Thomas Aquinas (circa 1225 to 1274) is the central figure of Scholasticism, the medieval method that reconciled Aristotelian logic with the intellectual life of the new universities. His Five Ways offer cosmological arguments for a first cause, arguing that an endless chain of causes is impossible. His natural law theory grounds moral reasoning in the self-evident principle that the good should be done and pursued and the bad avoided, discovered by reason reflecting on human inclinations toward flourishing.
Facts
Birth YearThe source gives this as circa 1225. BirthplaceNear Aquino, halfway between Rome and Naples 2 Death PlaceCistercian abbey of Fossanova 2 Connections
Associated With
Source Natural Law Theories (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The first three of Aquinas's Five Ways, in the Summa Theologiae, are the classical statement of the argument.
Source Cosmological Argument (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Critiqued Here
Traditions Founded
Thomism is, by definition, the philosophical and theological system founded on the thought of Thomas Aquinas.
Source Aquinas, Saint Thomas (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Works Attributed
Source Aquinas, Saint Thomas (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Italy, originated there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Thomas Aquinas
WikipediaLead, opening sentenceQuote, Lead, opening sentence
Thomas Aquinas ( ə-KWY-nəs; Italian: Tommaso d'Aquino, lit. 'Thomas of Aquino'; c. 1225-7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, theologian, and philosopher.
2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and InformationAquinas entry, Introduction
he epitomizes the scholastic method of the newly founded universities
Aquinas entry, Section 2 God
the first three ways are cosmological arguments, based on the impossibility of an infinite series of causes
Aquinas entry, Section 8.2 Natural Law
The good should be done and pursued, and the bad should be avoided.
Aquinas entry, biographical summary
A few months after that he died, in the Cistercian abbey of Fossanova, on March 7, 1274.
View the Source Aquinas, Saint Thomas (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Cosmological Argument (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Associated With: The Cosmological Argument
Thomas Aquinas (Wikipedia)
WikipediaInfluenced By: Averroes, Quarrelsome second Paris regency sectionQuote, Influenced By: Averroes, Quarrelsome second Paris regency section
Thomas wrote two works, one of them being De unitate intellectus, contra Averroistas (On the Unity of Intellect, against the Averroists) in which he reprimands Averroism as incompatible with Christian doctrine.
Natural Law Theories (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and InformationAssociated With: Natural Law Theory, Section 1.1.1, Why natural law? Naturalistic fallacy?Quote, Associated With: Natural Law Theory, Section 1.1.1, Why natural law? Naturalistic fallacy?
Aquinas is particularly clear and explicit that in this context, 'natural' is predicated of something (say, a law, or a virtue) only when and because that of which it is predicated is in line with reason.
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