What is the name of the philosophy of the followers of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas - short biography

1. Thomas Aquinas From the standpoint of Christian theology, the original philosophical and legal concept was developed by Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274), the largest authority in medieval Catholic theology and scholasticism, with whose name an influential history is associated

5. Angelic Doctor (Thomas Aquinas) The most outstanding philosopher of the heyday of scholasticism and the entire Middle Ages in general was the Italian religious thinker Thomas Aquinas. In Latin, his name sounds like Thomas, so his teaching was called Thomism. IN

Thomas Aquinas is an Italian philosopher, a follower of Aristotle. He was a teacher, a minister of the Dominican Order, and an influential religious figure of his time. The essence of the thinker's teaching is the unification of Christianity and the philosophical views of Aristotle. The philosophy of Thomas Aquinas affirms the primacy of God and his participation in all earthly processes.

Biographical facts

Approximate years of life of Thomas Aquinas: from 1225 to 1274. He was born in the Roccasecca castle, located near Naples. Thomas's father was a feudal baron, and gave his son the title of abbot of the Benedictine monastery. But the future philosopher chose to engage in science. Thomas ran away from home and joined a monastic order. During the order's trip to Paris, the brothers kidnapped Thomas and imprisoned him in a fortress. After 2 years, the young man managed to escape and officially took a vow, becoming a member of the order and a student of Albertus Magnus. He studied at the University of Paris and Cologne, became a teacher of theology and began writing his first philosophical works.

Thomas was later called to Rome, where he taught theology and served as an adviser on theological issues to the Pope. After spending 10 years in Rome, the philosopher returned to Paris to take part in popularizing the teachings of Aristotle in accordance with Greek texts. Before this, a translation made with Arabic. Thomas believed that the Eastern interpretation distorted the essence of the teaching. The philosopher sharply criticized the translation and sought a complete ban on its distribution. Soon, he was again called to Italy, where he taught and wrote treatises until his death.

The main works of Thomas Aquinas are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Philosophia. The philosopher is also known for his reviews of treatises by Aristotle and Boethius. He wrote 12 church books and the Book of Parables.

Fundamentals of philosophical teaching

Thomas distinguished between the concepts of “philosophy” and “theology”. Philosophy studies questions accessible to reason and touches only those areas of knowledge that relate to human existence. But the possibilities of philosophy are limited; man can only know God through theology.

Thomas formed his idea of ​​the stages of truth on the basis of the teachings of Aristotle. Ancient Greek philosopher I thought there were 4 of them:

• experience;
• art;
• knowledge;
• wisdom.

Thomas placed wisdom above other levels. Wisdom is based on the revelations of God and is the only way Divine knowledge.

According to Thomas, there are 3 types of wisdom:

• grace;
• theological - allows you to believe in God and Divine Unity;
• metaphysical - comprehends the essence of being using reasonable conclusions.

With the help of reason, a person can realize the existence of God. But the questions of the appearance of God, the resurrection, and the Trinity remain inaccessible to her.

Types of being

The life of a person or any other creature confirms the fact of his existence. The opportunity to live is more important than the true essence, since only God provides such an opportunity. Every substance depends on divine desire, and the world is the totality of all substances.

Existence can be of 2 types:

• independent;
• dependent.

True being is God. All other beings depend on him and obey the hierarchy. The more complex the nature of a being, the higher its position and the greater the freedom of action.

Combination of form and matter

Matter is a substrate that has no form. The appearance of form creates an object, endows it with physical qualities. The unity of matter and form is the essence. Spiritual beings have complex essences. They dont have physical bodies, they exist without the participation of matter. Man is created from form and matter, but he also has an essence that God has endowed him with.

Since matter is uniform, all creatures created from it could be the same shape and become indistinguishable. But, according to God's will, form does not determine the being. The individualization of an object is formed by its personal qualities.

Ideas about the soul

The unity of soul and body creates the individuality of a person. The soul has a divine nature. It was created by God to give man the opportunity to achieve bliss by joining his Creator after the end of earthly life. The soul is an immortal independent substance. It is intangible and inaccessible to the human eye. The soul becomes complete only at the moment of unity with the body. A person cannot exist without a soul; it is his life force. All other living beings do not have a soul.

