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The problem of matter and form in Aristotle's philosophy.

Aristotle was interested in the material world which he saw about him. He was interested in the nature of things and their substance. However, Aristotle was still interested in questions such as ‘what is it about a table that gives it its tableness?’ However, unlike his teacher Plato, Aristotle believed that the form of an object was not some kind of abstract ideal. He believed that the form of an object was contained within the object itself. To confuse things further, Aristotle also used the word matter to mean the stuff of which something was made. This allowed Aristotle to also wondered whether it was possible that something could have matter but no form. He concluded that there could be prime matter or stuff that has no particular form and not arranged in any particular structure. Likewise, Aristotle wondered whether something could have form and structure without having matter. He proposed that something that has form and structure without matter is God.

The main aspects of medieval European philosophy.

Medieval philosophy is conventionally construed as the philosophy of Western Europe between the decline of classical pagan culture and the Renaissance. Such a broad topic cannot be covered in detail in a single article, and fortunately there is no need to do so, since other articles in this Encyclopedia treat individual medieval philosophers and topics. The present article will confine itself to articulating some of the overall contours of medieval philosophy. The reader should refer to the items listed under Related Entries below for more detailed information on narrower subjects. Medieval philosophy included all the main areas we think of as part of philosophy today. Nevertheless, certain topics stand out as worthy of special mention. To begin with, it is only a slight exaggeration to say that medieval philosophy invented the philosophy of religion. To be sure, ancient pagan philosophers sometimes talked about the nature of the gods. But a whole host of traditional problems in the philosophy of religion first took on in the Middle Ages the forms in which we still often discuss them today:

  • The problem of the compatibility of the divine attributes.
  • The problem of evil. Ancient philosophy had speculated on evil, but the particularly pressing form the problem takes on in Christianity, where an omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent God freely created absolutely everything besides himself, first emerged in the Middle Ages.
  • The problem of the compatibility of divine foreknowledge with human free will. Many medieval authors appealed to human free will in their response to the problem of evil, so that it was especially important to find some way to reconcile our free will with divine foreknowledge

Boethius's life and philosophy.

 

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480 – 524 or 525 ń.ĺ.) was a polymath and a Christian philosopher of the sixth century who was instrumental in transmitting classical Greek logic to medieval Latin scholars. Born into a high-ranking Christian Roman family and highly educated, he served as an official for the kingdom of the Ostrogoths but was later executed by King Theodoric the Great on suspicion of having conspired with the Byzantine Empire. His legacy includes textbooks on geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and musicwhich were used throughout the Latin Middle Ages; commentaries on Aristotle, Porphyry and Cicero; essays on logic and four treatises applying logic to theological doctrines such as the Trinity and the relationship between God and Jesus Christ. Until the twelfth century, two of his translations were the only works of Aristotle available to Latin scholars. His most famous work, written in prison before his execution, is Consolation of Philosophy, which became one of the most influential philosophical books of medieval Europe and an inspiration for many later poets and authors. Philosophical Works



Boethius' philosophical works include translations, with commentaries, of Aristotle's logical treatises and of Porphyry's "Isagogue;" commentaries on Porphyry's Isagoge as translated by Marius Victorinus, and on Cicero's Topica; and several original essays on logic, De Categoricis Syllogismis, Introductio ad Syllogismos Categoricos, De Divisione (of doubtful authenticity), and De Differentiis Topicis.

Boethius stated his intention to educate the West by translating all the works of Plato and Aristotle into Latin and adding commentaries; this effort was cut short, but his translations of Aristotle’s works on logic, together with his commentaries, remained the only works of Aristotle available to Latin scholars until the twelfth century. His commentary on the Isagoge by Porphyry, in which he discusses whether species are subsistent entities which would exist whether anyone thought of them, or whether they exist as ideas alone, underlay one of the most vocal controversies in medieval philosophy, the problem of universals. De Categoricis Syllogismis and Introductio ad Syllogismos Categoricos discussed categorical and hypothetical syllogisms.

Boethius’ essays and commentaries became known collectively as the Logica vetus, and were studied by medieval scholars of logic. Many of his methods, definitions, and terms such as “person” and “eternity,” became standard in medieval schools.

