Thomism
Thomism is a philosophical system of thought based on the writings of Thomas Aquinas, from his death in 1274 to the present. As a philosophy Thomism may be viewed as a moderate realism developed within medieval and Renaissance scholasticism that has been in continuous dialogue with alternate systems of thought in the modern and contemporary periods. The focus here is on Thomism specifically as it relates to science, technology, and ethics in the present.
Notion and Relevance
Thomas of Aquino (1225–1274) was a Dominican who studied under Albert the Great (c. 1200–1280) in Paris and Cologne and then taught at the University of Paris and in various Italian cities. Thomas was a prolific writer, known in his own day as a commentator on Aristotle, who adapted his thought to explicating the Catholic faith. Thomas was himself competent in the science of nature in the Aristotelian sense, and owed much to Albert's knowledge of the biological and psychological sciences. The relevance of both Albert and Thomas to modern science and its problems has been explored extensively by three contemporary Dominicans, Benedict M. Ashley, William A. Wallace, and James A. Weisheipl (1923–1984).
Modern science differs from scientia as understood in the Thomistic tradition, where it is defined as true and certain knowledge acquired by demonstration through prior knowledge of principles and causes.
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