Man is an intermediate link between angels and animals. He is the only one of all corporeal beings who has the will and desire for knowledge. After bodily life, he will have to answer to the Creator for all his actions. A person cannot get close to angels - they never had a bodily form, in their essence they are flawless and cannot commit actions that contradict divine plans.

Man is free to choose between good and sin. The higher his intelligence, the more actively he strives for good. Such a person suppresses animal aspirations that denigrate his soul. With every action he moves closer to God. Inner aspirations are reflected in appearance. The more attractive an individual is, the closer he is to the divine essence.

Types of knowledge

In the concept of Thomas Aquinas there were 2 types of intelligence:

• passive - needed for the accumulation of sensory images, does not take part in the thinking process;
• active - separated from sensory perception, forms concepts.

To know the truth, you need to have high spirituality. A person must tirelessly develop his soul, endow it with new experiences.

There are 3 types of knowledge:

1. reason - gives a person the ability to form reasoning, compare them and draw conclusions;
2. intelligence - allows you to understand the world by forming images and studying them;
3. mind is the totality of all spiritual components of a person.

Knowledge is the main calling reasonable person. It elevates him above other living beings, ennobles him and brings him closer to God.

Ethics

Thomas believed that God is absolute good. A person striving for good is guided by the commandments and does not allow evil into his soul. But God does not force a person to be guided only by good intentions. It gives people free will: the ability to choose between good and evil.

A person who knows his essence strives for good. Believes in God and the primacy of his plan. Such an individual is full of hope and love. His aspirations are always prudent. He is peaceful, humble, but at the same time brave.

Political Views

Thomas shared Aristotle's opinion about the political system. Society needs management. The ruler must maintain peace and be guided in his decisions by the desire for the common good.

Monarchy - optimal shape board. A single ruler represents the divine will; he takes into account the interests of individual groups of subjects and respects their rights. The monarch must submit to church authority, since the ministers of the church are servants of God and proclaim His will.

Tyranny as a form of power is unacceptable. It contradicts the highest plan and contributes to the emergence of idolatry. The people have the right to overthrow such a government and ask the Church to choose a new monarch.

Evidence for the Existence of God

Answering the question about the existence of God, Thomas provides 5 evidence of His direct influence on the world around us.

Movement

All natural processes are the result of movement. The fruits will not ripen until the flowers appear on the tree. Each movement is subordinate to the previous one, and cannot begin until it ends. The first movement was the appearance of God.

Producing cause

Each action occurs as a result of the previous one. A person cannot know what the original cause of an action was. It is acceptable to assume that God became her.

Necessity

Some things exist temporarily, are destroyed and appear again. But some things need to exist constantly. They create the possibility for the appearance and life of other creatures.

Degrees of being

All things and all living beings can be divided into several stages, in accordance with their aspirations and level of development. This means that there must be something perfect, occupying the top level of the hierarchy.

Every action has a purpose. This is only possible if the individual is guided by someone from above. From this it follows that a higher mind exists.

One of the most prominent representatives of mature scholasticism was the Dominican Order monk Thomas Aquinas (1225/1226-1274), a student of the famous medieval theologian, philosopher and naturalist Albertus Magnus (c.

1193-1280). 2. Thomas Aquinas considered the ontological proof of the existence of God insufficient (that is, the “obvious” proof of the existence of God, deduced from the existence of his creation - the surrounding world, as St. Augustine believed).

Thomas puts forward five of his own proofs for the existence of God:

Movement: everything that moves is moved by someone (something) else - therefore, there is a prime mover of everything - God;

Cause: everything that exists has a cause - therefore, there is a first cause of everything - God;

Contingency and necessity: the accidental depends on the necessary - therefore, the original necessity is God;

Degrees of qualities: everything that exists has different degrees of qualities (better, worse, more, less, etc.) - therefore, the highest perfection must exist - God;

Purpose: everything in the surrounding world has some purpose, is directed towards a goal, has a meaning - this means that there is some kind of rational principle that directs everything towards a goal, gives meaning to everything - God.

