in the late nineteenth century. In 1879, Pope Leo XIII declared Thomism as the authentic doctrine of the church and worthy of theological study. Thomism remained the dominant Roman Catholic ideology until the 1960s, when the church modernized after the Second Vatican Council. The role of Aquinas's philosophy was reduced as the church accepted the viewpoints of other theologies as well. However, Thomism was not abandoned and continued to be a primary source of study and influence in the Roman Catholic Church and other faiths. In the twenty-first century, Thomism continued to play an integral role in the theology, philosophy, and doctrine of the Catholic Church. Contemporary Thomism, also called Analytical Thomism, applied the main principles of Aquinas’s work to the contemporary Church. Modern Thomism offered an approach to faith that continued to incorporate reason, common sense, and natural laws. The ability of Thomism to adapt to the evolving Church has allowed it to remain relevant for centuries.

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