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Thinker · 1225–1274 CE

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas developed a systematic synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology, arguing about causation, being, natural law, virtue, and the limits of human knowledge of God.

Intellectual setting

Aquinas taught in Dominican and university settings amid the assimilation of Aristotle and debates with Augustinian, Averroist, and Franciscan positions.

Key ideas

Analogy and being

Predication about God and creatures is neither simply univocal nor merely equivocal.

Natural law

Practical reason participates in an intelligible order while human law remains subject to moral evaluation.

Legacy

Thomism became one of the most enduring traditions of Latin Christian philosophy and remains a living field of interpretation.