Thomas Aquinas: biography, creativity, ideas. Thomas Aquinas doctrine of man - abstract In what era did Thomas Aquinas live?

Topic: “Thomas Aquinas: doctrine of man.”

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..3 pages.

1.Biography of Thomas Aquinas……………………………………………………….…..4 pp.

2. Historical and philosophical origins……………………………..………..….6 p.

3. The ideas of Thomas Aquinas……………………………………..………......7 pp.

4. Works of Thomas Aquinas…………………………………………......8 pp.

5. The doctrine of man………………………………………………………..9 p.

Conclusion……………………………………………………………11 p.

List of used literature………………………...………………...12 pages.

INTRODUCTION

As part of my test, I will try to briefly talk about one of the largest scholastic philosophers of the Western European Middle Ages - Thomas Aquinas, about some specific provisions of the theocentric worldview that he developed and about its significance in philosophy.

The philosophy of Thomas Aquinas did not immediately gain universal recognition among the scholastic movements of the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas had opponents in the Dominican Order, among some members of the clergy, the Latin Averroists. However, despite the initial attacks, from the 14th century. Thomas becomes the highest authority of the church, which recognizes his doctrine as its official philosophy.

1. BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS AQUINAS

Thomas Aquinas (otherwise Thomas Aquinas or Thomas Aquinas, lat. Thomas Aquinas) is the most prominent and influential scholastic philosopher of the Western European Middle Ages. Thomas's homeland was Italy. Born at the end of 1225. or early 1226 in the castle of Rocolleca, near Aquino, in the kingdom of Naples. Thomas's father, Count Landolf, was a prominent Italian feudal lord in Aquino. Mother, Theodora, came from a wealthy Neapolitan family. In the 5th year of his life, Thomas was assigned to study at the Benedictine monastery in Monte Cassino, where he spent about 9 years, going through classical school, from which he learned excellent knowledge of the Latin language. In 1239 he returned to his home, taking off his monastic robe. In the autumn of the same year, he went to Naples, where he studied at the university under the guidance of mentors Martin and Peter of Ireland. In 1244, Thomas decided to join the Dominican order, refusing the position of abbot of Monte Cassino, which caused a strong protest from the family. Having taken monastic vows, he spends several months in a monastery in Naples. Here it was decided to send him to the University of Paris, which was at that time the center of Catholic thought. On the way to Paris, he was captured by a group of horsemen - his brothers and was returned to his father's castle and here, for preventive purposes, he was imprisoned in a tower. where he stayed for over a year. Subsequently, the family, without neglecting any means, tries to force their son to abandon his decision. But seeing that he was not inclined, she resigned herself and in 1245 he went to Paris. During his stay at the University of Paris (1245-1248), he listened to the lectures of his teacher Albert Bolstedt, later nicknamed Albert the Great, who had a huge influence on him. Together with Albert, Foma also spent 4 years at the University of Kelm; during classes, Foma did not show much activity and rarely took part in debates, for which his colleagues nicknamed him the Dumb Bull. In 1252 he returns to the University of Paris, where he successively goes through all the steps necessary to obtain the degree of master of theology and licentiate, after which he teaches theology in Paris until 1259. A number of his theological works and commentaries on the Holy Scriptures were published here, and he began work on the “Philosophical Summa.” In 1259 Pope Urban IV summoned him to Rome, where his stay lasted until 1268. The appearance of Thomas at the papal court was not accidental. The Roman Curia saw in him a person who was to perform important work for the church, namely, to give an interpretation of Aristotelianism in the spirit of Catholicism. Here Thomas completes the “Philosophical Summa” (1259-1269) begun in Paris, writes works, and also begins work on the main work of his life - “Theological Summa”. In the autumn of 1269 At the direction of the Roman Curia, Thomas goes to Paris, leads a fierce struggle against the Latin Averroists and their leader Siger of Brabant, as well as polemics against conservative Catholic theologians who still wanted to adhere only to the principles of Augustinianism. In this dispute, he took his own position, speaking out against both those and other Augustians, he reproached them for conservatism and rejection of new ideas. The philosophical views of the Averroists undermined the foundations of the Christian Catholic faith, the defense of which became the main meaning of Aquinas’s entire life. In 1272 Thomas was returned to Italy. He teaches theology in Naples, where he continues to work on the "Theological Summa", which he completes in 1273. Thomas is the author of a number of other works, as well as commentaries on the works of Aristotle and other philosophers. After 2 years, Aquinas leaves Naples to take part in the council convened by Pope Gregory X, which took place in Lyon. During the trip he became seriously ill and died on March 7, 1274. in the Bernardine monastery in Fossanuova. After his death, he was given the title "angelic doctor." In 1323, during the pontificate of Pope John XXII, Thomas was canonized, and in 1567. recognized as the fifth "teacher of the church".

2. HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ORIGINS

The greatest influence on the philosophy of Thomas was exerted by Aristotle, who was largely creatively rethought by him; The influence of the Neoplatonists, Greek commentators Aristotle, Cicero, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Augustine, Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury, John of Damascus, Avicenna, Averroes, Gebirol and Maimonides and many other thinkers is also noticeable.

3. IDEAS OF THOMAS AQUINAS

The system of Thomas Aquinas is based on the idea of ​​a fundamental agreement between two truths - those based on revelation and those derived by human reason: human reason is not able to reach some truths obtained from revelation (for example, the divine trinity, resurrection in the flesh, etc.) using its own means, however, these truths, although they surpass reason, do not contradict it. Theology starts from revealed truths and uses philosophical means to explicate them; philosophy moves from the rational understanding of what is given in sensory experience to the justification of the supersensible, for example. the existence of God, His unity, etc. (Commentary to “On the Trinity” by Boethius, II 3).

1. WORKS OF THOMAS AQUINAS

The works of Thomas Aquinas include two extensive treatises covering a wide range of topics - "Summa Theology" and "Summa against the Gentiles" ("Summa Philosophy"), discussions on theological and philosophical problems ("Debatable Questions" and "Questions on Various Subjects"), detailed comments on several books of the Bible, on 12 treatises of Aristotle, on the "Sentences" of Peter of Lombardy", on the treatises of Boethius, Pseudo-Dionysius and on the anonymous "Book of Causes", as well as a number of small works on philosophical and religious topics and poetic texts for "Debatable Questions" and "Commentaries" were largely the fruit of his teaching activities, which, according to the tradition of that time, included debates and readings of authoritative texts, accompanied by commentaries.

5. TEACHING ABOUT MAN

As the first cause, God creates numerous kinds and kinds of things, endowed with varying degrees of perfection, required for the completeness of the universe, which has a hierarchical structure. A special place in creation is occupied by man, who contains two worlds - material and spiritual, which is the unity of the material body and soul as a form of the body. The material component of a person is constitutive and non-eliminable: it is matter that is the “principle of individuation” of representatives of the same species (including humans). Although the soul is not subject to destruction when the body is destroyed, due to the fact that it is simple and can exist separately from the body, due to the implementation of special activities independent of the functioning of the material organ, it is not recognized by Thomas as an independent entity; for its perfection, union with the body is required, in which Thomas sees an argument in favor of the dogma of resurrection in the flesh (On the Soul, 14). Man differs from the animal world in the presence of the ability of cognition and, on the basis of this, the ability to make a free, conscious choice: it is the intellect and free (from any external necessity) will that are the grounds for performing truly human actions (in contrast to the actions characteristic of both man and and animals) belonging to the ethical sphere. In the relationship between the two highest human abilities - intellect and will, the advantage belongs to the intellect (a position that caused controversy between the Thomists and Scotists), since the will necessarily follows the intellect, which represents for it this or that being as good; however, when an action is performed in specific circumstances and with the help of certain means, volitional effort comes to the fore (On Evil, 6). Along with a person’s own efforts, to perform good actions also requires divine grace, which does not eliminate the uniqueness of human nature, but improves it. Also, divine control of the world and the prediction of all (including individual and random) events does not exclude freedom of choice: God, as the highest cause, allows independent actions of secondary causes, including those entailing negative moral consequences, since God is able to turn to good is evil created by independent agents.

CONCLUSION

At the conclusion of the test, I consider it necessary to draw a conclusion that would outline the main views of F. Aquinas.

From the difference in forms, which are the likeness of God in things, Thomas derives a system of order in the material world. The forms of things, regardless of the degree of their perfection, are involved in the creator, due to which they occupy a certain place in the universal hierarchy of existence. This applies to all areas of the material world and society.

It is necessary for some to be engaged in agriculture, others to be shepherds, and still others to be builders. For the divine harmony of the social world it is also necessary that there be people engaged in spiritual labor and working physically. Each person performs a certain function in the life of society, and everyone creates a certain good.
Differences in the functions performed by people are the result not of the social division of labor, but of the purposeful activity of God. Social and class inequality is not a consequence of antagonistic relations of production, but a reflection of the hierarchy of forms in things. All this essentially served Aquinas to justify the feudal social ladder.
The teachings of Thomas enjoyed great influence in the Middle Ages, and the Roman Church officially recognized it. This teaching is revived in the 20th century under the name of neo-Thomism - one of the most significant movements in Western Catholic philosophy.

Thomas Aquinas is the largest medieval philosopher and theologian, who received the title of "angelic doctor", canonized on July 18, 1323 by John XXII and considered the patron of Catholic universities, colleges and schools. Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical Aeterni Patris (August 4, 1879), declared him the most authoritative Catholic scientist.

