Thomas Aquinas (1224–74) Italian Dominican monk, theologian and philosopher. Born near Naples, the son of a noble family, Aquinas joined the Dominican order against his family’s wishes. He was canonized in 1324, and in the nineteenth century Pope Leo III recognized Aquinas’ writings as the basis of Catholic theology.
Aquinas took part in the theological debates of the day, arguing that reason and faith are compatible, and defending the admission of Aristotle into the university curriculum. His vast but unfinished Summa Theologiae (1963), begun in 1265, deals with the nature of God, morality and law – eternal, divine, natural and human. He viewed ‘natural law’ as the basic moral rules on which political society depends, believing that these can be elaborated by rational reflection on human nature. As, in Aquinas’ view, human law should be framed in accordance with natural law, its purpose is ultimately to ‘lead men to virtue’, reflecting his belief that law, government and the state are natural features of the human condition rather than (as Augustine had argued) consequences of original sin. Aquinas nevertheless recognized that human law is an imperfect instrument, in that some moral faults cannot be legally prohibited and attempts to prohibit others may cause more harm than good. The political tradition that Aquinas founded has come to be known as Thomism, with neo-Thomism, since the late nineteenth century, attempting to keep alive the spirit of the ‘angelic doctor’.
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