‘The Dumb Ox’ bellows

The favoured philosopher of the Catholic Church was St. Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274) for he reconciled Aristotle’s philosophy with Christianity. He was born in Sicily and educated at the University of Naples. Aquinas was canonised by Pope John XII in 1323.

While clarifying Aristotle’s philosophy, Aquinas made many original contributions. He is well known for introducing five ways to prove the existence of God through logical argument. He said that the existence of God can be proved by considering the concept of change. According to him there was something which was the cause of change. The cause itself was not subject to change. The cause that did not change was God. In his own words, “If the hand does not move the stick, the stick will not move anything else.”

Secondly, Aquinas said that causes always operated in series, but there had to be a first cause. The first cause that did not change was nothing but God. The argument was similar to his first proposition and philosophers down the ages have criticised it for being confused.

Thirdly, Aquinas said everything in the world would come to an end. But there would have been a time that nothing existed in the world. As something could not come from nothing, it must have always existed. The thing that always existed was God.

Quality

Fourthly, Aquinas said some things exhibited varying degrees of quality. For such a thing to appear, there would have been something that was perfect. That could only be God.

Finally, Aquinas said everything had a purpose. but to have a purpose there would have been some superior force that directed the purpose. The director was once again God.

Aquinas’s cosmological and ontological arguments were accepted by the Catholic Church. However, modern philosophers have completely rejected them.

Aquinas had a chequered history. At the age of five, he was enrolled in the Benedictine Abbey School at Montecassino. The Benedictines were Roman Catholic monks known for their modest lifestyle combined with physical labour and spirituality. Under their care young Aquinas acquired religious and academic skills.

Turning point

A turning point in his life came when he was sent to the Imperial University of Naples where he was influenced by Dominican monks who were dedicated preachers. Unlike the Benedictine monks, they took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. While the Benedictines put up their monasteries in the country, the Dominicans established themselves in the towns. By the mid-13th century the Benedictine monasteries were declining and the Dominicans were gaining popularity.

Aquinas decided to embrace the Dominican way of life, but his family objected to his decision. His mother and elder brothers forced him to give up his Dominican views. He was kept in a room and a provocatively dressed girl was sent to him one night. However, Aquinas kept on praying until the girl decided to leave the room. While in confinement, he wrote a treatise On Fallacies. Finally, his family members allowed him to remain a Dominican.

Fortune

Aquinas had the fortune of learning at the feet of Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great) at Cologne. Albert realised the need to ground Christian faith in philosophy and science. Aquinas, however, went a step beyond his teacher by constructing a coherent philosophy of his own.

When Aquinas first arrived in Paris, he was nicknamed “The Dumb Ox” because of his rural manners, farm-boy physique, and slow ways. Even his handwriting was so horrible that nobody could read it. But Aquinas did his studies well. One day his teacher was stunned by his brilliance and said, “We call this man the Dumb Ox, but some day his bellow will be heard throughout the whole world.”