St. Thomas Aquinas: Three Types of Truth and Knowledge

Epistemology of St. Thomas Aquinas: Three Kinds of Truths

St. Thomas Aquinas distinguished three kinds of truths:

1. Article of Faith: Truths accessed solely through faith and revelation.
2. Mixed Truths: Truths accessed through both revelation and reasoning.
3. Natural Truths: Knowledge of nature's own right, accessed via the intellect's reasoning, which pertains to reality. Faith is not needed for these.

We consider a truth any proposition that relates to reality. Knowledge begins with the senses, giving great importance to sensory knowledge. Ultimately, all knowledge is universal.

Process of Knowledge

Knowledge originates in the senses, emphasizing perceptual knowledge.

Phase 1: Concept Formation

1. Knowledge of the Particular: The way things impress upon us creates a representation. Sensory capabilities generate a sensitive species, which forms an image in the brain.
2. Universal Knowledge: The image acts as a binding element, produced through the soul's power toward the intellect, where the soul stores the images. Through abstraction, we retain the essence of things, discarding their particular mode of being.

Phase 2: Judgment and Reasoning

3. Judgment (Trial): We relate the concept to reality, connecting it to the object and establishing a relationship between the concept and the sensitive series.
4. Reasoning: We connect several judgments to reach previously acquired knowledge.

Synthesis of Knowledge Process

The process of knowledge involves two main phases:

• Creation of the Concept: This moves from the particular to the general—a distancing from the material world.
• Creation of the Judgment (Trial): This is the reverse process, applying the concept back to the particular world—a return to the concrete.

Introduction: Aquinas' Aim

St. Thomas as Scholastic Chief

St. Thomas is the chief representative of the Scholastica. His intention was to integrate human intelligence into religious life. He adopted the Aristotelian model, utilizing what reason alone could achieve, while acknowledging the necessity of revelation. His ultimate aim was to unite faith and reason, integrating Aristotelian philosophy and divine revelation. He distinguished the object of philosophy (created being) from the object of theology (the Creator).