Thomas Aquinas: biography, creativity, ideas. The teachings of Thomas Aquinas Aquinas being and essence coincide in
In the article we will talk about the biography of Thomas Aquinas. He is a famous philosopher and theologian, to whom the world owes important knowledge. We will take a closer look at the life path and achievements of this great man.
First meeting
Let us begin our examination of the biography of Thomas Aquinas with a cursory acquaintance with him. He is an outstanding scientist who is a theologian and philosopher. Moreover, he is canonized by the Catholic Church. He is the largest systematizer of orthodox scholasticism and a teacher of the church. Differs in that for the first time he found the connecting threads between the philosophy of Aristotle and the Christian faith.
A life
The biography of Thomas Aquinas begins with his birth around January 25 in 1225. The boy was born near Naples in the Roccasecca castle. He became the seventh son of the famous and wealthy Count Landolph. Thomas's mother was called Theodora, and she was a wealthy and enviable Neapolitan bride. It is known that the boy's father dreamed that he would become an abbot in a monastery located near the ancestral castle.
When the boy was 5 years old, he was sent to where he was for 4 years. In 1239 he entered the University of Naples, which he successfully graduated in 1243. During his studies, the young man became very close to the Dominicans and even decided to become a member of their order. But the whole family resolutely opposed this, and the brothers imprisoned Thomas in the fortress of San Giovani.
Liberty
We continue the short biography of Thomas Aquinas with the fact that he gained freedom only in 1245. At the same time, against the will of the whole family, he became a monk. In order to less intersect with loved ones and start his journey, he went to the University of Paris. There, Albert the Great himself became the teacher and mentor of the young man. In the period from 1248 to 1250, Thomas studied at the University of Cologne, where he followed in the footsteps of his mentor. In 1252 he returned to the Dominican University. Four years later, he was appointed teacher of theology thanks to the Dominicans' ability to nominate candidates. Thomas began to teach in
First works
It was here, at large, that the young man wrote his first works, namely "On Existence and Essence", "Commentary on the Sentences", "On the Principles of Nature." Then an incredible turn of fate happens: Pope Urban IV summons him to Rome. Thomas devotes the next 10 years of his life to teaching in Italy, namely in Rome and Anagni.
At the same time, the theologian writes a large philosophical and theological work. The man spent most of his time in Italy as an adviser on theological affairs to the papal curia.
In 1269, the researcher returned to Paris in order to begin a struggle with the Arab interpreters of the works of Aristotle and to purify his teachings. By the way, a very sharp treatise of the hero of our article, "On the unity of the intellect against the Averroists," was written just in 1272. He was directly concerned with the work of Aristotle and their misinterpretation.
We continue the short biography of Thomas Aquinas by the fact that in the same year he was recalled to Italy to create a school of Dominicans in Naples. Unfortunately, due to poor health, the man had to stop teaching and leave writing for a while. But he was not destined to return to his works. So, in 1274, the short biography and work of the philosopher Thomas Aquinas are interrupted, as he dies on the way to Lyon. At this time he was in the monastery of Fossanova. The life of an outstanding theologian ended on the way.
Biography of Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton
In this book, the author uses fiction in order to better illustrate the life of the hero of our article. He combines journalistic and confessional genres in order to better convey the atmosphere. Literally speaking, Gilbert Keith simply transformed the biography genre into its classical understanding. Despite the use of artistic techniques, he fully preserves the accuracy of historical facts, and on the basis of some data even denies incorrect information or interpretations that arose from the legends about Aquinas.
Influence
How was the opinion of the hero of our article formed? The biography and philosophy of Thomas Aquinas are inextricably linked with the above-mentioned Aristotle. The fact is that this great man had a significant impact on the creative rethinking of Thomas. At the same time, the works trace the thoughts of Arab and Greek commentators, neoplatonists: Cicero, Augustine, Avicenna, Maimonides, etc.
Proceedings
The biography, theology and philosophy of Thomas Aquinas are impossible without his two main works, namely the treatises "Sum against the Gentiles" and "Sum of Theology". He also commented on the treatises of Aristotle, Pseudo-Dionysius, Boethius, P. Lombard. It is known that the theologian expressed his opinion about some books of the Bible and the anonymous book "On the Reasons." He was interested in alchemy, poetry for worship, and religious writings by other authors.
In many ways, all these opinions were based on his teaching activities, since at that time the reading of religious books and disputes about them were invariably accompanied by comments.
Ideas
The biography and teachings of Thomas Aquinas are very closely intertwined, as he succumbed to the influence of his environment. Let's consider his key ideas. First, it must be said that he clearly distinguished between philosophy and theology, believing that in the first mind dominates, and in the second - revelation. Thomas believed that philosophy is in strict subordination to theology, which he put much higher.
Note that Aristotle singled out 4 main stages of knowledge of truth, namely, experience, art, knowledge and wisdom. With Aquinas, wisdom became an independent quantity, which represented knowledge about God. At the same time, he distinguished three types of it: at the level of grace, theology and metaphysics.
It was Thomas who proposed the idea that the human mind cannot fully comprehend wisdom, since some truths are simple and understandable (the existence of God), and some are not (trinity, resurrection). Aquinas put forward the idea that natural and theological knowledge cannot be in conflict, since they are harmonious and complementary to each other. If by wisdom he understood the desire to understand God, then by science - the ways of this understanding.
Being
We have reviewed briefly the biography and philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, but some of his ideas require detailed consideration. By being, Thomas understood the most intimate, which is hidden in the depths of the soul of every living being. He emphasized that the existence of a thing is much more important than its essence. This proceeded from the fact that essence is not an act of creation, in contrast to existence.
Aquinas understood the world as a set of different existences that depend on God. Only in it is it in the form of the unity of essence and existence, as identical concepts. At the same time, the theologian proposed to consider two forms of life: random, or dependent, and independent - unconditional.
At the same time, only God himself was true being, and everything else had only his illusion. Thomas did not deny the existence of angels and other creatures and believed that the closer in the hierarchy they are to God, the more freedom they have.
Form and Matter
The researcher saw the essence of being in forms and matter. He regarded the latter in the same way as Aristotle, that is, as a passive element necessary for the manifestation of the individuality of other objects. The complexity of the human being lay in its duality. If spirit creatures could live in one of the forms (random and unconditional), then people at the same time had to exist in matter and form.
Thomas believed that the form itself cannot be significant, since it acquires some meaning only when it reflects the spiritual essence of its bearer. The perfect form meant a kind of similarity to God.
Evidence for God's Existence
The first proof of the existence of a higher power of Aquinas is based on the fact of movement. This means that everything in the world moves, and everything movable has some kind of force that makes it do it. But at the same time, the original force cannot be moved by anything, which means that it exists by itself.