Life path.

Thomas’s life is not distinguished by a great variety of external events; it was rich only in wanderings (in which the life of the scientific community of that era and the life of a Dominican mendicant monk usually took place) - born in Italy, Thomas lived in Paris, Cologne, Rome and other cities of Italy. More decisive for Thomas’s biography is the intellectual climate of the era and Thomas’s participation in the ideological discussions of this time, a time of collision of different traditions and the emergence of new ways of understanding the world. This era gave birth to Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure, Roger Bacon, Alexander of Gaelic and other scientists who created the mental culture of mature scholasticism.

Thomas's life path was short and his description easily fits into a few dozen lines. Thomas's father, Landulf, was Count Aquinas; his family was related to the emperors Henry VI, the kings of Aragon, Castile and France. There is still debate about what year he was born, it is called from 1221 to 1227 (the most likely date is 1224-1225); This happened in the castle of Roccasecca near Aquino in the Kingdom of Neopolitan. At the age of five he was sent to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino. In 1239-1243 he studied at the University of Naples. There he became close to the Dominicans and decided to join the Dominican order. However, the family opposed his decision, and his brothers imprisoned Thomas in the fortress of San Giovani, where he remained for some time, according to some accounts for about two years. In captivity, Thomas had the opportunity to read a lot, in particular literature with philosophical content. However, imprisonment could not change Thomas’s decision and the parents had to come to terms with this.

Then Thomas studied for some time in Paris, and in 1244 or 1245, in Cologne, he became a student of Albertus Magnus, already at that time revered as one of the most outstanding scientists of his time. Since 1252, he has been teaching in Paris, first as baccalaureus biblicus (that is, teaching classes on the Bible), then baccalaureus sententiarius (teaching the “Sentences” of Peter of Lombardy), at the same time writing his first works - “On Essence and Existence”, “On principles of nature", "Commentary to the "Sentences"". In 1256 he became a master, for three years he conducted debates “On the Truth”, and, possibly, began work on the “Summa against the Pagans”. Then he wanders around universities, writes a lot, and in 1265 begins to create the Summa Theologiae. Towards the end of his life, ecstasies often occur to him, during one of which a great secret was revealed to him, in comparison with which everything he had written seemed insignificant to him, and on December 6, 1273, he stopped working on the unfinished Summa Theologica. He died in the monastery of Fossa Nuova (March 7, 1274), on the way to the Council, which was to open in Lyon on May 1, 1274. His last work was a commentary on the “Song of Songs” written down by the monks.

Proceedings.

During his rather short life, Thomas wrote more than sixty works (counting only works reliably belonging to him). Thomas wrote quickly and illegibly; he dictated many of his works to secretaries, and could often dictate to several scribes at the same time.

One of Thomas's first works was "Commentaries on the Sentences of Peter of Lombardy" (Commentaria in Libros Sententiarum), based on lectures that Thomas gave at the university. The work of Peter of Lombardy was a commented collection of reflections taken from the Fathers of the Church and devoted to various issues; In the time of Thomas, the Sentences were a compulsory book studied in theological faculties, and many scholars compiled their commentaries on the Sentences. Thomas's Commentaries contain many of the themes of his future works; the composition of this work is a prototype of the sums.

During the same period, a small but extremely important work “On Being and Essence” was written, which is a kind of metaphysical foundation for the philosophy of Thomas.

In accordance with the traditions of the time, a significant part of Thomas's legacy consists of Quaestiones disputatae ("Debatable Questions") - works devoted to specific topics such as truth, soul, evil, etc. Disputational questions are a reflection of the actual teaching practice taking place at the university - open discussions of challenging issues, where the audience expressed all sorts of arguments for and against and one of the bachelors took the arguments from the audience and gave answers to them. The secretary wrote down these arguments and responses. On another appointed day, the master summed up the arguments pro and contra, and gave his determination (determinatio) of the issue as a whole and of each of the arguments, also recorded by the secretary. The dispute was then published either in the resulting version (reportatio) or in the master's edition (ordinatio).

Twice a year, during Advent and Lent, special debates were held, open to the general public, on any topic (de quolibet) raised by any participant in the debate (a quolibet). The bachelor answered these questions impromptu and then the master gave an answer.

The structure of the dispute - the issue brought up for discussion, the opponents' arguments, the general solution to the issue and the resolution of the arguments - is preserved in the "Sums", in a somewhat reduced form.

The work “On the unity of intellect, against the Averroists” (De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas) is devoted to the heated debate that unfolded at that time regarding the reception of the Averroist interpretation of the Aristotelian heritage. In this work, Thomas challenges the idea that only the highest part of the intellect, common to all people, is immortal (which means there is no immortality of the soul), which exists among the Parisian Averroists, and also provides rational justification for the Christian belief in the resurrection of the flesh.

