Aquinas: An Introduction to the Life and Work of the Great Medieval ThinkerAquinas (1224-74) lived at a time when the Christian West was opening up to a wealth of Greek and Islamic philosophical speculation. An embodiment of the thirteenth-century ideal of a unified interpretation of reality (in which philosophy and theology work together in harmony), Aquinas was remarkable for the way in which he used and developed this legacy of ancient thought—an achievement which led his contemporaries to regard him as an advanced thinker. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
according to Aquinas activity affirming analysis apprehended argument Aristotelian Aristotle attainment aware body called cause choose Christian concept concerned concrete connexion considered course dependence Descartes desire distinction between essence divine doctrine Duns Scotus efficient causality empirical essence and existence eternal evil example existential experience fact final end finite things God's existence human act human mind human positive human soul hylomorphic hypotheses idea IIae inclination infinite intellectual intelligible knowledge man's material things matter mean medieval philosophy metaphysician metaphysics natural moral law necessarily objective particular sciences perennial philosophy perfection physical point of view positive possession possible potentiality precepts predicated principle problem problem of evil proposition purely question rational reality reason regard relation self-evident sense sense-experience simply speak statement substance Summa contra Gentiles Summa theologica supreme theologian theology theory thinkers Thomists thought transcend true truth understand universal unmoved mover William of Ockham word