3. Thomas Aquinas also explores the problem of the existence of not only God, but also all things. In particular, he:

Separates essence (essence) and existence (existence). Their separation is one of the key ideas of Catholicism;

Implies as an essence (essence) the “pure idea” of a thing or phenomenon, a set of signs, features, purposes that exist in the mind of God (Divine Plan);

Implies as existence (existence) the very fact of being of a thing;

Believes that any thing, any phenomenon is an entity that acquired existence by the will of God (that is, a “pure idea” that acquired material form by virtue of an act of Divine will);

Proves that being and good are reversible, that is, God, who gave an essence existence, can deprive a given essence of existence, therefore, the surrounding world is frail and impermanent;

Essence and existence are one only in God, therefore, God cannot be reversible - He is eternal, omnipotent and constant, does not depend on other external factors.

Based on these premises, according to Thomas:

Everything consists of matter and form (idea);

The essence of any thing is the unity of form and matter;

Form (idea) is the determining principle, and matter is only a container of various forms;

The form (idea) is at the same time the purpose of the emergence of a thing;

The idea (form) of any thing is threefold: it exists in the Divine mind, in the thing itself, in the perception (memory) of man.

4. Exploring the problem of knowledge, Thomas Aquinas comes to the following conclusions:

Revelation and reason (faith and knowledge) are not the same thing (as St. Augustine believed), but different concepts;

Faith and reason simultaneously participate in the process of cognition;

Faith and reason give true knowledge;

If human reason contradicts faith, then it gives untrue knowledge;

Everything in the world is divided into what can be known rationally (by reason) and what is unknowable by reason;

With reason you can know the fact of the existence of God, the unity of God, the immortality of the human soul, etc.;

The problems of the creation of the world, original sin, the trinity of God are not amenable to rational (reasonable) knowledge, and, therefore, can be known through Divine revelation;

Philosophy and theology are different sciences;

Philosophy can only explain what is knowable by reason;

Everything else (divine revelation) can only be known by theology.

Metaphysical theory being. Thomas believed that only individual things, or substances, consisting of essence and existence, really exist. He believed that the difference between essence and existence is not something only mental, consciousness dependent on our acts, but is something factual, really existing. He argues that things have an essence, but it does not imply their existence. This happens because everything that exists in the world was created by God, and, therefore, depends on him. Man and animal exist not because of their essence, but because of their participation in the divine act of creation. Aquinas believes that the world of material things does not exist by virtue of its own nature, but is something completely random, dependent on the creator and should not exist. In contrast, God is an absolutely necessary being, and, therefore, must exist unconditionally, for this is contained in his nature.

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More on the topic Philosophical views of Thomas Aquinas. Metaphysical theory of being of Thomas Aquinas.:

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(1221-1274), who combined intellectualism with unshakable faith. His main works: "Summa against the pagans", "Summa Theology", "On controversial issues truth."

Thomas Aquinas, turning to Aristotle, takes a step that seemed heretical to many: he tries to reconcile the great Greek with Christ. For Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle is the embodiment of the authority of reason, from the position of which he himself goes to faith. Reflecting on the problem of the relationship between faith and reason, Thomas argues that the existence of God is not provable, it is perceived only by faith, however, a person needs at least indirect evidence of His existence. The predecessors of Thomas Aquinas admitted the possibility of two truths, since science cognizes some objects, theology - others.

The rational thought of Thomas Aquinas offers another solution. Science and theology are aimed at the same thing, but they take different paths, so their methods are different. Theology goes “from God” to the world, to man; the scientist, on the contrary, goes from facts to discovering what lies behind them, gradually “ascending to God.” Anything that cannot be proven or verified by experience falls within the realm of theology. The truths that are not generally subject to the judgment of reason or science include the dogmas of faith. This solution to the problem was called the “doctrine of the duality of truth,” which later became the most important aspect of the official doctrine of the Vatican.

Thomas Aquinas derives five possible ways proof of the existence of God. Proof from motion: everything that moves is set in motion by something else. The Prime Mover is God. Proof from a productive, efficient cause: everything in the world of sensible things has its cause. God is the first cause. Proof from necessity and accident: everything accidental has a necessity for something else. God is a necessity. Proof from the degree of perfection: there are all degrees of perfection in the world. God is primary perfection, absolute value. Proof from the divine control of the world: everything in the world behaves purposefully. God is the first goal and the first leader.

