On the Christian Idea of Man

1949 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Pieper
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Moral Theology ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Fundamental Conception ◽  
Conception Of Man ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
God's Image

The second partof the Summa Theologica of the “Universal Doctor,” Thomas Aquinas, begins with the following sentence: Because man has been created in God's image, now after having spoken of God, the archetype, we must still deal with His image which is man. (Summa Theologica I, II, Prologus.) There is something peculiar about this sentence; its meaning must not be misunderstood. It is stated as a matter of fact but its meaning is not to be taken for granted. This first sentence of Moral Theology expresses a fact which has almost entirely disappeared from the knowledge of Christians of today; namely, die fact that moral doctrine is primarily and above all a doctrine about man; that moral doctrine must plainly reveal the conception of man, and that, therefore, the doctrine of Christian morals must concern the Christian model of man. This fact was a matter of course in' the Christianity of the high Middle Ages. This fundamental conception—which, to be sure, was not definitely taken for granted as the polemical wording shows—compelled Eckhart to say two generations after St. Thomas: people should not think about what they ought to do, they should rather think about what they ought to be.

Ages of Gold

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-59
Author(s):  
Philip Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
European Context ◽  
High Middle Ages

One way to appreciate the potential role of climate in human affairs is to observe what happens when—at least from a human-centric perspective—matters are going very well and the heavens appear to be smiling. Despite the occasional emphasis on eras of climate-driven disaster and deprivation, some historical epochs were wonderfully benevolent, times when the Sun’s warmth evidently manifested God’s bounty. One such era was the High Middle Ages, which coincided with a period of warming over large parts of the globe. Trade and commerce flourished, abundant harvests produced generous food supplies, and prosperity was conspicuously manifested in religious experiment and innovation. Such eras are often recalled through legendary and even exalted figures, such as St. Francis or Thomas Aquinas in the medieval European context. Whatever we term them, cultural golden ages have existed, and they have their foundations in climate conditions.

Thomas Aquinas's Quodlibetal Questions

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Moral Theology ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Public University ◽  
Sacramental Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The University

Thomas Aquinas was one of the most significant Christian thinkers of the middle ages and ranks among the greatest philosophers and theologians of all time. In the mid-thirteenth century, as a teacher at the University of Paris, Aquinas presided over public university-wide debates on questions that could be put forward by anyone about anything. The Quodlibetal Questions are Aquinas’s edited records of these debates. Unlike his other disputed questions, which are limited to a few specific topics such as evil or divine power, Aquinas’s Quodlibetal Questions contain his treatment of hundreds of questions on a wide range of topics—from ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion to dogmatic theology, sacramental theology, moral theology, eschatology, and much more. And, unlike his other disputed questions, none of the questions treated in his Quodlibetal Questions were of Aquinas’s own choosing—they were all posed for him to answer by those who attended the public debates. As such, this volume provides a window onto the concerns of students, teachers, and other interested parties in and around the university at that time. For the same reason it contains some of Aquinas’s fullest, and in certain cases his only, treatments of philosophical and theological questions that have maintained their interest throughout the centuries.

St. Thomas Aquinas in Historical Perspective: The Modern Period

1975 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia L. Colish
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Hundredth Anniversary ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Modern Thought ◽  
Two Generations

Witnessing as it did the seven hundredth anniversary of the death of St. Thomas Aquinas, the year 1974 was marked by multiple conferences and publications dedicated to his life, his thought and his place in medieval intellectual history. The recently completed septicentennial also provides a useful vantage point from which to examine the current historiographical assessment of St. Thomas' influence in modern intellectual history. Aquinas scholars devoted little systematic attention to this topic in 1974, a fact which, in itself, reflects a striking and persistent imbalance within the field of Aquinas studies. It is a commonplace to state that St. Thomas enjoyed an authority in the period since the thirteenth century far exceeding any he achieved in his own day. Yet, a consideration of the historiography of Thomas' place in modern thought reveals the fact that the Angelic Doctor's substantial post-medieval reputation has not generally been matched by an equally plentiful measure of historical understanding. For two generations, historians of the Middle Ages have made great strides toward the systematic recovery of the historical Thomas Aquinas. But the task of uncovering the historical significance of his thought within the changing contexts of post-medieval culture still awaits its Grabmanns and Chenus.

scholarly journals An Essay in Praise of Scholastic Theology

Lumen et Vita ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Medieval Theology ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Peter Abelard ◽  
The Core ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Union With God ◽  
Core Features

This essay attempts to give the Scholastic Theology of the High Middle Ages due praise by inhabiting its beautiful intellectual architecture. Among the core features observed are Scholasticism’s methodological vitality explained as an exegetical-humility with patristic roots, the animating principle of desire for union with God, and a conception of Christian doctrine as fundamental to the divine work of human salvation. Rather than engage directly with Scholasticism’s fashionable modern enemies, the essay proceeds in successive steps as a lectio magistrorum (“reading of the masters”). Anslem of Canterbury, Hugh of St. Victor, Peter Abelard, Bonaventure, and Thomas Aquinas represent the primary sources of interest. The goal is simply to generate reconsideration of medieval theology through an introduction to atypically studied aspects of a few figures.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.E.M. Lippiatt
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Governing Institutions

Historians of political development in the High Middle Ages often focus on the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries as the generations in which monarchy finally triumphed over aristocracy to create a monopoly on governing institutions in Western Europe. However, it was precisely in this period that Simon of Montfort emerged from his modest forest lordship in France to conquer a principality stretching from the Pyrenees to the Rhône. A remarkable ascendancy in any period, it is perhaps especially so in its contrast with the accepted historiographical narrative. Despite the supposed triumph of monarchy during his lifetime, Simon’s meteoric career took place largely outside of royal auspices. Simon’s experience provides a challenge to an uncomplicated or teleological understanding of contemporary politics as effectively national affairs directed by kings.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document