The Use of Philosophy in Favor of Theological Reason: Thomas Aquinas as an Example

Ahmed Hussein Al-Nasri

Abstract

There is no doubt that there is a difference in terms of the scientific approach between the data provided by metaphysical philosophy, which deals with the problem of existence, and the religious cognitive data. The former relies on the deductive rational approach, based on logical inferences. The latter is based on the divine sciences that descended from heaven through revelation; and for this reason, it enjoys a kind of infallibility, which is what the product of philosophical thought lacks; because it is made by the limited human mind. However, the texts that convey the knowledge of revelation face two problems: one regarding the transmission and proving of authenticity, and the other regarding interpretation and determining the intended meaning. According to Thomas Aquinas, philosophy and theological reason are not contradictory. Therefore, he attempted to employ the Aristotelian philosophical approach to provide a religious interpretation framed by critical thinking. However, this does not mean that Thomas Aquinas fully accepted those philosophical assumptions. The goal here is to clarify Aquinas's philosophical cognitive approach and how he employed it for the benefit of Christian theological interpretation. He was greatly influenced by Aristotelian principles and used them to support his beliefs. Anyhow, his theological mentality did not make him fully release himself from the data of the prevailing Christian interpretation at that time, and therefore his work in using the philosophical approach was not correctly complete.

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)