In the dispute between realists and nominalists, Thomas Aquinas took the position of moderate realism. Only something that exists separately is real. The general, the universals, although they do not lead an independent existence in empirical reality, are not without a real basis, because they are derived from it. The only absolute commonality that is singularity is God.

Man is the center of the created world. Each person is a special thought of God. Every act of knowledge of God is a person’s knowledge of himself in relation to absolute Divine perfection. Things, people and God are real, but in different ways. Reality not only “is” as something realized, but it is also something that can be. God is a being in which essence and existence coincide, and man is endowed only with the potential to “be”; he is only involved in the existence of God.

Man must realize God not only as truth and goodness, but also as beauty. Beauty is liberation from the aspirations of the will, it is calm contemplation in the form of pure form, it is, as it were, an achieved goal. Beauty, says Thomas Aquinas, is of three types - physical, intellectual, moral. Accordingly, at the other pole there is ugliness, which is embodied in the images of a skeleton, a sophist, and Satan.

“Natural” laws express man’s participation in “eternal” laws through his mind. The moral value of “human laws” is determined by “natural” law (“do good and avoid evil”, family and raising children, the desire for knowledge and communication), “natural” law is based on “eternal”. Best form state - monarchy, promoting the unity of people and order. At the same time, Thomas Aquinas is not a religious utopian: the state is not the main instrument in achieving extraterrestrial bliss.

In 1879, in the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, the system of views of St. Thomas appears as the unshakable foundation on which Catholics must rest in their theological, scientific and philosophical studies. Soon a modern version of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas appears -

Thomas Aquinas(otherwise Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Aquinas, lat. Thomas Aquinas, Italian Tommaso d "Aquino; born around 1225, Roccasecca Castle, near Aquino - died March 7, 1274, Fossanuova Monastery, near Rome) - philosopher and theologian, systematizer of orthodox scholasticism, church teacher, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis, "princeps philosophorum" ( “Prince of Philosophers”), founder of Thomism, member of the Dominican Order since 1879, recognized as the most authoritative Catholic religious philosopher who connected the Christian doctrine (in particular, the ideas of Augustine) with the philosophy of Aristotle. He formulated five proofs of the existence of God. and human reason, argued that nature ends in grace, reason in faith, philosophical knowledge and natural theology, based on the analogy of existence, in supernatural revelation.

short biography

Thomas was born on January 25, 1225 at Roccasecca Castle near Naples and was the seventh son of Count Landolf Aquinas. Thomas' mother Theodora came from a wealthy Neapolitan family. His father dreamed that he would eventually become the abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Montecassino, located not far from their family castle. At the age of five, Thomas was sent to a Benedictine monastery, where he stayed for 9 years. 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 for 2 years in the fortress of San Giovani.

Having gained freedom in 1245, he took monastic vows of the Dominican Order and went to the University of Paris. There Aquinas became a student of Albertus Magnus. In 1248–1250, Thomas studied at the University of Cologne, where he moved following his teacher.

In 1252 he returned to the Dominican monastery of St. James in Paris, and four years later was appointed to one of the Dominican positions as a teacher of theology at the University of Paris. Here he writes his first works - “On Essence and Existence”, “On the Principles of Nature”, “Commentary to the “Sentences””.

In 1259, Pope Urban IV summoned him to Rome. For ten years he has been teaching theology in Italy - in Anagni and Rome, while simultaneously writing philosophical and theological works. He spent most of this time as a theological adviser and “reader” to the papal curia.

In 1269 he returned to Paris, where he led the fight for the “purification” of Aristotle from Arab interpreters and against the scientist Siger of Brabant. The treatise On the Unity of the Intellect against the Averroists (De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas), written in a sharp polemical form, dates back to 1272. In the same year he was recalled to Italy to establish new school Dominicans in Naples.

Malaise forced him to interrupt teaching and writing towards the end of 1273. At the beginning of 1274, he died in the monastery of Fossanova on the way to the church council in Lyon.