The second proof is based on the fact that everything in the world has its cause, which means there is some kind of connection. At the same time, they are all based on the primary cause, which is called God, because being itself comes from it.
The third proof is based on the fact that in the world there are things in which there is a need, and there are those in which it is not. Everything is created and destroyed, but if the process ended there, then nothing would exist for a long time. But since there is something, then there is something necessary, from which the necessity of everything else flows.
The fourth proof is based on the degree of being. The point is that there are good, better, bad, neutral things, etc. All of them are aligned with a certain ideal, that is, with the highest degree of something. This means that there is something great, which is the cause and the first degree of all that exists.
The last piece of evidence concerns the target cause. Thomas noticed that non-thinking living beings, such as animals, move towards what is best for them. So, they act in the same way and choose the best development paths for themselves. But non-thinking beings, who do not have cognitive ability, can move intentionally only if they are guided by something thinking, that is, God.
Ethics
We are finishing consideration of the biography of Thomas Aquinas, his ideas and works, but we will dwell on ethics, to which he paid enough attention. In his views, Thomas relied on the principle of freedom of human will, good teaching. According to Aquinas, evil is just not such a perfect good, which occurs intentionally so that all the stages of perfection are passed.
The main goal in the ethical views of Thomas concerns the fact that the goal of all aspirations of man is the highest good, which consists in thinking and in knowing the truth, and therefore God himself. Aquinas believed that people do good and do the right thing not because they are taught so, but because in the heart of every person there is an unspoken secret law that must be followed.
Summing up the article, let's say that the biography of Thomas Aquinas is very rich and diverse. He had to go against the will of his father and not justify his hopes in order to follow the dictates of his heart. This great man made a huge contribution to the development of theology and philosophy, giving the world incredible and profound ideas about God and existence.
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Thomas Aquinas (otherwise Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Aquinas, lat. Thomas Aquinas, Italian. Tommaso d "Aquino; born in about, Roccasecca castle, near Aquino - died March 7, Fossanuova monastery, near Rome) - Italian philosopher and theologian, canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint, systematizer of Orthodox scholasticism, church teacher, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis, "Princeps philosophorum" ("prince of philosophers"), the founder of Thomism, a member of the Dominican order; since 1879 he has been recognized as the most authoritative Catholic religious philosopher who linked the Christian doctrine (in particular, the ideas of Augustine the Blessed) with the philosophy of Aristotle. Formulated. Recognizing the relative independence of the natural being and the human mind, argued that nature ends in grace, reason - in faith, philosophical knowledge and natural theology, based on the analogy of being, - in supernatural revelation.
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short biography
Thomas was born The 25th of January [ ] 1225 in the castle of Roccasecca near Naples and was the seventh son of Count Landolphe Aquinas. Thomas' mother Theodore came from a wealthy Neapolitan family. His father dreamed that he would eventually become the abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Montecassino, located not far from their ancestral castle. At the age of 5, Thomas was sent to a Benedictine monastery, where he stayed for 9 years. In 1239-1243 he studied at the University of Naples. There he became close to the Dominicans and decided to join the Dominican order. However, the family opposed his decision, and his brothers imprisoned Thomas for two years in the fortress of San Giovani. Having gained freedom in 1245, he took the monastic vows of the Dominican order and went to the University of Paris. There Aquinas became a student of Albert the Great. In 1248-1250, Thomas studied at the University of Cologne, where he moved after his teacher. In 1252 he returned to the Dominican monastery of St. Jacob in Paris, and four years later was appointed to one of the Dominican's assigned teaching positions in theology at the University of Paris. Here he writes his first works - "On the essence and existence", "On the principles of nature", "Commentary on the" Maxims "". In 1259, Pope Urban IV summoned him to Rome. For 10 years he has been teaching theology in Italy - in Anagni and Rome, at the same time writing philosophical and theological works. He spent most of this time as a theological adviser and "reader" to the papal curia. In 1269 he returned to Paris, where he led the struggle for the "cleansing" of Aristotle from Arab interpreters and against the scientist Seager of Brabant. By 1272, the treatise "On the unity of the intellect against the Averroists", written in a sharp polemical form (lat. De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas). In the same year he was recalled to Italy to establish a new school for the Dominicans in Naples. Malaise forced him to interrupt teaching and writing by the end of 1273. In early 1274, Thomas Aquinas died in the monastery of Fossanova on his way to the church cathedral in Lyon.
Proceedings
The writings of Thomas Aquinas include:
- two extensive treatises in the genre of sum, covering a wide range of topics - "Sum of Theology" and "Sum against the Gentiles" ("Sum of Philosophy")
- discussions on theological and philosophical issues ("Discussion questions" and "Questions on various topics")
- comments on:
- several bible books
- 12 treatises of Aristotle
- "Sentences" by Peter of Lombard
- boethius's treatises,
- treatises of Pseudo-Dionysius
- anonymous "Book of Reasons"
- a number of small essays on philosophical and religious topics
- several treatises on alchemy
- poetic texts for worship, for example, the work "Ethics"
"Discussion Questions" and "Comments" were in many ways the fruit of his teaching activities, which included, according to the tradition of the time, debates and the reading of authoritative texts, accompanied by comments.
Historical and philosophical origins
The greatest influence on the philosophy of Thomas was exerted by Aristotle, who was largely creatively rethought by him; the influence of the Neoplatonists, Greek and Arab commentators Aristotle, Cicero, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Augustine, Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury, John Damascene, Avicenna, Averroes, Gebirol and Maimonides and many other thinkers is also noticeable.
Thomas Aquinas ideas
Theology and philosophy. Steps of Truth
Aquinas distinguished between the areas of philosophy and theology: the subject of the first is the "truths of reason", and the second - the "truths of revelation." Philosophy is in the service of theology and is just as inferior to it in importance as the limited human mind is inferior to Divine wisdom. Theology is a sacred teaching and science, based on the knowledge that God possesses and those who are awarded bliss. Accession to Divine knowledge is achieved through revelation.
Theology can borrow something from philosophical disciplines, but not because it feels the need for it, but only for the sake of greater clarity of the positions taught by it.
Aristotle distinguished four successive stages of truth: experience (empeiria), art (techne), knowledge (episteme) and wisdom (sophia).
In Thomas Aquinas, wisdom becomes independent of other degrees, the highest knowledge of God. It is based on divine revelations.
Aquinas identified three hierarchically subordinate types of wisdom, each of which is endowed with its own "light of truth":
- the wisdom of Grace;
- theological wisdom - the wisdom of faith using reason;
- metaphysical wisdom - the wisdom of reason, comprehending the essence of being.