Consolation of Philosophy. Boethius’ final work, Consolation of Philosophy, was written in prison as he awaited execution on charges of treason, without having been granted a trial or a chance to defend himself. Written as a Menippean satire, or prosimetrum (passages of prose interspersed with verse), it is a dialogue between Boethius and Philosophy, portrayed as a woman, and exemplifies Platonic ideas. Philosophy tries to console Boethius by arguing that true happiness cannot be affected by tragic material circumstances. The work discusses providence and fate, the nature of God, the origin of the universe, prescience, and predestination. It contains a famous definition of eternity as “perfect possession all at the same time of endless life.” Though not read by his contemporaries, the book was popularized during the ninth century by Alcuin at the court ofCharlemagne, and was read not only in schools but by medieval laymen interested in philosophy. It was translated into Anglo-Saxon by King Alfred, and into later English by Chaucer and by Queen Elizabeth; many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited, translated and printed throughout Europe from the late fifteenth century onwards. Its influence is evident in Beowulf and Chaucer, in Anglo-Norman and Provencal popular poetry, in early Italian poetry, and in Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy).

#24

1. Aristotle proposed a fifth element, aether, in addition to the four proposed earlier by Empedocles.

Earth, which is cold and dry; this corresponds to the modern idea of a solid.

Water, which is cold and wet; this corresponds to the modern idea of a liquid.

Air, which is hot and wet; this corresponds to the modern idea of a gas.

Fire, which is hot and dry; this corresponds to the modern ideas of plasma and heat.

Aether , which is the divine substance that makes up the heavenly spheres and heavenly bodies (stars and planets).

Each of the four earthly elements has its natural place. All that is earthly tends toward the center of the universe, i.e., the center of the Earth. Water tends toward a sphere surrounding the center. Air tends toward a sphere surrounding the water sphere. Fire tends toward the lunar sphere (in which the Moon orbits). When elements are moved out of their natural place, they naturally move back towards it. This is "natural motion"—motion requiring no extrinsic cause. So, for example, in water, earthy bodies sink while air bubbles rise up; in air, rain falls and flame rises. Outside all the other spheres, the heavenly, fifth element, manifested in the stars and planets, moves in the perfection of circles.

2. Wisdom and control versus of Pleasure

In their moral philosophy, the Stoicizm aimed at happiness ,but unlike the Epicurus they did not expect to find in pleasure. Instead the Stoicizm sought happiness through wisdom, a wisdom by which to control what lay within human ability and to accept with dignified resignation what had to be. Zeno was inspired as a youth by the ethical teachings, and the life of Socrates, who had faced death with serenity and courage. This example of super control over the emptions in the face of the supreme threat to one’s existence. The threat of death-provided the Stoics with an outhentic model after which to pattern their lives,. Centuries later the Stoic Epictetus said that:2 cannot it means. We cannot control all events, but we can it is useless to fear future events, for they will happen to control our rear. Epictetus wrote: “ do not deman them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well”.

3. The Prince-is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of the Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings".

Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the Vernacular (Italian) rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics.Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of his works and the one most responsible for bringing the word "Machiavellian" into wide usage as a pejorative term. It also helped make "Old Nick" an English term for the devil, and even contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words "politics" and "politician" in western countries. In terms of subject matter it overlaps with the much longer Discourses on Livy, which was written a few years later. In its use of near contemporary Italians as examples of people who perpetrated criminal deeds for politics, another lesser-known work by Machiavelli which The Prince has been compared to is the Life of Castruccio Castracani.The descriptions within The Prince have the general theme of accepting that the aims of princes—such as glory and survival—can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends.

“He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation. ”—Machiavelli.

 

#25

1. The philosophy of Epicurus. Epicurus - as an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by —peace and freedom from fear—and —the absence of pain—and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.