The most important works of Thomas are considered to be two "Summas" - "Summa against the pagans" (Summa veritate catholicae fidei contra gentiles), also called "Summa of Philosophy", and "Summa of Theology" (Summa theologiae vel Summa theologica). The first work, written in Rome, in 1261-1264, was brought to life by the active intellectual exchange taking place between Christian, Muslim and Jewish thinkers. In it, Thomas sought, based on a philosophical (and therefore supra-confessional) position, to defend the Christian faith in the face of Muslims and Jews. This extensive work is divided into four books: I. On God, as such; II. About God's creation of various regions of beings; III. About God as the goal of all beings; IV. About God as He is given in His Revelation.

The second sum, Summa theologica (1266-1273), is considered the central work of Thomas Aquinas. However, it is distinguished by less of the intellectual tension and keen spirit of inquiry that characterizes the "Debatable Questions" and "Summa against the Pagans." In this book, Thomas tries to systematize the results of his works and present them in a fairly accessible form, primarily for theological students. The Summa Theologica consists of three parts (with the second divided into two): pars prima, pars prima secundae, pars secunda secundae and pars tertia, each part is divided into questions, in turn subdivided into chapters - articles (according to the most common citation tradition parts are designated by Roman numerals - I, I-II, II-II, III, Arabic - question and chapter, counter-arguments are marked with the word "ad"). The first part is devoted to establishing the purpose, subject and method of research (question 1), reasoning about the essence of God (2-26), His trinity (27-43) and providence (44-109). In particular, questions 75-102 examine the nature of man as a unity of soul and body, his abilities related to intellect and desire. The second part examines issues of ethics and anthropology, and the third is dedicated to Christ and includes three treatises: on the incarnation of Christ, His deeds and passions, on communion and on eternal life. The third part was not completed; Thomas stopped at the ninetieth question of the treatise on penance. The work was completed by Reginald of Piperno, Thomas's secretary and friend, based on manuscripts and extracts from other works. The complete Summa Theologica contains 38 treatises, 612 questions, divided into 3,120 chapters in which about 10,000 arguments are discussed.

Thomas also owns commentaries on Scripture and various philosophical works, especially the works of Aristotle, as well as Boethius, Plato, Damascene, Pseudo-Dionysius, letters, works devoted to the contradictions of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in matters of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, the primacy of Rome Popes, etc. Many beautiful and poetic works were written by Thomas for worship.

The origins of Thomist philosophy.

Thomas lived in a turbulent intellectual time, at the crossroads of various philosophical traditions, not only European, but also Muslim and Judaic. The Aristotelian roots of his philosophy are striking, but to consider him exclusively an Aristotelian, while contrasting Thomism with Platonism in the Augustinian version, would be very superficial, and due to the ambiguity of his Aristotelianism - after all, Thomas also started from the powerful Greek tradition of interpreting Aristotle (Alexander of Aphrodisias, Simplicius , Themistius), from Arab commentators, and from the early Christian interpretation of Aristotle, as it developed in Boethius, as well as from the practice of translations and school interpretation of Aristotelian philosophy existing at the time of Thomas. At the same time, his use of the Aristotelian heritage was exclusively creative, and primarily because Thomas had to solve problems that went far beyond the scope of Aristotelian problematics, and in this case he was interested in Aristotelianism as an effective method of intellectual search, as well as as a living system that stores in the possibility of revealing completely unexpected (from the point of view of traditional commentary work) conclusions. In the works of Thomas, there is a strong influence of Platonic ideas, primarily Pseudo-Dionysius and Augustine, as well as non-Christian versions of Platonicism, such as the anonymous Arabic “Book of Causes,” which has its source in Proclus’s “Principles of Theology.”

Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest representatives of medieval scholasticism, was born in 1225 in Roccaseca, near Naples. His father was Count Aquinas Landulf, who was related to the French royal house. Thomas was brought up in the famous monastery of Monte Cassino. In 1243, against the will of his parents, he entered the Dominican Order. Foma's attempt to go to Paris to continue his education was initially unsuccessful. On the way, he was kidnapped by his brothers and held captive for some time in his own castle. But Foma managed to escape. He went to Cologne, where he became a student Albertus Magnus. Thomas completed his education in Paris and there, in 1248, he began teaching scholastic philosophy. In this field he enjoyed such success that he received the nicknames doctor universalis and doctor angelicus. In 1261, Pope Urban IV summoned Thomas back to Italy, and he transferred his teaching activities to Bologna, Pisa and Rome. He died in 1274, on the way to Lyon Cathedral, under circumstances that seemed dark to contemporaries. Dante and G. Villani said that Thomas was poisoned by order Charles of Anjou. In 1323 Thomas Aquinas was canonized.