Some truths of Revelation are available for understanding by the human mind: for example, that God exists, that God is one. Others - it is impossible to understand: for example, the Divine Trinity, resurrection in the flesh.
Based on this, Thomas Aquinas deduces the need to distinguish between supernatural theology, based on the truths of Revelation, which a person is unable to understand on his own, and rational theology, based on the "natural light of reason" (cognizing the truth by the power of human intellect).
Thomas Aquinas put forward the principle: the truths of science and the truths of faith cannot contradict each other; there is harmony between them. Wisdom is the striving to comprehend God, while science is a means to this.
About being
The act of being, being the act of acts and the perfection of perfections, dwells within every “being” as its innermost depth, as its true reality.
The existence of each thing is incomparably more important than its essence. A single thing exists not because of its essence, because the essence does not imply (implies) existence, but because of participation in the act of creation, that is, the will of God.
The world is a set of substances dependent on God for their existence. Only in God is essence and existence inseparable and identical.
Thomas Aquinas distinguished two types of existence:
- existence is self-essential or unconditional.
- existence is accidental or dependent.
Only God is true, true being. Everything else that exists in the world does not have genuine being (even the angels who stand at the highest level in the hierarchy of all creations). The higher the “creations” stand, on the levels of the hierarchy, the more autonomy and independence they have.
God does not create essences in order to make them exist later, but existing subjects (bases) that exist in accordance with their individual nature (essence).
About matter and form
The essence of all corporeal lies in the unity of form and matter. Thomas Aquinas, like Aristotle, viewed matter as a passive substrate, the basis of individuation. And only because of the form is a thing a thing of a certain kind and kind.
Aquinas distinguished, on the one hand, the substantial (through it, the substance as such is affirmed in its being) and the incidental (accidental) forms; and on the other hand - material (has its own being only in matter) and subsistent (has its own being and is active without any matter) forms. All spiritual beings are complex subsistent forms. The purely spiritual - angels - have essence and existence. There is a double complexity in man: not only essence and existence, but also matter and form differ in him.
Thomas Aquinas considered the principle of individuation: form is not the only cause of a thing (otherwise all individuals of the same kind would be indistinguishable), therefore, it was concluded that in spiritual beings, forms are individualized through themselves (because each of them is a separate species); in corporeal beings, individualization occurs not through their essence, but through their own materiality, quantitatively limited in a separate individual.
Thus, the "thing" takes on a certain form, reflecting spiritual uniqueness in limited materiality.
The perfection of form was seen as the greatest likeness of God himself.
About a man and his soul
Human individuality is the personal unity of soul and body.
The soul is the life-giving force of the human body; it is immaterial and self-existent; she is a substance that acquires its fullness only in unity with the body, thanks to her corporeality acquires significance - becoming a person. Thoughts, feelings and goal-setting are born in the unity of soul and body. The human soul is immortal.
Thomas Aquinas believed that the power of the soul's understanding (that is, the degree of its knowledge of God) determines the beauty of the human body.
The ultimate goal of a person's life is to achieve the bliss obtained in the contemplation of God in the afterlife.
According to his position, man is an intermediate being between creatures (animals) and angels. Among bodily creatures - he is the supreme being, he is distinguished by an intelligent soul and free will. By virtue of the latter, a person is responsible for his actions. And the root of his freedom is reason.
A person differs from the animal world in the presence of the ability to cognize and, on this basis, the ability to make a free, conscious choice: it is intellect and free (from any external necessity) will that are the grounds for performing truly human actions (in contrast to actions inherent in both man and and the animal) belonging to the ethical realm. In the relationship between the two highest human abilities - intellect and will, the advantage belongs to the intellect (a position that caused the controversy between the Thomists and the Scotists), since the will necessarily follows the intellect, which represents for it this or that being as good; however, when an action is taken under specific circumstances and with the help of certain means, volitional effort comes to the fore (On evil, 6). Along with a person's own efforts, to perform good actions, Divine grace is also required, not eliminating the originality of human nature, but improving it. Also, the Divine control of the world and the foresight of all (including individual and random) events does not exclude freedom of choice: God, as the highest cause, allows independent actions of secondary causes, including those that entail negative moral consequences, since God is able to turn to good is evil created by independent agents.
About cognition
Thomas Aquinas believed that universals (that is, the concepts of things) exist in three ways:
- « before things"As archetypes - in the Divine Intellect as eternal ideal prototypes of things (Platonism, extreme realism).
- « in things"Or substances, as their essence.
- « after things"- in human thinking as a result of operations of abstraction and generalization (nominalism, conceptualism)
Thomas Aquinas himself adhered to the position of moderate realism, dating back to Aristotelian hylemorphism, abandoning the positions of extreme realism, based on Platonism in its Augustinian version.
Following Aristotle, Aquinas distinguishes between passive and active intelligence.
Thomas Aquinas denied innate ideas and concepts, and before the beginning of cognition, intellect considered similar to tabula rasa (lat. "Blank slate"). However, people are born with "general schemes" that begin to operate at the moment of collision with sensory material.
- passive intellect - the intellect into which the sensually perceived image falls.
- active intellect - abstraction from feelings, generalization; the emergence of a concept.
Cognition begins with sensory experience under the influence of external objects. Objects are perceived by a person not entirely, but partially. Upon entering the soul of the knower, the cognized loses its materiality and can enter it only as a “species”. The "kind" of an object is its cognizable image. A thing exists simultaneously outside of us in all its being and inside us as an image.
Truth is "the correspondence of the intellect and the thing." That is, the concepts formed by the human intellect are true to the extent that they correspond to their concepts that precede the intellect of God.
Initial cognitive images are created at the level of external senses. The inner senses process the initial images.
Inner feelings:
- general feeling is the main function, the purpose of which is to bring together all sensations.
- passive memory is a repository of impressions and images created by a common feeling.
- active memory - retrieve saved images and representations.
- intelligence is the highest sensory ability.
Knowledge takes its necessary source in sensuality. But the higher the spirituality, the higher the degree of knowledge.
Angelic cognition - speculative-intuitive cognition, not mediated by sensory experience; carried out using inherent concepts.
Human cognition is the enrichment of the soul with the substantial forms of cognizable objects.
Three cognitive operations:
- creating a concept and delaying attention on its content (contemplation).
- judgment (positive, negative, existential) or comparison of concepts;
- inference - linking judgments with each other.
Three types of cognition:
- mind is the entire realm of spiritual faculties.
- intelligence - the ability of mental cognition.
- reason - the ability to reason.
Cognition is the noblest human activity: the theoretical mind that comprehends the truth also comprehends the absolute truth, that is, God.
