Wisdom at the Crossroads: Thomas Aquinas on the Four Modes of Divine Science
The science of being as being for Thomas Aquinas acquires distinct modalities based on distinct paths of reasoning, either from principles or towards principles, and based on distinct domains of discourse, either according to extrinsic causes (secundum rem) or according to intrinsic causes (secundum...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
The Thomist
Year: 2025, Volume: 89, Issue: 1, Pages: 109-147 |
| IxTheo Classification: | FA Theology KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages NBC Doctrine of God VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
De Trinitate
B Wisdom B Thomas Aquinas B Philosophical Theology B Metaphysics B Method B first philosophy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The science of being as being for Thomas Aquinas acquires distinct modalities based on distinct paths of reasoning, either from principles or towards principles, and based on distinct domains of discourse, either according to extrinsic causes (secundum rem) or according to intrinsic causes (secundum rationem). "Metaphysics" proceeds by resolution secundum rationem towards the universal principle of being, and "first philosophy" proceeds by way of composition secundum rationem from the universal principle of being. In another sense, "first philosophy" proceeds by resolution secundum rem to the universal cause of being as such, and theology, divine science, or "philosophical theology" proceeds by composition secundum rem from the universal cause of being, namely, God. I respond to arguments against the possibility of philosophical theology by showing how some arguments for the real distinction and for the existence of angels proceed by way of composition secundum rem. We can argue from an imperfect notion of God insofar as we assume philosophical insights already gained about God through another mode, namely, through first philosophy, by way of resolution secundum rem. Finally, I have shown how this mode assumes only a suppositional necessity in God's operation with regard to creatures. |
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| ISSN: | 2473-3725 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Thomist
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/tho.2025.a947193 |