Thomas Aquinas. Artist Carlo Crivelli, 15th century

One of the best experts on Aristotle, Thomas had a huge influence on the development of medieval thought, although he was not an innovator and did not introduce new ideas into scholasticism. The significance of Thomas Aquinas lies in the extraordinary gift of systematization, in subordinating the logical order of the smallest details. Here are his basic and main ideas. There are two sources of knowledge: revelation and reason. We must believe what is given by revelation, even if we do not understand it. Revelation is a divine source of knowledge that flows along the mainstream of Holy Scripture and church tradition. Reason is the lowest source of natural truth, which flows into us through various systems of pagan philosophy, mainly through Aristotle. Revelation and reason are separate sources of knowledge of truth, and in physical matters reference to the will of God is inappropriate (asylum ignorantiae). But the truth cognized with the help of each of them does not contradict the other, for in the final analysis they ascend to the one absolute truth, to God. This is how a synthesis is built between philosophy and theology, the harmony of faith and reason is the main position of scholasticism.

In the dispute between nominalists and realists that worried the scholastics at that time, Thomas Aquinas, following the example of his teacher Albertus Magnus, took the position of moderate realism. He does not recognize the existence of “common essences”, “universals”, which dissociates himself from extreme realism. But these universals, according to the teaching of Thomas, still exist as thoughts of God, embodied in individual things, from where they can be isolated by reason. Thus, universals receive a threefold existence: 1) ante rem, as the thoughts of God; 2) in re, as common in things; 3) post rem, as concepts of reason. Accordingly, Thomas Aquinas sees the principle of individuation in matter, which gives rise to differences between one thing and another, although both embody the same common essence.

Thomas’s main work, “Summa theologiae,” is an attempt at an encyclopedic system in which answers to all questions of the religious and scientific worldview are given with extraordinary logical consistency. For the Catholic Church, Thomas's views are considered irrefutably authoritative. No one was a more consistent defender of papal infallibility and a more determined enemy of human arbitrariness in the field of religion than he. In religion no one dares to think or speak freely, and the church must hand over heretics to secular power, which “severes them from the world through death.” The theological teaching of Thomas, rational and strict, not warmed by love for humanity, represents the official doctrine of Catholicism, which had the most ardent proselytes among the Dominicans ( Thomists) and still retains its significance in Roman Christianity, especially since 1880, when Pope Leo XIII introduced the compulsory study of Thomas Aquinas in all Catholic schools.

But it is not for nothing that Thomas’s works have the character of comprehensive encyclopedias. It touches on all the main issues raised by contemporary reality. In political matters, he stands at the level of feudal views. All power, in his opinion, comes from God, but in practice there are exceptions: illegal and bad power is not from the Almighty. Therefore, not every authority should be obeyed. Obedience is unacceptable when power demands either something contrary to God’s command or something beyond its control: for example, in the internal movements of the soul one must obey only God. Therefore, Thomas justifies indignation against unjust power (“in defense of the common good”) and even allows the murder of the tyrant. Of the forms of government, the best is monarchy, consistent with virtue, and then aristocracy, also consistent with virtue. The combination of these two forms (a virtuous monarch, and below him several virtuous nobles) gives the most perfect government. In furtherance of these views, Thomas proposed to his sovereign, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, to introduce something like a bicameral system in his southern Italian kingdom.

Thomas Aquinas surrounded by angels. Artist Guercino, 1662

Thomas Aquinas deviates somewhat from feudal ideas in matters of, so to speak, trade policy. The remark in the essay “De regimine principum” states that trade and merchants are necessary in the state. Of course, Thomas notes, it would be better if each state produced everything it needed, but since this is rarely possible, merchants, “even foreign ones,” have to be tolerated. It turned out to be difficult for Thomas to outline the boundaries of the free activity of merchants. Already in the Summa Theologica, he had to reckon with two established ideas in theology: about a fair price and about the prohibition of giving money on interest. In any given place, there is one fair price for each item, and therefore prices should not be allowed to fluctuate and depend on supply and demand. It is the moral duty of both buyer and seller to stay as close to a fair price as possible. In addition, for each item there is also a certain quality, and the merchant is obliged to warn the buyer about the defects of the goods. Trade is generally legal only when the profit from it goes to support the merchant’s family, to charity, or when, making a profit, the merchant supplies the country with goods that are necessary but not available on the market. It is certainly unacceptable to trade based on pure speculation, when a merchant makes money by taking advantage of market fluctuations. Only the merchant's labor justifies his profit.

