A Brief Analysis of Saint Thomas Aquinas Essay example

All human beings develop at different rates, both physically and mentally. Furthermore, there are some special individuals that gain the ability to flourish in which they acquire a deeper understanding of life. This is usually is a result of one’s profound religious beliefs. Throughout history there has been scientific reasoning that has brought humanity to a higher domain of knowledge. Saint Thomas was born in 1225 and he came from a noble family from Naples, Italy. His work caused extreme controversially in his time. He is known for his greatest work Summa Theologiae. Saint Thomas Aquinas used scientific reasoning and logic to explain the concept of God. Thomas Aquinas setup the framework of this discussion as a question of whether or†¦show more content†¦But (actual) bread has the potential to become toast, and actual grain has the potential to become bread. Actual water, dirt, and air have the potential to become grain. To take away any of these actualities is ul timately to take away the potential for the student to be alert† (Archie). This example did an amazing job showing people how the actual and potential go together; both cannot exist without the other. According to Caleb Cohoe, says that â€Å"something is moved is itself moved, then it, too, must be moved by another, and that by still another† (Cohoe 7) and what is interest is that he does not believe in infinity because that would result in no first mover. The second argument is called Efficient Causes and argues that God must have been the creator of the universe. This argument states that every new production and event consists of the concept of cause and there must exist a first cause which itself is not caused by this series of productions and events. Saint Thomas thought that everything is caused by something else that caused it and people cannot have an endless stream of causes unless there is a being and that cause is called God. He believed that original cause is what people call God. The article went more in depth in order to evaluate his argument. First, they identified Aquinas’ premise to be the â€Å"ideal that nothing can be the efficient cause of itself† and nothing can be the cause of its own existence (Aquinas).Show MoreRelatedThe Relationship of the Mind and the Body: The Person1071 Words   |  5 Pagesand in the same manner as if it was still in union with its partner? In his book, Discourse on the Met hod and Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes analyzes the mind and the body as two entirely distinct and separate entities. Through his analysis, he concludes that the mind does not need the body to exist. Descartes argues that since we are at the basest form, â€Å"thinking things,† our bodily senses are not necessary to our minds and to knowing what truly does and does not exist in the worldRead More Flannery OConnors Short Fiction Essay examples3159 Words   |  13 Pageswriters, crass didacticism is abhorrent to her. Nevertheless, she achieves what no Christian writer has ever achieved: a type of writing that stands up on both literary and the religious grounds, and succeeds in doing justice to both. In this analysis, we will be looking at just how Flannery OConnor accomplished this seemingly impossible task, non-didactic Christian fiction, by examining elements of faith, elements of style, and thematic elements in her writing. While secondary sources are includedRead MoreMovement and Stasis in the Divine Comedy Essay2889 Words   |  12 Pageswould argue that it is from this primary example of the deep connection between the physical and the mental, that one can begin to categorise and explain the varying types of movement in the work. The first section of this essay will be a close analysis of several important moments of physical activity or the absence of such. The final section will be an overview of the whole and a discussion of the general structure of the Comedy, how movement is governed and the implications of this. To beginRead MoreTheology of the Body32011 Words   |  129 Pagescontrol his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathens who do not know God.† He contrasts â€Å"holiness† to â€Å"uncleanness† (v. 7). Purity is a virtue, or capacity, for self-control. It must be rooted in the will, or as St. Thomas Aquinas says, in the concupiscible appetite. Purity contains the impulse of sensitive desires and is a form of temperance. But purity also allows for controlling the body in â€Å"holiness and honor.† This abstinence and control are mutually dependent; one