Ethics
Being the first cause of all things, God, at the same time, is the ultimate goal of their aspirations; the ultimate goal of morally good human actions is the achievement of bliss, consisting in the contemplation of God (impossible, according to Thomas, within the real life), all other goals are evaluated depending on their orderly focus on the ultimate goal, the deviation from which is an evil rooted in lack existence and is not some independent entity (On evil, 1). At the same time, Thomas paid tribute to activities aimed at achieving earthly, finite forms of bliss. The beginnings of proper moral deeds from the inside are virtues, from the outside - laws and grace. Thomas analyzes virtues (skills that enable people to sustainably use their abilities for good (Theology Sum I-II, 59-67)) and the vices that oppose them (Theology Sum I-II, 71-89), following the Aristotelian tradition, however, he believes that in order to achieve eternal happiness, in addition to virtues, there is a need for gifts, blessings and the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Sum of Theology I-II, 68-70). The moral life of Thomas does not think outside the presence of theological virtues - faith, hope and love (Sum of theology II-II, 1-45). After the theological, there are four "cardinal" (fundamental) virtues - prudence and justice (Sum of theology II-II, 47-80), courage and moderation (Sum of theology II-II, 123-170), with which the rest of the virtues are associated.
Politics and law
The law (Theology Sum I-II, 90-108) is defined as “any command of reason which is proclaimed for the common good of those who care for the public” (Theology Sum I-II, 90, 4). The eternal law (Sum of Theology I-II, 93), by means of which divine providence rules the world, does not make superfluous other types of law that flow from it: natural law (Sum of Theology I-II, 94), the principle of which is the main tenet of Thomistic ethics - “One should strive for the good and do good, but evil must be avoided”, is well known to every person, and human law (Sum of Theology I-II, 95), concretizing the postulates of natural law (defining, for example, a specific form of punishment for committed evil ), which is necessary because perfection in virtue depends on exercising and restraining from non-virtuous inclinations, and the strength of which Thomas limits to a conscience that resists an unjust law. Historically established positive legislation, which is a product of human institutions, can, under certain conditions, be changed. The good of the individual, society and the universe is determined by divine design, and a violation by a person of divine laws is an action directed against his own good (Sum against the Gentiles III, 121).
Following Aristotle, Thomas considered social life to be natural for man, requiring management for the common good. Thomas identified six forms of government: depending on the belonging of power to one, few or many, and depending on whether this form of government fulfills the proper goal - the preservation of peace and the common good, or pursues private goals of the rulers that are contrary to the public good. Fair forms of government - monarchy, aristocracy and polis system, unjust - tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. The best form of government is monarchy, since movement towards the common good is most effectively carried out, guided by a single source; accordingly, the worst form of government is tyranny, since evil, carried out by the will of one, is greater than evil, resulting from many different wills, besides, democracy is better than tyranny in that it serves the good of many, and not one. Thomas justified the struggle against tyranny, especially if the tyrant's regulations clearly contradict divine regulations (for example, forcing them to idolatry). The unified rule of a just monarch should take into account the interests of various groups of the population and does not exclude elements of aristocracy and polis democracy. Thomas placed the ecclesiastical authority above the secular, in view of the fact that the former is aimed at achieving divine bliss, while the latter is limited to the pursuit of only earthly good; however, to accomplish this task, the help of higher powers and grace is needed.
5 proofs of the existence of God Thomas Aquinas
The famous five proofs of the existence of God are given in the answer to question 2 "About God, is there a God"; De Deo, an Deus sit) Part I of the treatise "The Sum of Theology". Thomas's reasoning is constructed as a consistent refutation of two theses about the non-existence of God: at first, if God is an infinite good, and since “if one of the contradictory opposites were infinite, then it would completely destroy the other,” therefore, “if God existed, no evil could be found. But evil is revealed in the world. Therefore, God does not exist ”; secondly, “Everything that we observe in the world,<…> can be realized through other principles, since natural things are reduced to the beginning, which is nature, and those that are carried out in accordance with a conscious intention, are reduced to the beginning, which is the human mind or will. Therefore, there is no need to admit the existence of God. "
1. Proof through motion
The first and most obvious way comes from movement (Prima autem et manigestior via est, quae sumitur ex parte motus). Undoubtedly and confirmed by feelings that there is something movable in the world. But everything that is movable is moved by something else. For everything that moves moves only because it is in the potential to what it is moving towards, and moves something insofar as it is actual. After all, movement is nothing other than the translation of something from potency into act. But something can only be transferred from potency to act by some actual being.<...> But it is impossible that the same thing in relation to the same should be both potentially and actual; it can be so only in relation to the different.<...> Consequently, it is impossible that something in one respect and in the same way be moving and movable, i.e. so that it moves itself. Therefore, everything that moves must be moved by something else. And if that, thanks to which something moves, [also] is movable, then it must be moved by something else, and that other, [in turn, too]. But this cannot continue indefinitely, since then there would be no first mover, and therefore no other motive, since the secondary movers move only insofar as they are moved by the first mover.<...> Therefore, we must necessarily come to a certain first mover, which is not moved by anything, and by him everyone understands God (Ergo necesse est deventire ad aliquod primum movens, quod a nullo movetur, et hoc omnes intelligunt Deum). 2. Proof through a producing cause
The second way comes from the semantic content of the acting cause (Secunda via est ex ratione causae efficientis). In sensibly perceived things we find the order of acting causes, but we do not find (and it is impossible) that something should be an acting cause in relation to itself, since in this case it would precede itself, which is impossible. But it is also impossible that the [order] of the acting causes go into infinity. Because in all ordered [relative to each other] acting reasons, the first is the cause of the mean, and the mean is the cause of the latter (it does not matter if it is one or many). But when the cause is eliminated, its consequence is also eliminated. Therefore, if there is no first in [order] of acting causes, there will be no last and middle. But if the [order] of acting causes goes to infinity, then there will be no first effective cause, and therefore there will be no last effect and no middle effective cause, which is obviously false. Therefore, it is necessary to admit a certain first active cause, which everyone calls God (Ergo est necesse ponere aliquam causam efficientem primam, quam omnes Deum nominant). 3. Proof through necessity
The third way comes from the [semantic content] of the possible and necessary (Tertia via est sumpta ex possibili et necessario). We find among things some things that may or may not be, since we find that something arises and collapses, and, therefore, may or may not be. But it is impossible for everything that is such to be always, because what may not be sometimes is not. If, therefore, everything can not be, then once in reality there was nothing. But if this is true, then even now there would be nothing, because what is not, begins to be only because of what is; if, therefore, there was nothing that exists, then it is impossible for something to begin to be, and therefore even now there would be nothing, which is obviously false. Therefore, not all things are possible, but in reality something necessary must exist. But all that is necessary either has a reason for its need for something else, or it does not. But it is impossible that [a number of] necessary [beings], having a reason for their necessity [in something else], go into infinity, as it is impossible in the case of acting causes, which has already been proven. Therefore, it is necessary to posit something in itself-necessary, which does not have a reason for the need for something else, but is a reason for the need for something else. And such is called God (Ergo necesse est ponere aliquid quod sit per se necessarium, non habens causam necessitatis aliunde, sed quod est causa necessitatis aliis, quod omnes dicunt Deum). 4. Proof from degrees of being
The fourth way comes from the degrees [of perfections] found in things (Quarta via sumitur ex gradibus qui in rebus inveniuntur). Among things, more and less good, true, noble, etc. are found. But "more" and "less" affects different [things] according to their varying degrees of approximation to what is greatest.<...> Consequently, there is something most true, best and noblest and, therefore, in the highest degree.<...>... But that which is called the greatest in a certain genus is the cause of everything that belongs to that genus.<...> Therefore, there is something that is the cause of the existence of all beings, as well as their goodness and all perfection. And such we call God (Ergo est aliquid quod omnibus entibus est causa esse, et bonitatis, et cuiuslibet perfectionis, et hoc dicimus Deum). 5. Proof through target cause
Recognized as the most authoritative Catholic religious philosopher who linked the Christian doctrine (in particular, the ideas of St. Augustine) with the philosophy of Aristotle. Formulated five proofs of the existence of God. Recognizing the relative independence of natural being and human reason, he argued that nature ends in grace, reason - in faith, philosophical knowledge and natural theology based on the analogy of existence - in supernatural revelation.
