The Long ConversationA timeline of world philosophy

Philosopher

Thomas Aquinas

c. 1225 – 1274

Dominican friar and theologian who combined Aristotle's philosophy with Christian doctrine in the most influential synthesis of medieval scholasticism.

Painting of a tonsured friar with a gold halo, holding a model church and an open book
Carlo Crivelli, panel from the Demidoff Altarpiece, 1476, painted two centuries after Aquinas died. National Gallery, London.Carlo Crivelli · Public domain · See the original

Thomas Aquinas taught at the University of Paris and in Italy during the decades when Aristotle’s works, newly available in Latin, were transforming European thought. He argued that reason and faith cannot truly conflict, and built a comprehensive system in which Aristotelian philosophy supports and clarifies Christian theology. He engaged closely with Arabic commentators on Aristotle, especially Avicenna and Averroes.

Tradition
Western
Region
Italy and Paris
Period
Medieval

Key works

  • Summa Theologiae
  • Summa contra Gentiles

Sources

  1. Robert Pasnau, Thomas Aquinas, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy