PHILOSOPHY - Thomas Aquinas

Question 1

Question: How did Thomas Aquinas contribute to the reconciliation of religion with science and faith with reason?

Answer 1

Answer: Thomas Aquinas helped reconcile religion with science and faith with reason by teaching that human beings could access great truths through reason, which he saw as a gift from God.

Question 2

Question: What approach did Thomas Aquinas take to his faith and reason?

Answer 2

Answer: Thomas Aquinas refused to either lose his faith or mindlessly believe, emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach between faith and reason.

Question 3

Question: What was Thomas Aquinas’s view on intelligence and wisdom?

Answer 3

Answer: Thomas Aquinas universalized intelligence, asserting that individuals, even non-Christians, could possess wisdom through reason, regardless of their knowledge of Jesus.

Question 4

Question: How did Thomas Aquinas contribute to Christian understanding of the world?

Answer 4

Answer: Thomas Aquinas taught Christians that the world could be explored through reason, not just faith, and his ideas influenced some of the world’s greatest philosophers who were not Christian.

Question 5

Question: What did Thomas Aquinas propose about the universe and natural law?

Answer 5

Answer: Thomas Aquinas proposed that the universe operates according to both secular natural law and religious eternal law, and much of the world follows natural law, making it understandable through reason without the belief in God.

Question 6

Question: How did Thomas Aquinas interpret the moral principle “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”?

Answer 6

Answer: Thomas Aquinas saw this moral principle as following natural law, as it has been a cornerstone of moral principles in most societies at most times.

Question 7

Question: How did Thomas Aquinas’s teachings affect the compatibility of faith and reason in Christianity compared to Islam?

Answer 7

Answer: Thomas Aquinas’s teachings ensured that Christianity did not outright reject reason as Islam did, contributing to the compatibility of faith and reason in Christian thought.

Question 8

Question: What did Thomas Aquinas emphasize as the source of knowledge?

Answer 8

Answer: Thomas Aquinas believed that knowledge should come from a balance of intuition and rationality, advocating for open scientific inquiry and the harmonious integration of faith and reason.