short biography
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Malaise forced him to interrupt teaching and writing by the end of 1273. In early 1274 he died in the monastery of Fossanova on his way to the church cathedral in Lyon.
Proceedings
The writings of Thomas Aquinas include:
- two extensive treatises in the genre of sum, covering a wide range of topics - "Sum of Theology" and "Sum against the Gentiles" ("Sum of Philosophy")
- discussions on theological and philosophical issues ("Discussion questions" and "Questions on various topics")
- comments on:
- several bible books
- 12 treatises of Aristotle
- "Sentences" by Peter of Lombard
- boethius's treatises,
- treatises of Pseudo-Dionysius
- anonymous "Book of Reasons"
- a number of small essays on philosophical and religious topics
- several treatises on alchemy
- poetic texts for worship, for example the work "Ethics"
"Discussion Questions" and "Comments" were in many ways the fruit of his teaching activities, which included, according to the tradition of the time, debates and the reading of authoritative texts, accompanied by comments.
Historical and philosophical origins
The greatest influence on the philosophy of Thomas was exerted by Aristotle, who to a large extent creatively rethought him; the influence of the Neoplatonists, Greek and Arab commentators Aristotle, Cicero, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Augustine, Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury, John Damascene, Avicenna, Averroes, Gebirol and Maimonides and many other thinkers is also noticeable.
Thomas Aquinas ideas
Theology and philosophy. Steps of Truth
Aquinas distinguished between the areas of philosophy and theology: the subject of the first is the "truths of reason", and the second - the "truths of revelation." Philosophy is in the service of theology and is just as inferior to it in importance as the limited human mind is inferior to divine wisdom. Theology is a sacred teaching and science, based on the knowledge that God possesses and those who are awarded bliss. Accession to divine knowledge is achieved through revelation.
Theology can borrow something from philosophical disciplines, but not because it feels the need for it, but only for the sake of greater clarity of the positions taught by it.
Aristotle distinguished four successive stages of truth: experience (empeiria), art (techne), knowledge (episteme) and wisdom (sophia).
With Thomas Aquinas, wisdom becomes independent of other degrees by the highest knowledge of God. It is based on divine revelations.
Aquinas identified three hierarchically subordinate types of wisdom, each of which is endowed with its own "light of truth":
- the wisdom of Grace.
- theological wisdom - the wisdom of faith using reason.
- metaphysical wisdom - the wisdom of reason, comprehending the essence of being.
Some truths of Revelation are available for understanding by the human mind: for example, that God exists, that God is one. Others - it is impossible to understand: for example, the divine trinity, resurrection in the flesh.
Based on this, Thomas Aquinas deduces the need to distinguish between supernatural theology, based on the truths of Revelation, which a person is unable to understand on his own, and rational theology, based on the "natural light of reason" (cognizing the truth by the power of human intellect).
Thomas Aquinas put forward the principle: the truths of science and the truths of faith cannot contradict each other; there is harmony between them. Wisdom is the striving to comprehend God, while science is a means to this.
About being
The act of being, being the act of acts and the perfection of perfections, dwells within every “being” as its innermost depth, as its true reality.
The existence of each thing is incomparably more important than its essence. A single thing exists not because of its essence, because the essence does not imply (implies) existence, but because of participation in the act of creation, that is, the will of God.
The world is a set of substances dependent on God for their existence. Only in God is essence and existence inseparable and identical.
Thomas Aquinas distinguished two types of existence:
- existence is self-essential or unconditional.
- existence is accidental or dependent.
Only God is truly, true being. Everything else that exists in the world does not have genuine existence (even the angels who are at the highest level in the hierarchy of all creations). The higher the “creations” stand, on the levels of the hierarchy, the more autonomy and independence they have.
God does not create essences in order to make them exist later, but existing subjects (bases) that exist in accordance with their individual nature (essence).
About matter and form
The essence of all corporeal lies in the unity of form and matter. Thomas Aquinas, like Aristotle, considered matter as a passive substrate, the basis of individuation. And it is only due to the form that a thing is a thing of a certain kind and kind.
Aquinas distinguished, on the one hand, the substantial (through it, the substance as such is affirmed in its being) and the incidental (accidental) forms; and on the other hand - material (has its own being only in matter) and subsistent (has its own being and is active without any matter) forms. All spiritual beings are complex subsistent forms. The purely spiritual - angels - have essence and existence. There is a double complexity in man: not only essence and existence, but also matter and form differ in him.
Thomas Aquinas considered the principle of individuation: the form is not the only cause of a thing (otherwise all individuals of the same kind would be indistinguishable), so the conclusion was made - in spiritual beings, forms are individualized through themselves (because each of them is a separate species); in bodily beings, individualization occurs not through their essence, but through their own materiality, quantitatively limited in an individual individual.
Thus, the "thing" takes on a certain form, reflecting spiritual uniqueness in limited materiality.
The perfection of form was seen as the greatest likeness of God himself.
About a man and his soul
Human individuality is the personal unity of soul and body.
