Saint Thomas Aquinas Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Saint Thomas Aquinas?

Saint Thomas Aquinas was a 13th century Italian philosopher, theologian and Doctor of the Church. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Western thought and his works are still widely studied today. He was born around 1225 in Roccasecca, Italy and died on March 7th, 1274 in Fossanova, Italy. Thomas Aquinas’ theological system was called Thomism. He believed that faith must be accompanied by reason and that the two could not contradict each other. According to Aquinas, theology should be grounded in philosophy because without it there can be no understanding of religion. His main contribution to theology was his synthesis between Aristotelian philosophy and Christian doctrine. Aquinas wrote numerous works including Summa Theologica, which is one of the most important works in medieval philosophy. In this work he attempted to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine. He argued that human reason can understand divine truths and he believed that faith should always be supported by sound reasoning from evidence found through experience or observation. Aquinas also wrote extensively about ethics which serves as a basis for much modern ethical thinking today. His view on ethics is known as natural law theory which states that morality comes from God’s will revealed through nature or divine revelation rather than being solely dictated by human laws or customs. His ethical theories have had a deep impact on Catholic moral teaching even up until present day Christianity and have been adopted by many other faiths throughout history such as Judaism and Islam. The legacy of Saint Thomas Aquinas continues to this day with his ideas forming an essential part of both academic study and religious practice across multiple denominations worldwide.