2. Humanism and the Italian Renaissance. Humanism - Humanism was the philosophical backbone of the Renaissance, emphasizing the potential for individual achievement and stipulating that humans were rational beings capable of truth and goodness. In keeping with the principles of humanism, Renaissance scholars celebrated the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans for their own sake, rather than for their relevance to Church doctrine.Renaissance humanism is a collection of intellectual Greek and Roman teachings, undertaken by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists, taking place initially in Italy, and then spreading across Europe.[1] It developed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of medieval scholastic education, emphasizing practical, pre-professional and scientific studies.

3. The key aspects of the stoic’s philosophy .Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions. Stoic A member of an originally Greek school of philosophy, founded by Zeno about 308 b.c., believing that God determined everything for the best and that virtue is sufficient for happiness. Its later Roman form advocated the calm acceptance of all occurrences as the unavoidable result of divine will or of the natural order.

 

#26

1. The stoicism: the ideas of the justice and cosmopolitanism

the stoics also developed a strong notion of cosmopolitanism - the idea that people are citizens of the same human community. to look at the world process as a drama is to admit that everyone had a role in it. The Stoics viewed human relations as having the greatest significance for human beings were the bearers of a divine spark. What relates people to each other is the fact that each person shares a common element. universal brotherhood and the theory of a universal natural law of justice were among the most impressive contributions made to the western thought by the stoics. Although Stoicism shared many of the characteristics of Epicurean philosophy, it made some radical innovations. With the Epicureans, the Stoics put their chif emphasis on the practical control as the center of ethics, regarded self - control as the center of ethics, viewed all of nature in materialistic terms and sought happines as the end. The most significant thought injected by the Stoics was that they viewed the world not as the product of chance, but as the product of an ordering mind reason. This view involved the stoics in a highly optimistic attitude, regarding the possibilities of human wisdom.

.2.Proofs of God's existence from perfection and order in Aquinas's concept First, we observe that some things in the world are in motion. Whatever is in motion is put into motion by another object that is in motion. This other object, in turn, was put into motion by still another object preceding it, and so forth. This series cannot go on backward to infinity, though, since there would otherwise be no first mover and thus no subsequent movement. Therefore, we must conclude that there is a first unmoved mover, which we understand to be God.

Second, we observe that everything has an efficient cause and that nothing is or can be the cause of itself. It is impossible, though, that the series of causes should extend back to infinity because every cause is dependent on a prior cause and the ultimate cause is thus dependent on a previous cause. So if there is no first cause, there will be no intermediate causes and no final cause. But the absence of such causes clearly does not square withour observation, and so there must therefore be a first efficient cause, which everyone calls God.

Third, we observe in nature things that are possible to be and not to be, as they come into existence and pass out of existence. Such things could not always exist, though, because something that could possibly not exist at some time actually does not exist at some time. Thus, if it is possible for everything not to exist, then, at some time, nothing did exist. But if nothing ever did exist, then nothing would exist even now, since everything that exists requires for its existence something that already existed. Yet it is absurd to claim that nothing exists even now. Therefore, not all beings are merely possible, but there must be something the existence of which is necessary. Now, every necessary thing has its necessity caused by something else or it does not. Since it is impossible for there to exist an infinite series of causes of necessary things, we must conclude that there is something that is necessary in itself. People speak of this thing as God.

Fourth, beings in the world have characteristics to varying degrees. Some are more or less good, true, noble, and so forth. Such gradations are all measured in relation to a maximum, however. Thus, there must be something best, truest, noblest, and so on. Now, as Aristotle teaches, things that are greatest in truth are also greatest in being. Therefore, there must be something that is the cause of being, goodness, and every other perfection that we find in beings in the world. We call this maximum cause God.

3.Boethius's composition "The Consolation of philosophy".

the Consolation of Philosophy) is a philosophical work by Boethius, written around the year 524. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great Western work of the Classical Period

 

#27

1. The stoicism: the idea of Human Nature. The stoics knew that to build moral philosophy it is necessary to have a clear view of what human nature is like. Just as the world is a material order permeated by the fiery substance called reason or God, so also a person is a material being, who is permeated by this very same fiery substance. The Stoics are famous for the saying that people contain a spark of the divine within them. It meant, that a person contains part of the substance of God. This spark of the divine is a very fine and pure material substance that permeates a person’s body, causing it to move and to be capable of all sensations. This pure material soul is transmitted by parents to children in a physical way. The Stoics thought that the soul was centered in the heart and that it circulated through specifically the bloodstream. What the soul added to the body was the delicate mechanism of the live senses as well as the powers of speech and reproduction. But since God is the rational logic, the human soul is also rooted in reason and consequently human personality finds its unique expression in its rationality. For the stoics, however, human rationality did not mean simply that people are able to think or to reason about things. Instead, human rationality means that a person’s nature participates in the rational structure and order of the whole of nature. Human rationality means our awareness of the actual order of things and our place in this order

2. The history of two cities in Augustine's philosophy

For St. Augustine and for Dawson, one also cannot readily separate the two cities, the City of God and the City of Man, in any Manichean sense. While the two cities do not meet spiritually, they intermingle physically. “We must remember that behind the natural process of social conflict and tension which runs through history there is a deeper law of spiritual duality and polarization,” Dawson argued in no uncertain terms, “which is expressed in the teaching of the Gospel on the opposition of the World and the Kingdom of God and in St. Augustine’s doctrine of the two cities Babylon and Jerusalem whose conflict run through all history and gives it its ultimate significance.”

Christians live in the City of Man, St. Augustine argued, but sojourn as pilgrims in this world, as citizens of the City of God. “The City of God is a real society with its roots in eternity and its development in time and history,” Dawson wrote. Love separates the two cities; that is, a proper understanding as well as a prideful, false understanding of the nature and significance of love divides this world from the next. “Two cities have been formed by two loves: the early city by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self,” St. Augustine argued. “The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord.”

This profound dualism—between the City of God and the City of Man—lasts as long as time itself lasts. Each new generation must consequently accept its place in history and fight the good fight, serving as a leaven in the City of Man, calling out the saints. “There is no aspect of human life and no sphere of human action which is neutral or ‘secular’ in the absolute sense,” Dawson contended. Instead, the Christian should recognize that all aspects of this world must be sanctified and Christianized.

3.Aquinas, about the knowledge of God's Nature.

To prove that God exists does not tell us positively what God is. Traditional theologians commonly state that there is a vast gulf between the powers of human knowledge and the infinitude of God’s nature. Aquinas was always aware of this virtually unbridgeable gulf, saying that, the divine reality surpasses all human consumptions of it. But each of the five proofs adds something to the consumption of God. As first mover, God is seen as unchangeable and therefore eternal. As first cause, God is seen as all powerful to create. To say that God is a necessary rather than a possible being is to say God is pure actuality. As the ultimate truth and goodness, God is perfection itself. And as the orderer or designer of the universe God is the supreme intelligence directing things.

 

#28

1. The problem of freedom in the stoic’s philosophy

 

2. The state as a Giant Person in Plato's political philosophy.

Plato's philosophical views had many societal implications, especially on the idea of an ideal state or government. Plato held that the State is like a giant person.

There is some discrepancy between his early and later views. Some of the most famous doctrines are contained in the Republic during his middle period, as well as in the Laws and the Statesman. However, because Plato wrote dialogues, it is assumed that Socrates is often speaking for Plato. This assumption may not be true in all cases.

According to Plato, a state made up of different kinds of souls will, overall, decline from an aristocracy to a timocracy , then to an oligarchy , then to a democracy, and finally to tyranny. Aristocracy is the form of government advocated in Plato's Republic. This regime is ruled by a philosopher king, and thus is grounded on wisdom and reason. The aristocratic state, and the man whose nature corresponds to it, are the objects of Plato's analyses throughout much of the Republic, as opposed to the other four types of states/men, who are discussed later in his work.

3.Proofs from motion, efficient cause in Aquinas's philosophy

Proof from Motion: We are certain, because it is evident to our senses, that in the world some things are in motion. It is equally clear to us that whatever is in motion was moved by something else. If a thing is at rest, it will never move until something else moves it. When a thing is at rest, it is only potentially in motion. Motion occurs when something potentially in motion is moved and is then actually in motion; motion is the transformation of potentiality into actuality. Imagine a series of dominoes standing next to each other. When they are set up in a row, it can be said that they are all potentially in motion, though actually at rest.

Consider a particular domino. Its potentiality is that it will not move until it is knocked over by the one next to it. It will move only if it is moved by something actually moving. From this fact, Aquinas drew the general conclusion that nothing can be transformed from a state of potentiality by something that is also in a mere state of potentiality. A domino cannot be knocked over by another domino that is standing still. Potentiality means the absence of something and is therefore nothing; for this reason, potential motion in the neighboring domino cannot move the next one because it is nothing and you cannot derive motion from non-motion. So Aquinas claimed that the first thing was moved by the God.

Proof from Efficient Cause We experience various kinds of effects, and in every case we assign an efficient cause to each effect. The efficient cause of the statue is the work of the sculptor. If we took away the activity of the sculptor, we should not have the effect, the statue. There is an order of efficient causes; the parents of the sculptor are his efficient cause. Workers in the quarry are the efficient cause of this.

 

#29

1. The principles that govern Platonic political thought are discussed in connection to many themes that are relevant to contemporary societies. These include: the relevance of Plato's theory to contemporary democratic theories; its utility in evaluating life styles and types of life that compete for prominence in democratic societies; the viability of Plato's conception within modern contexts of the proper relationship between citizen and the state; Plato's positions on the different constitutions and whether his views constitute an attack on democracy or whether they should be better understood as a penetrating critic of deviant democratic society in both its ancient manifestation as well as in its contemporary forms.In addition to these general themes, more specialized topics within Platonic political thought are discussed, such as: Plato's concept of the statesman, how he differs from the orator and the demagogue, and his kinship with the philosopher king, the exemplary form of the statesman. The divergence between homo economicus of technological societies and Plato's vision of political man are examined. The Platonic concept of the good and justice as regulatory principles are investigated in connection to the views put forward by theoreticians of modern democracy who have posited other criteria for assessing a democracy's well-being. In addition Plato's concept of measure as a moral and political principle, the place of dialogue and dialectic as the foundation of deliberative democracy, Plato's theory of the harmonized fulfilment of desires in relation to the modern views of human nature are re-examined.

 

The papers show that many, if not all, the distortions and misinterpretations that circulated in the past on Platonic political philosophy, especially the view of Plato as a proponent of a closed undemocratic society, should be removed. Instead, Plato should be regarded as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for inquiry into the socio-political issues of our times.The articles in the present volume should be studied in conjunction with the papers contained in the second volume on "Platonic Political Philosophy" which are not included in the present issue. This will assist the reader to have a full picture of the research being done on Plato's political philosophy.

2. 8 Principles of Stoic Philosophy and Their Serenity Prayer-Like Advice

Nature - Nature is rational.

Law of Reason - The universe is governed by the law of reason. Man can't actually escape its inexorable force, but he can, uniquely, follow the law deliberately.

Virtue - A life led according to rational nature is virtuous.

Wisdom - Wisdom is the the root virtue. From it spring the cardinal virtues: insight, bravery, self-control, and justice.

"Briefly, their notion of morality is stern, involving a life in accordance with nature and controlled by virtue. It is an ascetic system, teaching perfect indifference ( APATHEA ) to everything external, for nothing external could be either good or evil. Hence to the Stoics both pain and pleasure, poverty and riches, sickness and health, were supposed to be equally unimportant."

Apathy - Since passion is irrational, life should be waged as a battle against it. Intense feeling should be avoided.

Pleasure - Pleasure is not good. (Nor is it bad. It is only acceptable if it doesn't interfere with our quest for virtue.)

Evil - Poverty, illness, and death are not evil.

Duty - Virtue should be sought, not for the sake of pleasure, but for duty.

3. The Absolute is Mind (Spirit) − this is the supreme definition of the Absolute. To find this definition and to grasp its meaning and burden was, we may say, the ultimate purpose of all education and all philosophy: it was the point to which turned the impulse of all religion and science: and it is this impulse that must explain the history of the world. The word 'Mind' (Spirit) − and some glimpse of its meaning − was found at an early period: and the spirituality of God is the lesson of Christianity. It remains for philosophy in its own element of intelligible unity to get hold of what was thus given as a mental image, and what implicitly is the ultimate reality; and that problem is not genuinely, and by rational methods, solved so long as liberty and intelligible unity is not the theme and the soul of philosophy. The essence of Hegel’s idealism consisted in his notion that the object of our consciousness –the thing. Hegel concluded that reality is to be found in the absolute idea. The major point of Hegel’s philosophy is that the nature reality is the Absolute mind.