The soul is the life-giving force of the human body; it is immaterial and self-existent; she is a substance that acquires its fullness only in unity with the body, thanks to her corporeality acquires significance - becoming a person. Thoughts, feelings and goal-setting are born in the unity of soul and body. The human soul is immortal.
Thomas Aquinas believed that the power of the soul's understanding (that is, the degree of its knowledge of God) determines the beauty of the human body.
The ultimate goal of a person's life is to achieve the bliss obtained in the contemplation of God in the afterlife.
According to his position, man is an intermediate being between creatures (animals) and angels. Among bodily creatures - he is the supreme being, he is distinguished by an intelligent soul and free will. By virtue of the latter, a person is responsible for his actions. And the root of his freedom is reason.
A person differs from the animal world in the presence of the ability to cognize and, on this basis, the ability to make a free, conscious choice: it is intellect and free (from any external necessity) will that are the grounds for performing truly human actions (in contrast to actions inherent in both man and and the animal) belonging to the ethical realm. In the relationship between the two highest human abilities - intellect and will, the advantage belongs to the intellect (a position that caused the controversy between the Thomists and the Scotists), since the will necessarily follows the intellect, which presents for it this or that being as good; however, when an action is taken in specific circumstances and with the help of certain means, volitional effort comes to the fore (On evil, 6). Along with a person's own efforts, to perform good actions, divine grace is also required, which does not eliminate the originality of human nature, but improves it. Also, divine control of the world and the foresight of all (including individual and random) events does not exclude freedom of choice: God, as the highest cause, allows independent actions of secondary causes, including those that entail negative moral consequences, since God is able to turn to good is evil created by independent agents.
About cognition
Thomas Aquinas believed that universals (that is, the concepts of things) exist in three ways:
Thomas Aquinas himself adhered to the position of moderate realism, dating back to Aristotelian hylemorphism, abandoning the positions of extreme realism, based on Platonism in its Augustinian version.
Following Aristotle, Aquinas distinguishes between passive and active intelligence.
Thomas Aquinas denied innate ideas and concepts, and the intellect before the beginning of cognition considered similar to tabula rasa (lat. "Blank slate"). However, people are born with "general schemes" that begin to operate at the moment of collision with sensory material.
- passive intellect - the intellect into which the sensually perceived image falls.
- active intellect - abstraction from feelings, generalization; the emergence of a concept.
Cognition begins with sensory experience under the influence of external objects. Objects are perceived by a person not entirely, but partially. Upon entering the soul of the knower, the cognized loses its materiality and can enter it only as a “species”. The "kind" of an object is its cognizable image. A thing exists simultaneously outside of us in all its being and inside us as an image.
Truth is "the correspondence of the intellect and the thing." That is, the concepts formed by the human intellect are true to the extent that they correspond to their concepts that precede the intellect of God.
Initial cognitive images are created at the level of external senses. The inner senses process the initial images.
Inner feelings:
- general feeling is the main function, the purpose of which is to bring together all sensations.
- passive memory is a repository of impressions and images created by a common feeling.
- active memory - retrieve saved images and representations.
- intelligence is the highest sensory ability.
Knowledge takes its necessary source in sensuality. But the higher the spirituality, the higher the degree of knowledge.
Angelic cognition - speculative-intuitive cognition, not mediated by sensory experience; carried out using inherent concepts.
Human cognition is the enrichment of the soul with the substantial forms of cognizable objects.
Three cognitive operations:
- creating a concept and delaying attention on its content (contemplation).
- judgment (positive, negative, existential) or comparison of concepts;
- inference - linking judgments with each other.
For a number of centuries, the philosophy of Thomas did not play a noticeable role in the philosophical dialogue, developing in a narrow confessional framework, however, from the end of the 19th century, the teachings of Thomas again began to arouse wide interest and stimulate current philosophical research; a number of philosophical trends emerged, actively using the philosophy of Thomas, known by the general name "neo-Thomism"
Editions
Currently, there are numerous editions of the writings of Thomas Aquinas, in the original and in translations into various languages; the complete collected works were published several times: "Piana" in 16 volumes. (by decree of Pius V), Rome, 1570; Parma edition in 25 volumes. 1852-1873, reprint. in New York, 1948-1950; Opera Omnia Vives, (in 34 volumes) Paris, 1871-82; Leonina (by decree of Leo XIII), Rome, since 1882 (since 1987 - reproduction of previous volumes); edition of Marietti, Turin; R. Bus's edition (Thomae Aquinatis Opera omnia; ut sunt in indice thomistico, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1980), also released on CD.
Literature
- Bandurovsky K. V. Problems of ethics in the "Sum of theology" Thomas Aquinas // Questions of philosophy. - 1997. - No. 9. - S. 156-162.
- Bandurovsky K. V. The concept of "contingent" and the problem of free will in Thomas Aquinas // Historical and Philosophical Yearbook "99. - M., 2001.
- Bandurovsky K.V. Criticism of monopsychism by Thomas Aquinas // Bulletin of the RHGI. - 2001. - No. 4.
- Bandurovsky K. V. Immortality of the soul in the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. Moscow: RGGU, 2011 .-- 328 p. - 500 copies, ISBN 978-5-7281-1231-0
- Borgos J. Thomas Aquinas. - M., 1966. (2nd ed .: M., 1975).
- Boroday T. Yu. The question of the eternity of the world and an attempt to solve it by Thomas Aquinas // Intellectual traditions of antiquity and the Middle Ages (Research and translations). - M .: Krug, 2010 .-- S.107-121.
- Bronzov A. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas in relation to their doctrine of morality. - SPb. 1884.
- Gaidenko V.P., Smirnov G.A. Western European Science in the Middle Ages. - M .: Nauka, 1989.
- Gertykh V. Freedom and moral law in Thomas Aquinas // Problems of Philosophy. - 1994. - No. 1.
- Gretsky S.V. Problems of Anthropology in the Philosophical Systems of Ibn Sina and Thomas Aquinas. - Dushanbe, 1990.
- Dzikevich E.A. Philosophical and aesthetic views of Thomas Aquinas. - M., 1986.
- Gilson E. Philosopher and Theology. - M., 1995.
- History of Philosophy: Encyclopedia. - Minsk: Interpressservice; Book House. 2002.
- Lupandin I.V. Aristotelian cosmology and Thomas Aquinas // Questions of the history of natural science and technology. - 1989. - No. 2. - P.64-73.
- Lyashenko V.P. Philosophy. - M., 2007.
- Maritain J. Philosopher in the world. - M., 1994.
- Spirkin A.G. Philosophy. - M. 2004.
- Stretern P. Thomas Aquinas in 90 minutes - M., Astrel, 2005.
- E. Gilson's works on cultural studies and the history of thought. Abstract collection. Issue I. - M., 1987.