With regard to credit, “he who lends money transfers the ownership of the money to the one to whom he gives; therefore, the one to whom money is lent holds it at his own risk and is obliged to return it intact, and the lender has no right to demand more.” “Receiving interest on money borrowed is in itself an injustice, because in this case something that does not exist is sold, and through this, obviously, inequality is established that is contrary to justice.”

Property, from the point of view of Thomas Aquinas, is not a natural right, but it does not contradict it. Slavery is quite normal, because it is useful for both the slave and the master.

Four mnemonic rules, five proofs that God exists, the tasks of theology, the superiority of oral speech over written language, the reasons why the activities of the Dominicans make sense, and other important discoveries, as well as facts about the biography of the Sicilian Bull

Prepared by Svetlana Yatsyk

Saint Thomas Aquinas. Fresco by Fra Bartolomeo. Around 1510-1511 Museo di San Marco dell'Angelico, Florence, Italy / Bridgeman Images

1. On origin and unfavorable kinship

Thomas Aquinas (or Aquinas; 1225-1274) was the son of Count Landolfo d'Aquino and nephew of Count Tommaso d'Acerra, Grand Justiciar of the Kingdom of Sicily (that is, the first of the royal councilors in charge of justice and finance), and also the second cousin of Frederick II of Staufen . Relationship with the emperor, who, trying to subjugate all of Italy to his influence, constantly fought with the popes, could not but do a disservice to the young theologian - despite Aquinas’s open and even demonstrative conflict with his family and the fact that he joined the Dominican Order, loyal to the papacy . In 1277, part of Thomas's theses was condemned by the bishop of Paris and the church - apparently mainly for political reasons. Subsequently, these theses became generally accepted.

2. About the school nickname

Thomas Aquinas was distinguished by his tall stature, bulkiness and clumsiness. It is also believed that he was characterized by meekness, excessive even for monastic humility. During discussions with his mentor, the theologian and Dominican Albertus Magnus, Thomas spoke rarely, and other students laughed at him, calling him the Bull of Sicily (even though he was from Naples, not Sicily). Albertus Magnus is credited with a prophetic remark, allegedly uttered to pacify the students who were teasing Thomas: “Do you call him a bull? I tell you, this bull will roar so loudly that his roar will deafen the world.”

Posthumously, Aquinas was awarded many other, more flattering nicknames: he is called the "angelic mentor", "universal mentor" and "prince of philosophers".

3. About mnemonic devices

Early biographers of Thomas Aquinas claim that he had an amazing memory. Even during his school years, he remembered everything that the teacher said, and later, in Cologne, he developed his memory under the guidance of the same Albertus Magnus. The collection of sayings of the church fathers on the four Gospels that he prepared for Pope Urban was compiled from what he remembered by looking through, but not copying, manuscripts in various monasteries. His memory, according to his contemporaries, had such strength and tenacity that everything he ever read was preserved in it.

Memory for Thomas Aquinas, as for Albertus Magnus, was part of the virtue of prudence, which should be nurtured and developed. To do this, Thomas formulated a number of mnemonic rules, which he described in the commentary to Aristotle’s treatise “On Memory and Recollection” and in the “Summa Theology”:

- The ability to remember is located in the “sensitive” part of the soul and is connected with the body. Therefore, “sensible things are more accessible to human knowledge.” Knowledge that is not associated “with any bodily resemblance” is easily forgotten. Therefore, one should look for “symbols inherent in those things that need to be remembered. They should not be too famous, since we are more interested in unusual things, they are more deeply and clearly imprinted on the soul.<…>Following this, it is necessary to come up with similarities and images." Summa Theologiae, II, II, quaestio XLVIII, De partibus Prudentiae..

“Memory is controlled by reason, so Thomas’s second mnemonic principle is “to arrange things [in memory] in a certain order, so that, having remembered one feature, one can easily move on to the next.”

- Memory is connected with attention, so you need to “feel attached to what you need to remember, because what is strongly imprinted on the soul does not escape from it so easily.”

— And finally, the last rule is to regularly reflect on what you need to remember.

4. On the relationship between theology and philosophy

Aquinas identified three types of wisdom, each of which is endowed with its own “light of truth”: the wisdom of Grace, theological wisdom (the wisdom of revelation, using reason) and metaphysical wisdom (the wisdom of reason, comprehending the essence of being). Based on this, he believed that the subject of science is “the truths of reason,” and the subject of theology is “the truths of revelation.”

Philosophy, using its rational methods of cognition, is able to study the properties of the surrounding world. Tenets of faith, proven with the help of rationalized philosophical arguments (for example, the dogma of the existence of God), become more understandable to a person and thereby strengthen him in faith. And in this sense, scientific and philosophical knowledge is a serious support in substantiating Christian doctrine and refuting criticism of faith.

