The Italian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas is appreciated by more than just Catholics. He is also venerated by some Protestant groups, such as Lutherans and Anglicans. Thomas Aquinas wrote before the Protestant religion had come to be. This may help to explain why a number of later Protestants felt comfortable with quoting him. And, of course, he is lionized by Catholics, who give him the coveted title of “St. Thomas Aquinas.”
This audiobook is a brief examination of this great philosopher. They start with a brief biography of Thomas Aquinas, giving highlights from his life. He lived in medieval times – and, more specifically, in the thirteenth century. Thus, he lived in a mostly Catholic society. The Catholic Church had long drawn upon Plato for inspiration, since Plato had inspired St. Augustine in much earlier times. But the works of Aristotle had been forgotten centuries earlier – in Europe, at least. Now, in the thirteenth century, the Europeans were rediscovering Aristotle’s long-ago works. St. Thomas Aquinas was among those to be interested in him, and he referred to Aristotle simply as “the philosopher.” He gained from Aristotle a number of things, including an appreciation (and use) of logic.
St. Thomas Aquinas
There was a long tradition of studying Aristotle in the Muslim world, and St. Thomas Aquinas drew somewhat upon that tradition. For example, he drew upon the works of the Muslim philosopher Avicenna. He also drew upon the works of the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, who had lived in this same Muslim society. But St. Thomas Aquinas was the first major Christian philosopher to be inspired by Aristotle. Much of Thomas’s analysis was quite original. Nonetheless, one of his contemporaries charged that in trying to make Aristotle a Christian, Thomas had succeeded only in making himself a heretic. But the later Catholic Church must have disagreed with this analysis, since they referred to him as “St. Thomas Aquinas.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
I tend to agree more with Aristotle than I do with Plato. Thus, I tend to agree more with St. Thomas Aquinas than I do with St. Augustine, a Catholic who had earlier followed Plato. But just as Aristotle was influenced by Plato, so was St. Thomas influenced by the earlier St. Augustine. Thus, there is Platonic influence in both men. Thomas borrowed a number of ideas from Aristotle, including arguments about God being an “unmoved mover.” But Thomas was willing to discard those Aristotelian ideas that conflicted with those of the church. Thus, Thomas’s god cares more about the lives of his children than does the god imagined by Aristotle.
St. Thomas Aquinas
They spend a lot of time here on Thomas’s most famous work. This work bears the Latin title of “Summa Theologiae.” Basically, it’s in a dialogue format, where skeptical characters pose objections to Christianity. Other characters then respond to the objections, giving arguments that mirror Thomas’s own. Thomas was good at defending the Catholic faith, and had gained a reputation for doing so earlier in his life. This shows in his works, since he gives sophisticated arguments on behalf of Catholicism – and of Christianity in general.
St. Thomas Aquinas
I have my disagreements with St. Thomas Aquinas. But overall, I found myself agreeing with him quite often. And more importantly, I believe that Thomas was a good person, who was willing to live the principles that he taught. His perspective is much recommended to students of philosophy, whatever their views on Catholicism or Christianity. He has enjoyed a lasting influence upon broader Western philosophy, which has been felt up to the present day. And this audiobook is a great examination of his work, which will help you to appreciate the contributions of this great religious philosopher.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Footnote to this blog post:
One of my church’s leaders once referenced Thomas Aquinas in a general conference talk. Specifically, Ricardo P. Giménez once paraphrased him as follows: “It is said that ‘to one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.’ ” (Source: April 2020 general conference talk) Elder Giménez then added: “This statement has been attributed to Thomas Aquinas but is most likely a loose paraphrase of things he taught.” (Source: April 2020 general conference talk) Thus, he gave a disclaimer that this may not be an exact quote from St. Thomas Aquinas.
Nonetheless, the fact that they quoted (or at least paraphrased) from this great Catholic philosopher shows the high regard in which they must hold him.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Part of an audiobook series
The Giants of Philosophy
St. Thomas Aquinas
Others to be covered later
Others to be covered later
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