1. St. Thomas Aquinas
He is also called Aquinas, Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, San Tommaso d’Aquino (in Italian), by name ”Doctor Angelicus”
(Angelic Doctor), Angel of the Schools, Doctor Communis (Common Doctor), the Great Synthesizer and the Dumb Ox. He is an Italian -
Dominican priest, philosopher and theologian of the Medieval period. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology at
the peak of Scholasticism in Europe and the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology. He is often regarded as the greatest
of the Scholastic philosophers and is undoubtedly the most influential, since his teachings became the semi-official philosophy of
the Roman Catholic Church in 1879.
Life
He was born on January 28, 1225 in the small town of Roccasecca, near Aquino, Terra di Lavoro, Italy. His father is Count
Landulph and his mother is Theodora, Countess of Teano. At the age of five, he was educated by Benedictine monks at the abbey of
Monte Cassino and was sent to University of Naples. Later on, he was educated as friar (Dominican Order), studied Theology in Cologne
and Paris and taught in Paris and various Italian cities. He died on March 7, 1274 at the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova, near
Terracina, Latium, Papal States, Italy. He was canonized as saint by Pope John XXII on July 18, 1323. His feast day is every January 28,
formerly March 7. Pope Saint Pius V officially proclaimed him as Doctor of the Church in 1567. Pope Leo VIII commanded that his
teachings be studied by all theology students.
One of his notable ideas is the “quinquae viae" (Five Ways). His two monumental works are "Summa Contra Gentiles" (often
published in English under the title "On the Truth of the Catholic Faith") and "Summa Theologica" ("Compendium of Theology").
Philosophy
Education (Knowledge/Learning)
Knowledge is acquired in man, both from an interior principle, as is clear in one who procures knowledge by his own research;
and from an exterior principle, as is clear in one who learns (by instruction).
Ethics:
Happiness is to be found in the love of God. A person can experience only a more limited form of happiness through a life of
virtue and friendship.
Four cardinal virtues as prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude which held as natural (revealed in nature) and binding on
everyone.
Three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity which are supernatural and are distinct from other virtues in that their object is
God.
There are four types of law: eternal, natural, human and divine laws.
“Thou shall not kill.” refers to the killing of man.
It is lawful to kill an evildoer in so far as it is directed to the welfare of the whole community. (commutative justice)
Robbery is a more grievous sin than theft.
Matrimony is instituted both as an office of nature and as a sacrament of the Church.
Political Order
The best form of government is in a state or kingdom.
Economics and Justice
It is altogether sinful to have recourse to deceit in order to sell a thing for more than its just price. (Just Price)
To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself.
Just-War Theory
The three criteria for a just war: the war needed to be waged by a legitimate authority, have a just cause and have the right
intentions.
Application to Education/Social Issues
Education: Inquiry-based learning
Ethics: violence against women and children, terrorism, extra-judicial killing, summary execution, suicide, capital punishment,
theft, robbery, pre-marital sex, same-sex marriage, extra-marital affairs, divorce, annulment, birth control, human cloning, abortion
Political order: Constitutional Change, nepotism, graft and corruption
Economics: over-pricing of goods, high interest debt rate
Just-War Theory: armed-conflicts
References
http://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-aquinas
https://dhspriory.org/thomas/summa
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ829018.pdf
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Key-Concepts-of-the-Philsophy-of-St-Thomas-Aquinas
http://www.aquinasonline.com/thombiog.html
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas#ref32659
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy/The-history-of-Western-ethics#ref885521
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-thomas-aquinas/
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~jasingle/justwar.html
http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Aquinas.html
https://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_aquinas.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67y05sjio0
AEF 6001 Advanced
Philosophical Foundations
Prepared by:
Merra Mae Ramos