Proceedings

The works of Thomas Aquinas include:

• two extensive treatises in the summa genre, covering a wide range of topics - "Summa Theology" and "Summa against the pagans" ("Summa Philosophy")
• discussions on theological and philosophical issues (“Debatable Questions” and “Questions on Various Topics”)
• comments on:
  • several books of the Bible
  • 12 treatises of Aristotle
  • "Sentences" of Peter of Lombardy
  • treatises of Boethius,
  • treatises of Pseudo-Dionysius
  • anonymous "Book of Reasons"
• a number of short essays on philosophical and religious topics
• several treatises on alchemy
• poetic texts for worship, for example the work “Ethics”

“Debatable Questions” and “Commentaries” were largely the fruit of his teaching activities, which, according to the tradition of that time, included debates and reading authoritative texts accompanied by commentaries.

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 and Arab 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.

Ideas of Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas distinguished between the fields of philosophy and theology: the subject of the former is the “truths of reason,” and the latter, the “truths of revelation.” Philosophy is in the service of theology and is as much inferior to it in importance as the limited human mind is inferior to divine wisdom. Theology is a sacred doctrine and science based on the knowledge possessed by God and those who are blessed. Communicating with divine knowledge is achieved through revelation.

Theology can borrow something from philosophical disciplines, but not because it feels the need for it, but only for the sake of greater clarity of the provisions it teaches.

Aristotle distinguished four successive stages of truth: experience (empeiria), art (techne), knowledge (episteme) and wisdom (sophia).

In Thomas Aquinas, wisdom becomes the highest knowledge about God, independent of other levels. It is based on divine revelations.

Aquinas identified three hierarchically subordinate types of wisdom, each of which is endowed with its own “light of truth”:

• wisdom of Grace.
• theological wisdom - the wisdom of faith using reason.
• metaphysical wisdom - the wisdom of reason, comprehending the essence of being.

Some truths of Revelation are accessible to human understanding: for example, that God exists, that God is one. Others are impossible to understand: for example, the divine trinity, resurrection in the flesh.

On the basis of this, Thomas Aquinas deduces the need to distinguish between supernatural theology, based on the truths of Revelation, which man is not able to understand on his own, and rational theology, based on the “natural light of reason” (knowing the truth by the power of human intellect).

Thomas Aquinas put forward the principle: the truths of science and the truths of faith cannot contradict each other; there is harmony between them. Wisdom is the desire to comprehend God, and science is a means that facilitates this.

About being

The act of being, being an act of acts and the perfection of perfections, resides within every “being” as its innermost depth, as its true reality.

The existence of every thing is incomparably more important than its essence. A single thing exists not due to its essence, because essence does not in any way imply (imply) existence, but due to participation in the act of creation, that is, the will of God.

The world is a collection of substances that depend for their existence on God. Only in God are essence and existence inseparable and identical.

Thomas Aquinas distinguished two types of existence:

• existence is self-essential or unconditional.
• existence is contingent or dependent.

Only God is truly, truly being. Everything else that exists in the world has an inauthentic existence (even the angels, who are at the highest level in the hierarchy of all creations). The higher the “creations” stand on the levels of the hierarchy, the more autonomy and independence they have.

God does not create entities in order to then force them to exist, but existing subjects (foundations) that exist in accordance with their individual nature (essence).

About matter and form

The essence of everything corporeal lies in the unity of form and matter. Thomas Aquinas, like Aristotle, considered matter as a passive substrate, the basis of individuation. And only thanks to the form a thing is a thing of a certain kind and kind.

Aquinas distinguished, on the one hand, between substantial (through which substance as such is affirmed in its being) and accidental (accidental) forms; and on the other hand - material (has its own existence only in matter) and subsidiary (has its own existence and is active without any matter) forms. All spiritual beings are complex subsidiary forms. The purely spiritual - angels - have essence and existence. There is a double complexity in man: not only essence and existence are distinguished in him, but also matter and form.

Thomas Aquinas considered the principle of individuation: form is not the only cause of a thing (otherwise all individuals of the same species would be indistinguishable), so the conclusion was drawn that in spiritual beings forms are individuated through themselves (because each of them is a separate species); in corporeal beings, individualization occurs not through their essence, but through their own materiality, quantitatively limited in the individual.

Thus the "thing" takes a certain form, reflecting spiritual uniqueness in limited materiality.