- Svezhavski S. St. Thomas, read anew // Symbol. No. 33. July 1995. - Paris, 1995.
- Contemporary foreign studies in medieval philosophy. Collection of reviews and abstracts. - M., 1979.
- Chesterton G. Saint Thomas Aquinas / Chesterton G. Eternal Man. - M., 1991.
Links
| Thomas Aquinas in Wikiquote | |
| in Wikisource | |
| Thomas aquinas at Wikimedia Commons |
- Corpus Thomisticum: S. Thomae de Aquino Opera Omnia - Complete Works of Thomas Aquinas (lat.)
- Thomas Aquinas, Sanctus - Latin Texts and Translations into European Languages
Thomas Aquinas is the largest medieval philosopher and theologian, who received the title of "angelic doctor", canonized on July 18, 1323 by John XXII and is considered the patron saint of Catholic universities, colleges and schools. Pope Leo XIII in the encyclical Aeterni Patris (August 4, 1879) declared him the most authoritative Catholic scholar.
Life path.
Thomas's life is not distinguished by a wide variety of external events, it was rich only in wanderings (in which the life of the scientific community of that era and the life of a mendicant monk-dominant) usually took place - born in Italy, Thomas lived in Paris, Cologne, Rome and other cities of Italy. More defining for the biography of Thomas is the intellectual climate of the era and the participation of Thomas in the worldview discussions of that time, the time of the collision of various traditions and the emergence of new ways of understanding the world. This era gave birth to Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure, Roger Bacon, Alexander of Gaelic and other scientists who created a culture of thought of mature scholasticism.
Thomas's life was short-lived and his description easily fits into several dozen lines. Thomas's father, Landulf, was Count Aquinas; his family was related to the emperors Henry VI, the kings of Aragon, Castile and France. The year in which he was born is still debated, it is called from 1221 to 1227 (the most likely date is 1224-1225); it happened in the castle of Roccasecca near Aquino in the Neopolitan kingdom. At the age of five, he was sent to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino. In 1239-1243 he studied at the University of Naples. There he became close to the Dominicans and decided to join the Dominican order. However, the family opposed his decision, and his brothers imprisoned Thomas in the fortress of San Giovani, where he stayed for some time, according to some testimonies for about two years. In captivity, Thomas had the opportunity to read a lot, in particular, philosophical literature. However, the imprisonment could not change the decisions of Thomas and the parents had to put up with it.
Then Thomas studied for some time in Paris, and in 1244 or 1245, in Cologne, he became a student of Albert the Great, already at that time revered as one of the most outstanding scientists of his time. Since 1252, he has been teaching in Paris, first as baccalaureus biblicus (that is, he conducts classes on the Bible), then baccalaureus sententiarius (teaches the "Sentences" of Peter of Lombard), at the same time he writes his first works - "On the essence and existence", "On the principles of nature "," Commentary on the "Maxims" ". In 1256 he becomes a master, for three years he has been debating "On the Truth", and, possibly, begins work on "Sum against the Gentiles". Then he wanders to universities, writes a lot, and from 1265 he began to create the "Summa of Theology". Towards the end of his life, ecstasy often happens to him, in one of which a great secret was revealed to him, in comparison with which everything he wrote seemed to him insignificant, and on December 6, 1273, he stopped working on the unfinished Sum of Theology. He died in the monastery of Fossa Nuova (March 7, 1274), on his way to the Cathedral, which was to open in Lyon on May 1, 1274. His last work was a commentary on the "Song of Songs" recorded by the monks.
Proceedings.
During his rather short life, Thomas wrote more than sixty works (counting only works that are authentically his own). Thomas wrote quickly and illegibly, he dictated many works to secretaries, and often he could dictate to several scribes at the same time.
One of the first works of Thomas was the Commentary on the Sentences of Peter of Lombard (Commentaria in Libros Sententiarum), based on the lectures that Thomas gave at the university. The work of Peter of Lombard was a commented collection of reflections taken from the Fathers of the Church and devoted to various issues; in the time of Thomas, the Sentences were an obligatory book studied in theological faculties, and many scholars made their commentaries on the Sentences. Thomas' Commentaries contain many of the themes of his future writings; the composition of this work is the prototype of the sums.
In the same period, a small but extremely important work "On Being and Essence" was written, which is a kind of metaphysical foundation of the philosophy of Thomas.
In accordance with the traditions of that time, a significant part of Thomas's legacy is made up of Quaestiones disputatae ("Discussion questions"), - works devoted to specific topics, such as truth, soul, evil, etc. Discussion questions are a reflection of real teaching practice taking place at the university - open discussion of difficult questions, when the audience expressed all kinds of arguments for and against, and one of the bachelors accepted the arguments from the audience and gave answers to them. The secretary wrote down these arguments and responses. On another appointed day, the master summed up the arguments pro and contra, and gave his decision (determinatio) of the question as a whole and of each of the arguments, also recorded by the secretary. Further, the dispute was published either in the resulting version (reportatio) or in the master's edition (ordinatio).
Twice a year, at Christmas and Lent, special debates were held, open to the general public, on any topic (de quolibet) put forward by any participant in the debate (a quolibet). The bachelor answered these questions impromptu and then the master gave the answer.
The structure of the dispute - the question to be discussed, the arguments of the opponents, the general solution of the issue and the resolution of the arguments, is also preserved in the "Sums", in a somewhat reduced form.
The work "On the unity of the intellect, against the Averroists" (De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas) is devoted to the acute discussion that unfolded at that time regarding the reception of the Averroist interpretation of the Aristotelian heritage. In this work, Thomas disputes the idea that only the highest part of the intellect, common to all people (which means there is no immortality of the soul), which exists among the Parisian Averroists, is immortal, and also rationalizes the Christian belief in the resurrection of the flesh.
The most important works of Thomas are considered two "Sums" - "Sum against the Gentiles" (Summa veritate catholicae fidei contra gentiles), also called "Sum of philosophy", and "Sum of theology" (Summa theologiae vel Summa theologica). The first work, written in Rome, in 1261-1264, was brought into being by the active intellectual exchange taking place between Christian, Muslim and Jewish thinkers. In it, Thomas strove, proceeding from a philosophical (and therefore non-confessional) position, to defend the Christian faith in the face of Muslims and Jews. This vast work is divided into four books: I. On God as such; II. About the creation by God of various regions of beings; III. About God as the goal of all beings; IV. About God, as He is given in His Revelation.
