Thomas Aquinas

Biography

Early life (1225–1244)Paris, Cologne, Albert Magnus, and first Paris regency (1245–1259)Naples, Orvieto, Rome (1259–1268)Quarrelsome second Paris regency (1269–1272)Late career and cessation of writing (1272–1274)

Legacy, veneration, and modern reception

Condemnation of 1277CanonizationDoctor of the Church and second scholasticismNeo-scholasticism and Catholic Nouvelle théologieModern philosophical influenceModern criticismIn artsTheologyRevelationReconciling faith and reasonGodCreationNature of GodNature of sinNature of the TrinityPrima causa (first cause)Nature of Jesus ChristGoal of human lifeTreatment of hereticsForced baptism of children of Jews and hereticsMagic and its practitionersThoughts on the afterlife and resurrectionPhilosophyCommentaries on AristotleEpistemologyEthicsPolitical orderDeath penaltyJust warPsychology and anthropologyEconomicsJust priceSocial justiceUsuryWorksSee alsoThomistsNotesReferencesCitationsSourcesExternal links

"Aquinas" redirects here. For other uses, see Aquinas (disambiguation).

In this medieval Italian name, the name Aquinas is an indicator of birthplace, not a family name; the person is properly referred to by the given name, Thomas.

Thomas Aquinas OP (/əˈkwaɪnəs/ ^ⓘ ə-KWY-nəs; Italian: Tommaso d'Aquino, lit.'Thomas of Aquino'; c.1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. He was from the county of Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily.

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Thomas was a proponent of natural theology and the father of a school of thought (encompassing both theology and philosophy) known as Thomism. Central to his thought was the doctrine of natural law, which he argued was accessible to human reason and grounded in the very nature of human beings, providing a basis for understanding individual rights and moral duties. He argued that God is the source of the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. Aquinas' natural law theory has been influential in shaping ideas about human liberty and the moral limits of government authority. He has been described as "the most influential thinker of the medieval period" and "the greatest of the medieval philosopher-theologians".

Thomas's best-known works are the unfinished Summa Theologica, or Summa Theologiae (1265–1274), the Disputed Questions on Truth (1256–1259) and the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–1265). His commentaries on Christian Scripture and on Aristotle also form an important part of his body of work. He is also notable for his Eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy.

As a Doctor of the Church, Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers. He is known in Catholic theology as the Doctor Angelicus ("Angelic Doctor", with the title "doctor" meaning "teacher"), and the Doctor Communis ("Universal Doctor"). In 1999, John Paul II added a new title to these traditional ones: Doctor Humanitatis ("Doctor of Humanity/Humaneness").