But many dogmas (for example, the idea of ​​​​the created nature of the world, the concept of original sin, the incarnation of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the inevitability of the Last Judgment, etc.) cannot be rationally justified, since they reflect the supernatural, miraculous qualities of God. The human mind is not capable of comprehending the divine plan in full, therefore true, higher knowledge is beyond the reach of science. God is the domain of super-rational knowledge and, therefore, the subject of theology.

However, for Thomas there is no contradiction between philosophy and theology (just as there is no contradiction between the “truths of reason” and the “truths of revelation”), since philosophy and knowledge of the world lead a person to the truths of faith. Therefore, in the view of Thomas Aquinas, when studying things and natural phenomena, a true scientist is right only when he reveals the dependence of nature on God, when he shows how the divine plan is embodied in nature.

Saint Thomas Aquinas. Fresco by Fra Bartolomeo. 1512 Museo di San Marco dell'Angelico

5. About Aristotle

Albertus Magnus, the teacher of Thomas Aquinas, was the author of the first commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics written in Western Europe. It was he who introduced into use Catholic theology the works of Aristotle, previously known in the West mainly as presented by the Arab philosopher Averroes. Albert showed the absence of contradictions between the teachings of Aristotle and Christianity.

Thanks to this, Thomas Aquinas was able to Christianize ancient philosophy, primarily the works of Aristotle: striving for a synthesis of faith and knowledge, he supplemented the doctrinal dogmas and religious and philosophical speculations of Christianity with social, theoretical and scientific reflection based on the logic and metaphysics of Aristotle.

Thomas was not the only theologian who tried to appeal to the works of Aristotle. This was done, for example, by his contemporary Siger of Brabant. However, Seeger's Aristotelianism was considered "Averroist", retaining some of the ideas introduced into the works of Aristotle by his Arab and Jewish translators and interpreters. Thomas’s “Christian Aristotelianism,” based on the “pure” teaching of the ancient Greek philosopher, which does not contradict Christianity, won - and Siger of Brabant was put on trial by the Inquisition and killed for his beliefs.

6. About the conversational genre

Answering the question why Christ preached but did not write down the postulates of his teaching, Thomas Aquinas noted: “Christ, turning to hearts, put the word above scripture.” Summa Theologiae, III, quaestio XXXII, articulus 4.. This principle was generally popular in the 13th century: even the system of scholastic university teaching was based on quaestio disputata, discussion on a given problem. Aquinas wrote most of his works in the genre of “summa” - a dialogue consisting of questions and answers, which seemed to him most accessible to theological students. The Summa Theologica, for example, a treatise he wrote in Rome, Paris and Naples between 1265 and 1273, consists of article chapters, the title of which includes a controversial issue. To each, Thomas gives several arguments that give different, sometimes opposite, answers, and at the end he provides counterarguments and the correct solution, from his point of view.

7. Evidence of the existence of God

In the first part of the Summa Theologica, Aquinas substantiates the need for theology as a science with its own purpose, subject and method of research. He considers its subject to be the root cause and ultimate goal of all things, that is, God. That is why the treatise begins with five proofs of the existence of God. It is thanks to them that the Summa Theologica is primarily known, despite the fact that out of the 3,500 pages that this treatise occupies, only one and a half are devoted to the existence of God.

First proof the existence of God is based on the Aristotelian understanding of movement. Thomas states that "whatever moves must be moved by something else" Here and further: Summa Theologiae, I, quaestio II, De Deo, an Deus sit.. Trying to imagine a series of objects, each of which causes the previous one to move, but at the same time sets the next one in motion, leads to infinity. An attempt to imagine this must inevitably lead us to the understanding that there was a certain prime mover, “who is not moved by anything, and by whom everyone understands God.”

Second proof is a little reminiscent of the first and also relies on Aristotle, this time on his doctrine of four causes. According to Aristotle, everything that exists must have an efficient (or generating) cause, something from which the existence of a thing begins. Since nothing can produce itself, there must be some first cause, the beginning of all beginnings. This is God.

Third proof the existence of God is proof “from necessity and chance.” Thomas explains that among the entities there are those that can either exist or not, that is, their existence is accidental. There are also necessary entities. “But everything necessary either has a reason for its necessity in something else, or it does not. However, it is impossible for [a series of] necessary [beings], having a reason for their necessity [in something else], to go into infinity.” Therefore, there is a certain essence that is necessary in itself. This necessary entity can only be God.

Fourth proof“comes from the degrees [of perfection] found in things. Among things, more and less good, true, noble, and so on are discovered.” However, the degree of goodness, truth and nobility can only be judged in comparison with something “the truest, the best and the noblest.” God has these properties.

In the fifth proof Aquinas again relies on Aristotle's doctrine of causes. Based on the Aristotelian definition of expediency, Thomas states that all objects of existence are directed in their existence towards some goal. At the same time, “they achieve their goal not by accident, but intentionally.” Since objects themselves are “devoid of understanding,” therefore, “there is something thinking by which all natural things are directed to [their] goal. And this we call God.”

8. About the social system

Following Aristotle, who developed these issues in Politics, Thomas Aquinas reflected on the nature and character of the ruler’s sole power. He compared royal power with other forms of government and, in accordance with the traditions of Christian political thought, spoke unequivocally in favor of the monarchy. From his point of view, monarchy is the fairest form of government, certainly superior to aristocracy (the power of the best) and polity (the power of the majority in the interests of the common good).

Thomas considered the most reliable type of monarchy to be elective, not hereditary, since electivity can prevent the ruler from turning into a tyrant. The theologian believed that a certain number of people (he probably meant bishops and part of the secular nobility participating in the election of secular sovereigns, primarily the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope) should have the legal opportunity not only to give the king power over themselves, but and deprive him of this power if it begins to acquire the characteristics of tyranny. In Aquinas's view, this "multitude" should have the right to deprive the ruler of power, even if they had "previously subjected themselves to him forever," because the bad ruler "exceeds the bounds" of his office, thereby violating the terms of the original contract. This thought of Thomas Aquinas subsequently formed the basis of the concept of “social contract”, very significant in modern times.

Another way to combat tyranny, which Aquinas proposed, makes it possible to understand which side he was on in the conflict between the empire and the papacy: against the excesses of a tyrant, he believed, the intervention of someone higher than this ruler could help - which could easily be interpreted contemporaries as an approval of the pope's intervention in the affairs of “bad” secular rulers.

9. About indulgences

Thomas Aquinas resolved a number of doubts associated with the practice of granting (and purchasing) indulgences. He shared the concept of the “treasury of the church” - a kind of “excessive” supply of virtues, replenished by Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints, from which other Christians can draw. The Pope can dispose of this “treasury” by issuing special acts that are legal in nature—indulgences. Indulgences work only because the holiness of some members of the Christian community outweighs the sinfulness of others.

10. About the Dominican mission and preaching

Although the Dominican Order was founded by Saint Dominic in 1214, even before the birth of Aquinas, it was Thomas who formulated the principles that became the rationale for their activities. In the Summa against the Pagans, the theologian wrote that the path to salvation is open to everyone, and the role of the missionary is to give a specific person the knowledge necessary for his salvation. Even a wild pagan (whose soul strives for good) can be saved if the missionary manages to convey to him the saving divine truth.

The essence of the views of the Italian theologian and the most influential representative of scholastic thought of the Middle Ages, the founder of the school of Fomism in theology, is presented in this article.

Thomas Aquinas main ideas

Thomas Aquinas systematizer of medieval scholasticism. The scientist outlined his main ideas in the following works - “Summa Theology”, “Summa Against the Pagans”, “Questions on Various Topics”, “Debatable Questions”, “Book of Reasons”, as well as numerous commentaries on the works of other authors.

The life of Thomas Aquinas is full of unpredictability. He joined a secret society, his parents kidnapped him and kept him locked up at home. But Thomas did not renounce his ideas and views, despite the surrounding protests. He was particularly influenced by the works of Aristotle, the Neoplatonists, and Arab and Greek commentators.

The main philosophical ideas of Thomas Aquinas:

• The truth of science and faith are not contradictory to each other. There is harmony and wisdom between them.
• The soul is a substance that is one with the body. And in this tendency, feelings and thoughts are born.
• According to Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate goal of human existence is bliss, which is found in the contemplation of God.
• He identified 3 types of cognition. This is the mind as an area of ​​spiritual abilities. This is intelligence, as the ability to reason. This is intelligence as mental cognition.
• He identified 6 forms of government, which are divided into 2 types. Fair forms of government - monarchy, polis system, aristocracy. The unjust are tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. Thomas Aquinas believed that monarchy was the best, as a movement towards good from one source.
• Man is distinguished from animals by free choice and the ability to learn.

Without what, according to the philosopher Thomas Aquinas, human existence is impossible?

In fact, he was a strongly religious man. And without faith in God, life loses its meaning. Therefore, Aquinas put forward his undeniable proof of the existence of God through:

• Movement. Everything that moves in the world is moved by someone. Someone from above.
• Producing cause. The first efficient cause in relation to oneself is the cause of God.
• Necessity. There is always something that is the cause of necessity for everything else.
• Target reason. Everything in the world acts for a certain purpose. Therefore, all movement is not accidental, but intentional, although devoid of cognitive abilities.
• Degrees of being. There are things that are good and true, therefore there is something nobler and truer from above in the world.

We hope that from this article you learned what the philosophical teaching of Thomas Aquinas is.