The christian and Aristotelian philosophy

[Mayflower]

I read that Thomas Aquinas was the first to recognize the fact that Aristotelian intellectualism would be of great help for the study of philosophy as well as theology.

I would like to your thoughts on Aristotelian philosophy, is it helpfull or not for the christian ?

 

[Reformed Thomist]

I think an 'updated' question might better get at the heart of the matter: Is the work of scientists and philosophers important for, or helpful to, the theologian?

Important to understand, I think, is that in Aquinas's day (the 13th century) 'Aristotle' meant science and philosophy. The retrieval of Aristotelian texts and thought in the West (in particular, the University of Paris), largely through the commentaries of the Arab philosopher Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and the Aristotle-influenced treatises of Avicenna (Ibn Sina), was the re-introduction of 'secular' thought in the West: philosophy and science on its own, not within the context of Christian revelation. (The 'Latin Averroists' -- Siger of Brabant, etc. -- and indeed Aquinas to an extent, were so controversial at Paris because they went ahead and studied and wrote about Aristotle, devising purely scientific/philosophical doctrines based on their reading, without reference to revelation, and in the case of Siger, without concern if some of these doctrines conflicted with revelation. This was unprecedented in the medieval West.) The main thing, though, is that the Aristotelian texts were all we had at the time in the way of science and philosophy as those terms are understood today. (Luckily, Aristotle is arguably the greatest scientist and philosopher the world has ever seen.)

Were Aquinas the theologian writing today he probably would be interested in Aristotle, but he would almost certainly be more concerned with the developments in science and philosophy since the Aristotelian retrieval which, in so many ways, reignited the flame of secular inquiry in the West. He would attempt to reconcile these with the Christian faith. Aquinas was an 'Aristotelian' only insofar as the Aristotelian texts provided, at the time, the best natural explanation of phenomena in the world. Science has certainly moved beyond Aristotle's findings, and so has philosophy, even if philosophers would do well to retain many of Aristotle's theories (like Virtue Ethics and faculty psychology).

 

[yeutter]

St. Thomas Aquinas is similar to St. John of Damascus in his use of Aristotelian philosophy. St. Thomas acknowledges his debt to St. John of Damascus who he refers to as the Damascene.

 

[Philip]

Aristotle is incredibly helpful for virtue ethics, literary theory (the poetics is still one of the best works on what makes a good tragedy), and most importantly, logic. Our whole system of logic is derived from Aristotle's formulations of its principles, just as our most basic geometry is still derived from Euclid.

For these reasons, I also recommend Aquinas as a source for Christian thought on biblical principles of society, government, and economics due to his use of Aristotle and the Scriptures.

 

[Sven]

I would agree with Nathan to a point. When it comes to modern science, Aristotle is outdated. But in much of the other topics he discusses, he is still quite relevant. Alfred Whitehead said that "Western philosophy is just a series of footnotes to Plato," and others have said that Whitehead should have said Aristotle. Though a study of the Greek philosophers can help us in understanding where and who we are as a culture today, the Christian needs to take precautions when studying them, especially if we are utilizing them for theology. We would do well to heed the advice of Luther, "He who wishes to philosophize by using Aristotle without danger to his soul must first become thoroughly foolish in Christ."

 

[Mayflower]

Thanks brethern for your comments on my question.

Can any tell me if the commentaries on Aristotles written Aquinas are helpfull ?

 

[Reformed Thomist]

Can any tell me if the commentaries on Aristotles written Aquinas are helpfull ?

They are very helpful for understanding Aristotle (as are Averroes' commentaries, which Aquinas always had in front of him as he composed his own contributions to Aristotelian studies).