dis2@houxm.UUCP (A.NESTOR) (04/12/84)
The recent remarks on the net concerning St.Thomas on Faith and Reason
went astray because of the failure to distinguish between Faith and
Grace as St. Thomas does. In addition, Faith was conceived of in a
manner owing more to Franciscanism, Lutherism, or Calvinism than to
Thomism.
Note:
In the considerably over simplified expostion which follows, I have
used the English paraphrases standardised by Adler and Mc Keon for the
orignal Latin and Greek terms. This has the advantage of not becloud-
ing the expostion with entymological digression and the disadvantage
that some of the precision of the thought of St. Thmomas, The Angelic
Doctor, is lost. The English terms are capitalised throughout.
St. Thomas divides Philsophy into to two branches:
Natural Philosophy:
That Philosophy which man can obtain in time through his own
nature and efforts.
Divine Philosophy:
That subsequent Philosophy which man obtains in time through
supernatural (divine) intervention.
In the essentials of Natural Philosophy and the basis of Divine Philo-
sophy, St Thomas follows Aristotle, "The Philosoper" of the Summa
theologica and the Summa contra gentiles. St. Thomas accepts as fun-
damental to both Philosophies the Aristotelean fundamentals, including
the Four Causes, Logic, and the rational distinction between Form and
Content.
St. Thomas maintains the following tenets of Natural Philosophy:
Man is distinguished by four attributes:
1. Man is a Reasoning (thinking) animal.
2. Man is a Social (political) animal.
3. Man is an Acting (doing) animal.
4. Man is a Making (creative) animal.
Philosphy is divided by its Final Causes into three distinct Principal
branches:
Pure Philosophy
The Final Cause of Pure Philosophy is Knowledge of the Truth by
Reason.
Pure Philosophy is appropriate to man by his Reasonable nature.
Knowledge is of two successive forms:
a. True Opinion wherein the Reason comprehends Truth.
b. Wisdom wherein the Reason also comprehends the Final Cause
of Truth.
Metaphysics, the Knowledge of Truth outside Time and Matter, is
the highest branch of Pure Philosophy.
Practical Philosphy
The Final Cause of Practical Philosophy is Action.
Practical Philosophy is appropriate to man by his Social and
Acting Natures.
Practical Philosophy has two branches, Politics whose Final Cause
is Right Action for all men and Ethics whose Final Cause is Right
Action by individual men.
Productive Philosophy
The Final Cause of Productive Philosophy is Made Objects.
The chief branch of Productive Philosophy is Aesthetics whose
Final Cause is the art of making beautiful things.
In brief, St.Thomas, agrees with Aristotle, that the True, The Good,
and the Beautiful are distinct.
Faith:
St. Thomas holds that Pure (Natural) Philosophy can and has gained
Knowledge of the Truth and could in time Know all Truth including the
Truth of Divine Philosophy using Reason alone. However, this
knowledge would be largely True Opinion and only possible to a few men
after a long period of time. Since the Truth would only be know to a
few , the Social and Acting Natures of man are thereby compromised.
Accordingly, God, the Unmoved Mover of Pure Form, lovingly gives man
the capacity of Faith whereby True Opinion or Wisdom of the Truth of
Pure Divine Philosophy (Theology) can be obtained by all men. The
Truth of Divine Philosophy known by Faith extends and illuminates the
Truth of Natural Philosophy known by Reason. Faith is an extension of
Reason, i.e. it is a rational capacity.
Faith as an emotional or mystical state of inspiration is a concept
most sucessfully expounded by St. Francis. While this notion of Faith
continues to enjoy wide popularity, is quite foreign to St. Thomas and
other Doctors and Patrisitic writers. Faith as a uniquely, indivi-
daul, divine, capacity given as a sign of the favour of God was most
sucessfully expouned by Calvin. This notion is explicitly rejected by
St. Thomas because it violates the social nature of man. Faith as an
attribute of the Will from which salvation and righteousness proceed
was most sucessfully expounded by Luther following St. Augustine, a
Platonist. This concept is also rejected by St. Thomas. He regards,
following Aristotle, that Pure Philosophy and Practical Philosophy are
distinct with no necessary connection.
Grace:
Exactly as Faith is the rational agent for True Option and Wisdom of
Theology, Grace is the moral agent for Pure Divine Practical Philoso-
phy (Moral Theology). Grace is the capacity given for man to Right
Social and Individual Action. Grace, both Prevenient and Venient, is
the extension of Polity and Good Will whereby society and men act
rightly.
Creighton Clarke
HO 3M-337
201-949-1538
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