Saint Thomas Aquinas was an incredibly influential Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church who lived in the 13th century. He was a scholar who had a profound impact on Western philosophy and theology. Here is an in-depth look at his life, teachings, and legacy.
Life and Education
Thomas Aquinas was born circa 1225 in Roccasecca, Italy, near Aquino, the castle of his wealthy noble family. As a young boy, he began his education at the Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino, where he stayed until the age of 14. He then studied at the University of Naples. It was during his time in Naples that Thomas first encountered the Dominican Order and felt drawn to join them. Much to his family’s chagrin, he entered the Dominican priory in Naples in 1244. His family even sent his brothers to kidnap him from the priory and hold him captive for over a year at the castle of San Giovanni to try and dissuade him, but he refused to leave the Dominicans. Eventually, his family relented and allowed him to continue his studies.
Thomas began his studies with Albertus Magnus, a German Dominican priest and philosopher, at the University of Paris. He accompanied Albertus to the University of Cologne in 1248, where he continued his education and was ordained as a Dominican priest. He returned to the University of Paris to complete his master’s degree and graduated at some point between 1256-1259. He remained in Paris to teach.
During his years of study and teaching, Thomas wrote detailed commentaries on the bible and the leading texts of Aristotle. This would lay the groundwork for his greatest written works that synthesized Aristotelian philosophy and Catholic theology. His vast catalog of writings covered topics like philosophy, theology, scripture, ethics and law. His most well-known works include the Summa contra Gentiles and his unfinished but highly influential Summa Theologiae, a systematic work of theology aimed to provide a comprehensive account of core Christian beliefs using Aristotelian reasoning.
Teachings and Philosophy
At the heart of Aquinas’ philosophy was his view that faith and reason were complementary paths to knowing truth. He believed human reason could help understand revelation and the truths of the Christian faith. To Aquinas, there could be no real contradiction between faith and reason since God created both. His life’s work was dedicated to weaving together insights from philosophy and theology into a comprehensive system of thought.
Some key elements of Aquinas’ teachings include:
- Emphasizing natural law – the use of reason to discern ethical truths and God’s eternal law
- Affirming the role of divine revelation while also asserting that reason and philosophy are valid avenues to truth
- Belief that the existence of God can be philosophically proven through logic and reason
- Integrating Aristotle’s philosophy with Christian theology
- Defending human freedom while affirming God’s omniscience and omnipotence
- Viewing faith as foundational and philosophy as the handmaiden of theology
- Formulating proofs for the existence of God that became classics of Western philosophy
- Discussing exhaustive topics ranging from sacraments, ethics, biblical exegesis, semantics, metaphysics, and more
Aquinas’ commitment to the harmony between faith and reason was a distinctive feature of his work. He argued that reason alone could point toward many Christian doctrines like God’s existence, even if specific beliefs like the Trinity still required revelation. Overall, Aquinas synthesized Christianity and Aristotelian philosophy in a way that deeply shaped Western thought.
Five Proofs of God’s Existence
One of the most influential aspects of Aquinas’ philosophy were his five proofs for God’s existence from natural reason that he laid out in the Summa Theologiae. These five arguments have played a monumental role in theological and philosophical discussions of God’s existence. The five ways, paraphrased, are:
- The Argument of the Unmoved Mover – Some things in the world are changing or in motion. Anything that is changing or moving must be caused to do so by something else. There cannot be an infinite series of movers. Therefore, there must be an Unmoved Mover (God) who is the ultimate cause of all motion.
- The Argument of the First Cause – Everything that exists has a cause. There cannot be an infinite regress of causes. Thus there must be a First Cause (God) who began the chain of existence.
- The Argument from Contingency – Contingent beings exist in the world which means they have the possibility of non-existence. If everything were contingent, then nothing would exist. Therefore, there must be a necessary being (God) on which all contingent things depend.
- The Argument from Degree – There are degrees of truth, goodness and excellence we find in things. These degrees imply a maximum or perfect standard that causes lesser degrees. This perfect standard is God.
- The Teleological Argument – The universe exhibits order and regularity. Complex systems and organisms show immense complexity and purpose. These designs imply a Divine Designer behind them.
These five arguments continue to be analyzed, critiqued and defended to this day. They highlighted Aquinas’ use of deductive reasoning to philosophically argue for God’s existence apart from divine revelation.
Views on Law and Ethics
Aquinas also made substantial contributions to the understanding of ethics, natural law and just war theory in Catholic theology. Some key views he articulated include:
- There is an eternal divine law that orders the universe. Human laws must be measured against this eternal standard.
- Natural law is the imprint of divine law on humans which reveals ethical truths through reason.
- The conscience is the “herald” of natural law implanted by God to guide us.
- Morality is properly reasoned action ordered toward the good.
- Humans actively assent to God’s grace for transformation.
- Individual rights are balanced with responsibilities for the common good.
- War could be morally justified under specific stringent conditions like just cause and right intention.
Aquinas emphasized using reason to ascertain morality while also affirming the role of divine grace. His thoughts continue to inform contemporary ethics on issues like just war theory and conscience. Overall, his work fused reason and revelation in powerful ways across philosophy, theology and law.
Veneration and Canonization
Thomas Aquinas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian abbey of Fossanova near Sonnino, Italy. Soon after his death, the Catholic Church began to venerate him for his saintly life, theological writings and defense of Christian doctrine. In 1323, Pope John XXII canonized Aquinas, making him an official saint. In 1567, Pope Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church for his eminent learning and contribution to theology.
Over the centuries, Aquinas became revered as the greatest medieval Catholic theologian and philosopher. Dozens of universities, schools and seminaries around the globe that teach Thomistic philosophy and theology have been established in his name. Saint Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the foremost Doctors of the Church and the patron saint of academics and Catholic schools.
His enormous corpus of philosophical and theological writings made an immense impact on Western thought in the Middle Ages and continues to profoundly influence Catholic theology and doctrine today. For his groundbreaking synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy and Christian revelation, Thomas Aquinas stands out as one of the greatest systematic theologians and philosophical minds in Church history.