Thomas Aquinas and Philosophy

Abstract

In describing Aquinas’s thought, some Thomists call it the prime example of Christian and eternal philosophy. For some others, he is a perfect theologian and they insist on the perfect harmony of reason and faith in his works. This article shows that it is not possible to call Aquinas’s thought a kind of philosophy, neither is the title of “Christian Philosophy” suitable for it. Despite the deep contrast between Pauline-Johannic Christianity and Peripatetic Philosophy, he tried to reconcile them. Furthermore, he tried to produce a peripatetic system of Christianity with a literal meaning based on Aristotelian philosophy aided by Avicenna and Averroes’s philosophical systems. However, in doing so, he encountered numerous insuperable problems because of the essential differences between Peripatetic Philosophy and Christian dogma. In his attempt, he diverged from the dominant current of mysticism. This made his adepts, especially the Franciscans, to criticise him, even though they also described Christianity using a philosophical system, i.e. Neoplatonism.

Keywords

• philosophy
• faith
• peripatetic philosophy
• theology