The epistemology of St. Thomas Aquinas with special reference to Summa Theologiae 1a q84
Attempts by several commentators to map categories from contemporary epistemology onto Aquinas' theory of knowledge, and their attempts to give an account of his theory of perceptual knowledge constitute the background to this thesis. In the opening chapter we outline Aquinas' theory of knowledge, we see that it is a complex theory, dealing not only with human knowledge, but also with divine and angelic knowledge. We note Aquinas' application of the doctrine of analogy to the concept of knowledge. Despite the radical differences between the Creator's knowledge and that of His creatures there are common elements: the grasp of being as true and the assimilation of the knower to the thing known. In the case of angelic knowledge we note its innateness and immediacy. In our analysis of human knowledge we see the consequences of what Aquinas refers to as the dimness of the human intellect, both in terms of how humans know and what they can know. In particular we highlight the fragmented nature of human knowledge, noting the absence of any mention of perceptual knowledge in Aquinas' account of human knowledge. In chapter two we sketch the various contemporary epistemological categories that philosophers have sought
Allan, Terence
B Philosophy (General)
The epistemology of St. Thomas Aquinas with special reference to Summa Theologiae 1a q84. Attempts by several commentators to map categories from contemporary epistemology onto Aquinas' theory of knowledge, and their attempts to give an account of his theory of perceptual knowledge constitute the background to this thesis. In the opening chapter we outline Aquinas' theory of knowledge, we see that it is a complex theory, dealing not only with human knowledge, but also with divine and angelic knowledge. We note Aquinas' application of the doctrine of analogy to the concept of knowledge. Despite the radical differences between the Creator's knowledge and that of His creatures there are common elements: the grasp of being as true and the assimilation of the knower to the thing known. In the case of angelic knowledge we note its innateness and immediacy. In our analysis of human knowledge we see the consequences of what Aquinas refers to as the dimness of the human intellect, both in terms of how humans know and what they can know. In particular we highlight the fragmented nature of human knowledge, noting the absence of any mention of perceptual knowledge in Aquinas' account of human knowledge. In chapter two we sketch the various contemporary epistemological categories that philosophers have sought
epistemology thomas aquinas special_reference attempts several commentator map category contemporary epistemology onto aquinas theory_knowledge attempt give_account theory perceptual_knowledge constitute background thesis open outline aquinas theory_knowledge see complex theory deal human_knowledge also divine angelic knowledge note aquinas application doctrine analogy concept knowledge despite radical difference creator knowledge creature common element grasp true assimilation knower thing know case angelic knowledge note immediacy analysis human_knowledge see consequence aquinas refers human intellect term human know know particular highlight fragment nature human_knowledge note absence mention perceptual_knowledge aquinas account human_knowledge sketch various contemporary epistemological category philosopher seek