Scholasticism was a common philosophical movement in the medieval period. After the medieval period, scholars of theology adopted and used it more than other philosophers. As a result, many people associate the scholastic method with theology. This method mostly uses dialectics in solving disagreements between philosophers who hold different views on a topic. Dialectics mainly involves arguments and counter-arguments. Major tenets of scholasticism include the approval of Catholicism, acknowledgment of Aristotle’s ideas, recognition of revealed and natural theology, and dialectics (McCool 3). This paper discusses how Aquinas demonstrates the existence of God using the scholastic method in his article Summa Theologiae.
The first element of Scholasticism in Aquinas’s work is his style of presenting arguments. He sticks to the dialectic method from the beginning to the end of Summa Theologiae (Scholasticism par. 5). He introduces his arguments by posing questions that require reason. Then he presents two responses that contradict each other. After the contradicting replies, he uses syllogism, giving premises to support each of the responses before arriving at a conclusion. He also formulates his sub-topics in a skeptical manner. For example, one of the sub-topics is, “Whether God exists” (Aquinas 7). Such sub-topics make it easy for him to present his ideas. Aquinas’s arguments entail five proofs whose objective is to show readers that God exists.
The next element of Scholasticism in his work is his support for Aristotle. He quotes Aristotle’s statements in his work to show that their thoughts are similar. He also highlights Aristotle’s faith in catholic beliefs. In his fourth proof, for example, he argues that everything on earth has a degree of quality that makes it different from other things. He quotes Aristotle’s arguments to demonstrate the existence of a person who has the maximum amount of all qualities (Aquinas 7). In the same proof, he uses Aristotle’s statements in asserting that God is the source of all goodness. Scholastic academicians recognized Aristotle and rejected Plato in most of their philosophies.
Another feature of scholasticism evident in Aquinas’s work is the recognition of two types of theology: natural and revealed (Scholasticism par. 4). Natural theology talks mainly about God and everything he does to show that he exists. Aquinas mostly refers to God as “the cause” and human beings as “the effect” (Aquinas 7). Revealed theology entails the revelation of God to human beings. Aquinas bases his arguments on this tenet. His assertions imply that it is not easy to confirm the existence of God by directly studying Him. Instead, he argues that studying what God has done is the most appropriate method of proving His existence. The proofs he gives to demonstrate God’s existence strongly support this assertion. He derives all the five proofs from God’s work in the world.
It is clear that Aquinas effectively uses the Scholastic Method in demonstrating that God exists. His work contains the main features of the Scholastic Movement. He uses questions, contrasting arguments, and Aristotle’s views throughout the book. He also recognizes the existence of two types of theology. These features confirm that he uses the scholastic method of inquiry in writing Summa Theologiae. He perfectly uses this work in convincing people that God exists. He fits his five proofs into this inquiry method, and this is what makes his assertions convincing. the question preventive medicine is facing is whether there exists a solution to change urban routines to eliminate exposures to extra health risks.
Works Cited
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae. Web.
“Scholasticism.” The Basics of Philosophy. Web.
McCool, Gerald. Turner, William. Nineteenth Century Scholasticism: Search for a Unitary Method. New York: Fordham Univeraity Press, 1999.