Thomistic

Thomistic refers to the philosophy and theology associated with Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) and the tradition that followed him. It encompasses his integrated account of faith and reason, drawing on Aristotelian philosophy to interpret Christian revelation. The term also denotes the scholarly current and methods shaped by Aquinas, especially within medieval Scholasticism and later Catholic thought. Thomism seeks to provide a rational foundation for theological truths and to explain how human beings know and live according to God’s order.

Key doctrines include a hylomorphic account of substances (form and matter), the distinction between essence and existence, and the claim that God is ipsum esse subsistens (the act of being itself). Natural theology plays a central role, with arguments for the existence and nature of God, often summarized as five ways. Thomism also develops a robust natural law theory, ethics grounded in the cardinal virtues and theological virtues, and political thought oriented toward the common good. In metaphysics and theology, the analogy of being is used to speak meaningfully about God while avoiding univocal language.

Influence and reception: Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae and Summa contra Gentiles became foundational for Catholic philosophy and theology. Thomism shaped medieval universities and subsequent Catholic intellectual life, with a revival in the 19th and 20th centuries through the neo-Thomist movement (for example, Gilson, Maritain). Critics have questioned aspects of natural theology and Aquinas’s metaphysics, while supporters argue for a coherent framework for reasoned religious belief.