Faith and Reason in the Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas

The Historical Context of Thomas Aquinas

The thirteenth century represents the golden age of medieval theology and philosophy. It was the era of the great systematization regarding the relationship between faith and reason.

The Origins of the Faith-Reason Conflict

The problem of the relationship between reason and faith has its origins in the rise of Christianity. Christianity is not a philosophy but a doctrine revealed by God, which includes a series of statements on matters that had been questioned since the beginning of philosophy.

Although early Christians did not come from intellectual environments, later individuals from philosophical backgrounds began to convert. They needed to recur to philosophical arguments to defend their religion. This is the moment when the problem of the relationship between faith and reason began to be considered.

Conciliatory Attitudes in Early Christianity

In the early centuries of our era, most Christians evaluated the efforts of philosophers positively, such as St. Justin. St. Augustine followed these authors, adopting a conciliatory attitude between philosophy and theology.

The Influence of Aristotle in the Thirteenth Century

The most significant philosophical event in the thirteenth century was the slow diffusion and knowledge of Aristotle's thought. The discovery of Aristotle's works on physics and metaphysics involved finding specific content and new perspectives.

Thomas Aquinas and the Aristotelian Legacy

Thomas Aquinas, belonging to the Dominican order, was unwilling to give up this knowledge. On one hand, he was a great admirer of Aristotle, in whom he saw a mine of authentic ideas. On the other hand, he was a man of faith. He fought the theses of Averroes that he considered false, proposing an alternative without giving up the legacy of Aristotle.

The Harmony of Truth

His position is simple: God is the source of the revelation that gives faith to men, but He is also the source of human reason. Therefore, there can be no contradiction between the two.

The importance of this discussion is seen in the fact that it was shared by thinkers of the three major religions of the book: Jews, Arabs, and Christians.

The Shift Toward William of Ockham

By the late thirteenth century, the balance between reason and faith began to break. The man who best expresses this change is William of Ockham, a Franciscan who started a brilliant and controversial academic life, eventually becoming involved in the fiercest clashes of the time.