Perfection of form was seen as the greatest likeness of God himself.

About man and his soul

Human individuality is the personal unity of soul and body.

The soul is the life-giving force of the human body; it is immaterial and self-existent; she is a substance that finds its fullness only in unity with the body, thanks to her corporeality acquires significance - becoming a person. In the unity of soul and body, thoughts, feelings and goal-setting are born. The human soul is immortal.

Thomas Aquinas believed that the power of the soul's understanding (that is, the degree of its knowledge of God) determines the beauty of the human body.

The ultimate goal of human life is to achieve bliss found in the contemplation of God in the afterlife.

By his position, man is an intermediate being between creatures (animals) and angels. Among corporeal creatures, he is the highest being; he is distinguished by a rational soul and free will. Due to the latter, a person is responsible for his actions. And the root of his freedom is reason.

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 gave rise to polemics between 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, the divine control of the world and the prediction of all (including individual and random) events do not exclude freedom of choice: God, as highest reason, allows for independent actions of secondary causes, including those entailing negative moral consequences, since God is able to turn evil created by independent agents into good.

About knowledge

Thomas Aquinas believed that universals (that is, concepts of things) exist in three ways:

Thomas Aquinas himself adhered to the position of moderate realism, going back to Aristotelian hylemorphism, abandoning the position of extreme realism, based on Platonism in its Augustinian version.

Following Aristotle, Aquinas distinguishes between passive and active intellect.

Thomas Aquinas denied innate ideas and concepts, and considered the intellect before the beginning of knowledge to be similar to tabula rasa (Latin for “blank slate”). However, people are innate with “general schemes” that begin to operate the moment they encounter sensory material.

• passive intellect - the intellect into which a sensory perceived image falls.

• active intelligence - abstraction from feelings, generalization; the emergence of a concept.

Cognition begins with sensory experience under the influence of external objects. Objects are perceived by humans not entirely, but partially. When entering the soul of the knower, the knowable loses its materiality and can only enter it as a “species”. The “look” of an object is its knowable image. A thing exists simultaneously outside of us in all its existence and inside us as an image.

Truth is “the correspondence between the intellect and the thing.” That is, the concepts formed by the human intellect are true to the extent that they correspond to their concepts that precede in the intellect of God.

At the level of external senses, initial cognitive images are created. Inner senses process the initial images.

Inner feelings:

• general feeling is the main function, the purpose of which is to collect all sensations together.
• passive memory is a repository of impressions and images created by a common feeling.
• active memory - retrieval of stored images and ideas.
• intellect is the highest sensory ability.

Knowledge takes its necessary source from sensuality. But the higher the spirituality, the higher the degree of knowledge.

Angelic knowledge is speculative-intuitive knowledge, not mediated by sensory experience; carried out using inherent concepts.

Human knowledge is the enrichment of the soul with substantial forms of cognizable objects.

Three mental-cognitive operations:

• creation of a concept and retention of attention on its content (contemplation).
• judgment (positive, negative, existential) or comparison of concepts;
• inference - connecting judgments with each other.

Three types of knowledge:

• mind is the entire sphere of spiritual abilities.
• intelligence is the ability of mental cognition.
• reason - the ability to reason.

Cognition is the noblest human activity: the theoretical mind that comprehends truth also comprehends absolute truth, that is, God.

Ethics

Being the root cause of all things, God is at the same time the ultimate goal of their aspirations; the ultimate goal of morally good human action is the achievement of beatitude, which consists in the contemplation of God (impossible, according to Thomas, within the limits of present life), all other goals are evaluated depending on their ordered orientation towards the final goal, deviation from which represents an evil rooted in lack existence and not being some independent entity (On Evil, 1). At the same time, Thomas paid tribute to activities aimed at achieving earthly, final forms of bliss. The beginnings of moral acts proper with inside are virtues, from the outside - laws and grace. Thomas analyzes the virtues (skills that enable people to use their abilities sustainably for good (Summa Theologica I-II, 59-67)) and their opposing vices (Summa Theologica I-II, 71-89), following the Aristotelian tradition, but he believes that in order to achieve eternal happiness, in addition to the virtues, there is a need for the gifts, beatitudes and fruits of the Holy Spirit (Summa Theology I-II, 68-70). Thomas does not think of moral life apart from the presence of theological virtues - faith, hope and love (Summa Theology II-II, 1-45). Following the theological ones are four “cardinal” (fundamental) virtues - prudence and justice (Summa Theology II-II, 47-80), courage and moderation (Summa Theology II-II, 123-170), with which the other virtues are associated.

