What is Thomism?

Answer

Thomism is the philosophical system developed by Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic scholar. Aquinas reconciled Aristotle’s philosophy with Christian theology, forming a system that became highly influential in history. Aquinas’ philosophy enjoyed popularity during his lifetime. Following his death, a minority of Catholic leaders denounced his teachings as heresy. Their actions temporarily diminished the popularity of his work.

In response to the Reformation, the Catholic Church strongly supported Aquinas’ work, including Thomism, elevating it to a status second only to the Bible itself. While other philosophical systems today differ from Thomism on various points, it remains a prevailing philosophical worldview.

Thomism is firmly rooted in reason, particularly in contrast to “blind faith.” It upholds the principles of non-contradiction and causality as the foundational elements of reality. According to Thomism, observation and reason can unveil much of nature and theology. Consequently, what can be understood through reason should be used to evaluate matters known solely through faith. Thomism acknowledges, however, that certain truths are only accessible through special revelation.

Thomism also embraces empiricism, asserting that knowledge requires observations and experiences. It argues that we cannot prove God’s existence based on direct experience alone; rather, we must interpret what we perceive, feel, and comprehend to argue for God. This philosophy rejects the Rationalist notion that pure logic or reasoning—without observations or empirical data—can reliably lead to conclusions.

Thomism also approaches understanding God through “negative theology.” This concept holds that humans must grasp God through metaphors and analogies. Because God is unique, transcendent, and infinite, He necessarily surpasses our complete comprehension.Prehension. To at least partially comprehend God, we must use figurative or analogous terms relevant to our experiences. This approach also implies that portions of Scripture can be interpreted figuratively, depending on the context.

The correspondence theory of truth is a core part of Thomism. This is the idea that “truth” can be defined as conforming to some external, objective reality. Thomism supposes both empiricism and objective realism, which both claim our senses are useful and that the world can be understood more or less as it actually is. Thomism also teaches a fusion of the body and soul, which differs in many ways from classical dualism.

Thomism poses a distinction between “essence” and “existence.” It posits that God alone is absolute and all other things are finite and imperfect. Therefore, only God has an essence identical to His existence. He is the one and only pure expression of essence, substance, and existence. For all other things, their “what” (essence) is different from their “is” (existence). This also means that evil does not exist, in and of itself, except as a lack of “good.” Something is evil insofar as it violates its purpose, or the “cause” of its existence.

According to Thomism, all living things possess some type of soul, but humans alone have an immortal, “rational” soul. Our ability to use reason, per this philosophy, is a supernatural quality that other forms of life do not possess.

Thomism is also the source of Aquinas’ “Five Ways,” which are introductory means to argue for the existence of God. These are the first mover argument, the first cause argument, the contingency (necessity) argument, the ontological (perfection) argument, and the teleological (design) argument. These are often misunderstood, and assumed to be Aquinas’ best and strongest case for the Christian God. In truth, the “Five Ways” are merely meant to be basic principles to introduce the concept of Christian theism on rational grounds.