 

 

Dialectics- is the science of the general and abstract law of the development of nature, society and mind.

Law of opposites- electricity is characterized by a positive and negative charge and atoms consist of protons and electrons which are unified but are ultimately contradictory forces.

Law of negation- the aristocracy was negated by the bourgeoisie; and the bourgeoisie then created the proletariat that will one day negate them.

Law of transformation- this is law how quantitative development becomes qualitative change. Transformation allows for the reserve with quality affecting quantity.

#30

1. Aristotle, whose name means "the best purpose, was born in Stagira, Chalcidice, in 384 BC, about 55 km (34 mi) east of modern-day Thessaloniki.[6] His father Nicomachus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Although there is little information on Aristotle's childhood, he probably did spend some time in the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings: Ptolemy and Cassander. Aristotle encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest, and his attitude towards Persia was unabashedly ethnocentric. In one famous example, he counsels Alexander to be "a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts or plants"

Logic and Metaphysics-Aristotle placed great emphasis in his school on direct observation of nature, and in science he taught that theory must follow fact. He considered philosophy to be the discerning of the self-evident, changeless first principles that form the basis of all knowledge. Logic was for Aristotle the necessary tool of any inquiry, and the syllogism was the sequence that all logical thought follows. He introduced the notion of category into logic and taught that reality could be classified according to several categories—substance (the primary category), quality, quantity, relation, determination in time and space, action, passion or passivity, position, and condition.Aristotle also taught that knowledge of a thing, beyond its classification and description, requires an explanation of causality, or why it is. He posited four causes or principles of explanation: the material cause (the substance of which the thing is made); the formal cause (its design); the efficient cause (its maker or builder); and the final cause (its purpose or function). In modern thought the efficient cause is generally considered the central explanation of a thing, but for Aristotle the final cause had primacy.He used this account of causes to examine the relation of form to matter, and in his conclusions differed sharply from those of his teacher, Plato. Aristotle believed that a form, with the exception of the Prime Mover, or God, had no separate existence, but rather was immanent in matter. Thus, in the Aristotelian system, form and matter together constitute concrete individual realities; the Platonic system holds that a concrete reality partakes of a form (the ideal) but does not embody it. Aristotle believed that form caused matter to move and defined motion as the process by which the potentiality of matter (the thing itself) became the actuality of form (motion itself). He held that the Prime Mover alone was pure form and as the "unmoved mover" and final cause was the goal of all motion.

3. Thomas was a theologian and a Scholastic philosopher. However, he never considered himself a philosopher, and criticized philosophers, whom he saw as pagans, for always "falling short of the true and proper wisdom to be found in Christian revelation. “ With this in mind, Thomas did have respect for Aristotle, so much so that in the Summa, he often cites Aristotle simply as "the Philosopher." Much of his work bears upon philosophical topics, and in this sense may be characterized as philosophical. Thomas's philosophical thought has exerted enormous influence on subsequent Christian theology, especially that of the Catholic Church, extending to Western philosophy in general. Thomas stands as a vehicle and modifier of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism.

Thomas viewed theology, or the sacred doctrine, as a science, the raw material data of which consists of written scripture and the tradition of the Catholic Church. These sources of data were produced by the self-revelation of God to individuals and groups of people throughout history. Faith and reason, while distinct but related, are the two primary tools for processing the data of theology. Thomas believed both were necessary — or, rather, that the confluence of both was necessary — for one to obtain true knowledge of God. Thomas blended Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine by suggesting that rational thinking and the study of nature, like revelation, were valid ways to understand truths pertaining to God. According to Thomas, God reveals himself through nature, so to study nature is to study God. The ultimate goals of theology, in Thomas's mind, are to use reason to grasp the truth about God and to experience salvation through that truth.

 


Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1063


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