The second sum, Summa theologica (1266-1273), is considered the central work of Thomas Aquinas. However, it is distinguished by less intellectual tension and a sharpness of research spirit characteristic of "Discussion Questions" and "Sums against the Gentiles." In this book, Thomas tries to systematize the results of his works and present them in a sufficiently accessible form, primarily for theological students. The "sum of theology" consists of three parts (and the second is divided into two): pars prima, pars prima secundae, pars secunda secundae and pars tertia, each part is divided into questions, which in turn are subdivided into chapters - articles (according to the most common citation tradition parts are denoted by Roman numerals - I, I-II, II-II, III, Arabic - the question and the chapter, the word "ad" marks counter-arguments). The first part is devoted to establishing the goal, subject and method of research (question 1), reasoning about the essence of God (2-26), His Trinity (27-43) and providence (44-109). In particular, questions 75-102 examine the nature of man as a unity of soul and body, his abilities related to intellect and desire. The second part deals with issues of ethics and anthropology, and the third is dedicated to Christ and includes three treatises: on the incarnation of Christ, His deeds and passions, on the sacrament and on eternal life. The third part was not completed, Thomas dwelt on the ninety question of the treatise on epitimy. The work was completed by Reginald of Piperno, secretary and friend of Thomas, based on manuscripts and extracts from other works. The complete "Sum of Theology" contains 38 treatises, 612 questions, subdivided into 3120 chapters in which about 10,000 arguments are discussed.
Thomas also owns commentaries on Scripture and various philosophical works, especially the works of Aristotle, as well as Boethius, Plato, Damascene, Pseudo-Dionysius, letters, works devoted to the contradictions between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in matters of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, the primacy of Rome Popes and others. A lot of beautiful and poetic works were written by Thomas for the divine service.
The origins of Thomistic philosophy.
Thomas lived in a turbulent intellectual time, at the crossroads of various philosophical traditions, not only European, but also Muslim and Judaic. The Aristotelian roots of his philosophy are striking, but to consider him exclusively Aristotle, while opposing Thomism to Platonism in the Augustinian version, would be very superficial, and due to the ambiguity of his Aristotelianism - after all, Thomas repelled from the powerful Greek tradition of interpretation of Aristotle (Alexander of Aphrodisia, Simplicius , Themistius), from Arab commentators, and from the early Christian interpretation of Aristotle, as it developed in Boethius, as well as from the practice of translation and school interpretation of Aristotelian philosophy existing in Thomas's time. At the same time, his use of the Aristotelian heritage was extremely creative, and primarily because Thomas had to solve problems far beyond the framework of Aristotelian problems, and in this case he was interested in Aristotelianism as an effective method of intellectual search, as well as as a living system that stores in the possibility of revealing completely unexpected (from the point of view of traditional commentatorial work) conclusions. In the writings of Thomas, Platonic ideas are also strongly influenced, first of all by Pseudo-Dionysius and Augustine, as well as non-Christian versions of paidism, such as the anonymous Arabic "Book of Causes", which has its source in the "Fundamentals of Theology" by Proclus.
1.consider in natural phenomena
2.match in a person
3. never match
4.coincide in God
The most important feature of the philosophical worldview in the Middle Ages is ...
2.pantheism
3.cosmocentrism
4.theocentrism
The doctrine of the creation of the world by God from Nothing is called ...
1.creationism
2.thomism
3.provisionalism
4.indeterminism
4. "Everything in the history and destinies of people is predetermined by the will of God", - says ...
1.voluntarism
2.nihilism
3.fatalism
4. providentialism
5. The age-old dispute of medieval thinkers about "universals", that is, general concepts, was divided into two main camps ...
1.realists and nominalists
2.Empiricists and Rationalists
3.monists and dualists
4.dialecticians and metaphysicians
An outstanding representative of the patristic stage is ...
1. F. Aquinas
2. W. Ockham
3.R.Bacon
7. In the "Confessions" of Augustine the question of ...
1.cognition of the world
2.the ratio of being and non-being
3. human free will
4.the possibilities of building an ideal state
8. "Occam's Razor" reflects the content of the principle ...
1. "there is nothing besides God, and God is being"
2. "love your neighbor as yourself"
3. "you should not multiply entities beyond the necessary"
4. "all that exists is good"
9. A feature of the medieval style of thinking is ...
1.anthropocentrism
3.theocentrism
4.cosmism
Middle Ages cover the period
1. VI-I centuries. BC.
4. XVII-XIX centuries.
Task number 2
K. Marx “In the social production of their lives, people enter into certain, necessary, independent of their will, relations - production relations that correspond to a certain stage of development of their material productive forces (that is, the tools they use, their skills and abilities production activities, etc.). The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real basis on which the legal and political superstructure rises and to which certain forms of social consciousness correspond. The mode of production of material life determines the social, political and spiritual processes of life in general. It is not the consciousness of people that determines their being, but on the contrary, their social being determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of their development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing productive relations, or - which is only a legal expression of this - with the property relations, within which they have developed so far. From forms of development of the productive forces, these relations are transformed into their fetters. Then the era of social revolution begins. " (K. Marx. To the criticism of political economy. Foreword. K. Marx, F. Engels Soch., 2nd ed. 13, pp. 6-7)
1. What understanding of the development of society and the whole of the historical process (materialistic or idealistic) is expressed in the above statements of Marx.
2. What, according to Marx, is the material basis for the functioning and development of society.
3. Expand the nature of the interaction of the productive forces of society and the production relations arising between people, based on the teachings of Marx.
Task number 3
Write a philosophical essay revealing the meaning of the statement
"The most beautiful thing in nature is the absence of man" (B. Karman)
Option 7
Task number 1
Theme: Philosophy of the Renaissance
1. The creator of the famous "Utopia", which describes the ideal society of the future, is ...
2. N. Kuzansky
3.P. Abelard
4. N. Machiavelli
The Renaissance is characterized by ...
1.anthropocentrism
2.nature centrism
3.culture centrism
4.theocentrism
Questions of philosophy of politics during the Renaissance were developed ...
1. Nicolaus Copernicus
2. Leonardo da Vinci
3. Galileo Galilei
4. Nicolo Machiavelli
4. Renaissance as a movement in European culture arises in (o) ...
1. France
4. Germany
5. N. Machiavelli gave the rationale for the secular state in ...
1.Utopia "City of the Sun"
2. Dialogue "State"
3. the treatise "Sovereign"
4. the treatise "Leviathan"
6. The main goal of the Reformation of the XVI century. was (was) ...
1.reformation of the Orthodox church authority
2.distribution of the ideology of the Catholic Church
3.conversion of the Catholic Church
4.the rapprochement of the Catholic and Orthodox churches
7. The natural philosophy of the Renaissance is based on ...
1.pantheism
3.solipsism
8. Giordano Bruno's thesis "... nature ... is nothing but God in things" expresses the position ...
2.atheism
3.pantheism
4.panlogism