Politics and law

Law (Summa Theologiae I-II, 90-108) is defined as “any command of reason which is proclaimed for the common good by those who care for the public” (Summa Theologiae I-II, 90, 4). The eternal law (Summa Theologiae I-II, 93), by which divine providence governs the world, does not make superfluous other types of law that flow from it: natural law (Summa Theologiae I-II, 94), the principle of which is the basic postulate of Thomistic ethics - “one must strive for good and do good, but evil must be avoided”, is sufficiently known to every person, and human law (Summa Theology I-II, 95), specifying the postulates of natural law (defining, for example, the specific form of punishment for committed evil ), which is necessary because perfection in virtue depends on the exercise and restraint of unvirtuous inclinations, and the force of which Thomas limits to the conscience opposing the unjust law. Historically established positive legislation, which is a product of human institutions, can, under certain conditions, be changed. The good of the individual, of society and of the universe is determined by the divine plan, and man's violation of the divine laws is an action directed against his own good (Summa against the Gentiles III, 121).

Following Aristotle, Thomas believed that social life was natural for man, requiring management for the sake of the common good. Thomas identified six forms of government: depending on whether power belongs to one, a few or many and depending on whether this form of government fulfills the proper goal - the preservation of peace and the common good, or pursues the private goals of rulers that are contrary public good. Fair forms of government are monarchy, aristocracy and the polis system, unjust forms are tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. The best form of government is a monarchy, since movement towards the common good is most effectively carried out when directed by a single source; accordingly, the worst form of government is tyranny, since the evil carried out by the will of one is greater than the evil resulting from many different wills, in addition, democracy is better than tyranny in that it serves the good of many, and not one. Thomas justified the fight against tyranny, especially if the tyrant's regulations clearly contradict divine regulations (for example, forcing idolatry). The unity of a just monarch must take into account the interests of various groups of the population and does not exclude elements of aristocracy and polis democracy. Thomas placed ecclesiastical authority above secular authority, due to the fact that the former is aimed at achieving divine bliss, while the latter is limited to the pursuit of only earthly good; however, to realize this task, the help of higher powers and grace is necessary.

5 Proofs of the Existence of God by Thomas Aquinas Proof through motion means that everything that moves has ever been set in motion by something else, which in turn was set in motion by a third. In this way, a chain of “engines” is laid out, which cannot be infinite, and in the end it is necessary to discover an “engine” that moves everything else, but is not itself driven by anything else. It is God who turns out to be the root cause of all movement.

Proof through an efficient cause - this proof is similar to the first. Only in this case it is not the cause of movement, but the cause producing something. Since nothing can produce itself, there is something that is the first cause of everything - this is God.

Reception of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas Main articles: Neo-Thomism

Reliquary with the relics of Thomas Aquinas in the Jacobite monastery of Toulouse

For a number of centuries, the philosophy of Thomas did not play a noticeable role in the philosophical dialogue, developing within a narrow confessional framework, but since the end of the 19th century, the teachings of Thomas again begin to arouse widespread interest and stimulate current philosophical research; A number of philosophical trends arise that actively use the philosophy of Thomas, known by the general name “neo-Thomism.”

Editions

Currently, there are numerous editions of the works of Thomas Aquinas, in the original and translations into various languages; Complete works were published several times: “Piana” in 16 volumes. (by decree of Pius V), Rome, 1570; Parma edition in 25 volumes. 1852-1873, reprint. in New York, 1948-1950; Opera Omnia Vives, (in 34 volumes) Paris, 1871-82; “Leonina” (by decree of Leo XIII), Rome, from 1882 (from 1987 - republication of previous volumes); published by Marietti, Turin; edition by R. Bus (Thomae Aquinatis Opera omnia; ut sunt in indice thomistico, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1980), also released on CD.