Thomism Essays

“Life has no meaning … It is up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.” This is an existentialist quote by Jean-Paul Sartre which helps to explain the beliefs of one who follows this philosophy. Existentialism is a complex philosophy emphasizing the absurdity of reality and the human responsibility to make choices and accept consequences. This philosophy was created during the second world war, when Europe found itself in a crisis of death and destruction

Aquinas Thomas Aquinas was a well-recognized philosopher and theologian whose main interest was to teach and share with everyone the importance of religion and the existence of God. As he was a theologian, Aquinas main focus was church. His work was popular during the Scholasticism era, which was the peak of the medieval church. Aquinas principal working tool was the way he explained his arguments based on reasoning of his own. With the help of reasoning, Aquinas could conclude God’s role in this

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to

In the film, "Louis Theroux's African Hunting Party", South African wild game farmers advocate trophy hunting as a necessary activity for saving certain species from inevitable extinction due to illegal wildlife poaching. However, when considering Peter Singer's utilitarian theory on the ethical treatment of non-human animals, the process of shooting and killing an animal to preserve its species seems counterintuitive. Applying Singer's perspective, my position is that trophy hunting is morally unacceptable

In the 16th century, Thomism was still a philosophy that was thought of. Cardinal Cajetan, Luther’s enemy at Augsburg in 1518, said that Thomism still had to do with society and Thomism made a strong effect to the Catholic Reformation. However Augustinian beliefs were still well known and alive in Catholic centers of learning. St. Augustine believed the

Etienne Henry-Gilson, born in June 1884, contributed much to the philosophical, and literary world. He was a French philosopher, emphatically fond of reading, medieval studies and Christian Philosophy. The Basilian father, Armand Maurer wrote, Gilson had one of the greatest minds in history. He believed Gilson to be richly endowed with intelligence, stating that “nothing intellectual was alien to him.” Although very much an advocate of medieval philosophy, Gilson found a stepping stone in the modern

1. Discuss the moral principle being followed by the XO. XO (Hunter) is acting based not only on the orders given to him but he thinks also the consequences of the orders being given. He is acting with due respect for the good of the many and not to just set the fire for war; it is here where utilitarianism comes in. Utilitarianism acts where the greater value is between either pleasure or pain. He is also applying the Principle of Double-effect under its guideline where there must be sufficient

Scholasticism is the arrangement of religion and the viewpoint educated in medieval European universities, grounded on Aristotelian reason and the works of the early Church Fathers by obligating a strong importance on institution and belief. The medieval universities progressively enhanced in a way to develop knowledge, recognized as scholasticism. One of the main funders that facilitated the enlargement of the scholastic technique of education is Peter Abelard. He functioned on Sic et Non which

Amongst the crowded market of a place where anything can happen, Socrates was hosting his traditional circle of students when someone ran past him saying, “Thomas Aquinas is here!” People began to lose their minds as the “greatest” theologian and philosopher in Church history decided to grace the marketplace streets with his presence. Socrates rolled his eyes with disgust and continued teaching his lesson, “Anyways, as I was saying, ignorance is evil.” His students nodded in agreement. A voice

The term demonstration is rooted in the Latin word demonstrare, meaning to show or explain (Wiktionary, 2006). This meaning is very close to the most relevant common definition, “a description or explanation, as of a process, illustrated by examples, specimens, or the like” (Dictionary.com, 2006). Demonstrations differ in terms of informational and physical individualities done by the teacher as well as the difficulties placed upon the learner. In addition to observing the example (e.g., activities

God. In order to identify whether something is correct, we have to ask ourselves if it is consistent with its natural laws of nature or purpose. The most prominent articulations of this theory are the ne given by Thomas Aquinas also better known as Thomism. Thomists were the most influential in outlining the universal declaration of human rights in the United Nations and therefore this theory is pretty invasive in moral thoughts. The most interesting aspect of this theory is the notion that ethical

What is the one thing that is growing higher and higher in demand as our world’s population continues to grow? Clean, renewable, and cheap energy is the answer. Thus many countries are turning to nuclear energy for a temporary fix. Nuclear energy is energy that is released when a nuclear reaction occurs. There are advantages and disadvantages to converting this type of energy to electrical energy, but that does not stop it from being a growing trend in the energy community. There are two ways to

“What is God?” As a young boy, this is the question Saint Thomas Aquinas posed to his schoolmaster. While the schoolmaster’s answer is never recorded, Saint Thomas spent the rest of his life trying to answer the question, “What is God?” The driving motivation behind why Thomas sought to answer the question was his love for God and for knowledge. Thomas was both extremely studious and pious, and these traits were evident throughout all of Thomas’s life. They were paired with an amazingly unusual

Introduction: Near the end of the 12th century and at the beginning of the 13th century, various works of Aristotle that had not been available to the Latin West were gradually translated from Arabic and Greek into Latin. In addition, various Arabic and Greek commentaries were also translated into Latin in places such as Toledo and Sicily. The initial reaction to this large amount of new philosophical material was one of hesitation and alarm especially since Aristotle as interpreted by the Arabs