The most renowned Catholic religious philosopher who was able to reconcile Christian ideas with reason and logic is Thomas Aquinas. Theologian’s brief life story was jam-packed with insightful observations, foundational works (such as “Summa Theologica”), supernatural revelations, and healings. The development of five arguments for God’s existence is the primary accomplishment of the Italian philosopher.
Destiny
Thomas Aquinas, also known as Thomas (Thomas) Aquinas, was most likely born at the castle of Roccasecca on January 25, 1225, in the Italian city of Aquino (now Lazio). King Roger II employed his father, Landolf Aquinas, as a knight, and his mother, Theodora, was a Neapolitan who reared seven children.
Thomas’s parents followed the route of Landolf’s brother Sinibald, who was abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino, while the older boys studied military affairs. The boy ended up in a church monastery when he was five years old, then the University of Naples in 1239. Here, Thomas Aquinas met Aristotle, Maimonides, the Jewish theologian, and Averroes, a Western Arabic philosopher, whose ideas impacted the theological teachings of the Italian.
The young philosopher made the decision to enlist in the Catholic Order of Preaching Brothers at the age of 19. The family of Thomas Aquinas disagreed with this notion. The Order members attempted to hide the thinker in Rome to prevent Theodora from interfering with her son’s destiny; but, he was apprehended by his siblings during their journey.
The father imprisoned his kid for two years in an attempt to make him refuse to join the monastic order. It is said that the brothers once took a prostitute to the “prison” in order to force her to violate her vow of celibacy. With a heated log, Thomas Aquinas defended himself against her.
Diego Velázquez’s painting, The Temptation of St. Thomas Aquinas, depicts the young man’s triumph over temptation. The painting shows a weary Thomas being held by an angel while wearing a monk’s habit. Behind him stands another angelic messenger, and a startled-looking woman looks over his shoulder. There’s a blackened wood at the thinker’s feet on the floor.
The philosopher adhered to his celibacy vow until his passing; in its broadest sense, Thomas Aquinas valued scholasticism over his personal life. He was single and had no kids.
Sensing that his efforts were in vain, Theodora orchestrated Thomas’s flight in 1244, first to Naples and then to Rome. There, the philosopher met the Order’s General Master, Johann von Wildeshausen, and became a member of the monastic community.
After enrolling at the University of Paris in 1245, the young man was mentored by theologian Albert the Great. Thomas Aquinas was called the Sicilian Bull by his fellow students due to his size and severe demeanor, which was unusual for a monk.
Three years later, Thomas left with his master and went to Cologne to teach students the laws of the Old Testament. He went back to Paris in 1252 to finish his theological master’s degree. Four years later, the philosopher received an opportunity to become regent of the University of Paris for his services to education; in 1268, Thomas accepted this position once more.
The Roman Catholic Church bears Thomas Aquinas’s legacy: in 1261, Pope Urban IV asked the philosopher to write hymns for the newly established feast of Corpus Christi. We still sing “Tantum ergo,” “Pange lingua,” and “Panis angelicus” nowadays.
The church once more looked to Thomas for assistance in 1265 when the Italian was offered a post as a theologian by the subsequent Pope, Clement IV.
Following his resignation as regent of the University of Paris in 1272, Thomas Aquinas settled in Naples and began preaching to the populace. The thinker was overcome by divine enlightenment a year later.
In December of 1273, Thomas Aquinas experienced another epiphany when he was seized by a protracted ecstasy while giving a sermon. His greatest work, which came to be known as the Summa Theologica, was abandoned. The thinker felt inspired to write again after taking a break, but he was never able to finish the treatise.
The fundamental objective of the Second Council of Lyons, which was called by Pope Gregory X, was to bring the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches together. Additionally invited to the meeting was Thomas Aquinas. The man became gravely ill after hitting his head on a fallen tree limb while traveling on a donkey along the Roman Appian Way.
For medical attention, the philosopher was brought to Montecassino. After recovering his health, Thomas started his trek but soon became unwell once more. The Fossanova Abbey provided him with a place to stay. He was cared after by the monks for several days. On March 7, 1274, while making a comment on the Song of Solomon, Thomas Aquinas passed away at his desk.
On July 18, 1323, after fifty years, Pope John XXII declared Thomas Aquinas a saint and established St. Thomas Aquinas Day on March 7 in the Roman calendar. The date was shifted to January 28 after 1969. The philosopher’s bones were moved several times: first, in January 1369, they were placed in the church of the Jacobin monastery in Toulouse; secondly, from 1789 to 1974, they were housed in the Toulouse Basilica of St. Saturnin; finally, they were moved back to the Jacobin monastery church, where they are still located today.
Concepts and Philosophy
Never having regarded philosophers as his peers, Thomas Aquinas saw them as heathens who “deny the truth and wisdom of Christian revelation.” Additionally, he held that since God’s revelation is more significant than reason, philosophy serves theology. Thomas’s admiration for Aristotle was evident in his scholastic views, notwithstanding his distasteful remarks.
Thomas Aquinas created his own four phases of knowing the truth, using Aristotle’s four stages as a foundation: experience, art, knowledge, and wisdom. According to what he wrote, wisdom is knowledge of God, or being above all phases. The scholar proceeded to distinguish three categories of wisdom: theological (knowledge derived from faith), philosophical (wisdom derived from reason), and grace.
Thomas Aquinas shared Aristotle’s belief that the soul is a separate entity that exists according to human wants and reflects both good and bad deeds. Man is given a soul so that, upon death, he can join the Lord.
Thus, the thought claims, a rational citizen aspires to live morally so that they can reconcile with the Creator on the other side of the planet. Here, Thomas restates the theories of Aurelius Augustine, sometimes known as Augustine the Blessed, who is considered the founder of Christian philosophy.
A person uses reason, intelligence, and mind to comprehend the universe. The first one makes assessments and deductions, the second aids in the analysis of outward manifestations of occurrences, and the third is a person’s collection of spiritual attributes. Thomas Aquinas believed that knowledge is what generally sets humans apart from other living things, including plants, animals, and divine entities.
The distinction between essence and existence was initially made by Thomas. Later, this distinction served as the cornerstone of Catholicism. Thomas Aquinas referred to essence as the “pure idea,” which is a collection of qualities that make up the essence of a phenomenon or object. An object or phenomenon’s existence is demonstrated by its very existence. God must approve this or that thing in order for it to exist.
The beliefs of the philosopher and his theological work “Summa Theologica” serve as the foundation for the school of thought known as Thomism, or Thomasism. It talks more about how to accept faith through reason than it does about the dogmas of faith. The adoption of Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy as Catholicism’s official ideology, however, represents the philosophy’s highest appraisal.