Inner Reflections Essay

As a person looks stomach at their life, a common concern is the legacy they countenance in this world. Most sight posses an earnest disposition to make a discrepancy in the world. Before any contribution deal be made, be it great or sm altogether, it is definitive to understand aces birth worldview. After constructing a coherent frame twist about the basic penning of this world (James 16), it is pr doicable to build on this foot to create mod ideas. In his rifle The Human Good, Thomas doubting Thomas is equal to(p) to per centum his views on this world and in that respectby make valuable theological systemal contributions to this world.doubting Thomas was born in Roccasecca, a town in southern Rome, and lived from 1225 to 1274 (doubting Thomas 145). big(p) estimates during this medieval era included those of Augustine and Aristotle. Born into this critical time, doubting Thomas attempts to gruntle the teachings of . . . Aristotle with Christian doctrine or Reason with Faith (Aquinas 145). Aquinas is renowned as the greatest theologian of the medieval Catholic church and a representative of scholasticism (Aquinas 145). As the son of a nobleman, he was ameliorate at the University of Naples and became a member of the Domini butt end Order of Preachers. After covering his education, Aquinas spend most of his life teaching at Dominican study houses and universities in France and Italy (Aquinas 145).In The Human Good, Aquinas reveals his views on what a kind being is, and how globe know what is refine and wrong. Although these are cardinal separate questions, examining the nature of a human being leads to examining how they are able to know what is good. In light of the first question, Aquinas uses passages from the Psalms to answer, matinee idol . . . from the abundance of his perfection, grants being to either existing things (Aquinas 145).Aquinas describes world as created beings that bear intelligence and bear his likeness and represent his image (Aquinas 146). on with being created in divinitys image, Aquinas excessively implies human beings pay back a personal relationship with their creator when he says, God testament not forget his people (Aquinas 147). Finally, Aquinas states that intelligent creatures have free will, or are capable of institutionaliseing their own actions.Since humans can deviate away from Gods will, Aquinas also refers to humans as corruptible beings (Aquinas 147). This by no means implies that humans have equality with God. Despite the fact that humans can direct their own actions, they are still under the rule of the first creator. Aquinas puts a lot of effort into justifying why humans and all new(prenominal) created objects do, in fact, act towards an end. Although this may seem like an obvious principle, Aquinas views it as a fundamental issue, which must(prenominal) be readd. This issue is important because, an ordered universe acting towards an end implies it was v oluntarily produced by an operator (Aquinas 146).In order to install that all things do bleed towards an end, Aquinas says that if agents did not tend toward any particular end, actions would extend to infinity. Philosophically, this is not possible because this requires an infinity of antecedents (Aquinas 148). Since this world, including humans, are finite an infinity of actions is not possible. This proves that there must be something which, when had, brings the activity of the agent to rest (Aquinas 148). After this fact is established, other premise regarding humans can be added.Humans, as intelligent beings, act by preconceiving that which they pursue by their actions (Aquinas 148). This is unlike vivid agents, which have no concept of the end they are overtureing. This implies that by knowing or having the susceptibility to aim for an end, humans can change their end. Author Jean usher comments that the human will, unlike animal impulses, is never oriented by natural necessity toward any particular finite good (Porter 71). Since humans do not have a set path to follow to their end, a big portion of a persons life is spent in trying to determine their own end. future(a), Aquinas goes on to prove that regardless of what end humans chose, it is for the sake of good.First of all, since humans tend toward some end, its logical to say that this end, whatever it may be, is towards something that is beneficial. From what can be observed, intelligent agents will vanish anything they apprehend as evil (Aquinas 150), and to flee evil is to assay good. In other words, all humans seek to perfect themselves, or seek happiness by improving.Stating that every human acts for the sake of good may seem useless when considering that the definition of virtue is defined by the individual. Aquinas himself gives examples of goods around which people structure their lives riches, honor, natural pleasure, and so on (Porter 77). However, establishing that every human being tends toward what is good provides more than than room to proceed. The next task would be to acquire a assort concept of the human good (Porter 72). Once there exists an crowning(prenominal) good, there also exists a standard by which a human can tell if he or she is are headed towards the good end.The foundation of some ideas of human goodness among a group of people does not confute the fact that there may be one net good. veritable(a) if an individual has a mistaken notion of what is good, he or she will change their notion if they realize his or her mistake. Therefore, if an ultimate good were to exist, all agents would seek this end if they had the knowledge.Finally, Aquinas yards that to understand the most perfect pellucid object, which is God, is the most perfect of acts of understanding (Aquinas 151). Aquinas also states that it is the natural desire of men to know the first cause. God is the first cause of all, so knowing God must be the ultimate end of a ll understanding. Now that there exists an ultimate good, this theory of goodness provides a foundation for a theory of ethical motive (Porter 68), by which it is possible to know what is right and what is wrong. Consequently, although humans may establish and follow different ends seeking good, the ultimate nonesuch of good is found in knowing God.Aquinas approach to answer theological questions has some questionable aspects. Like most ideals, one wonders how realistic it is to seek the ultimate good in every aspect. fit in to Aquinas, only by knowing God do humans have a standard by which they can know what is right and wrong. It can be agreed upon that even an ignorant individuals ultimate end is knowing God.However, until such knowledge is acquired, the true standard is compulsory and the individual has a flawed concept of right and wrong. Therefore the harder the ideal end is to acquire, the more people have skewed view on morality. This suggests that for many, morals are re lative, which is somewhat naturalistic. Since, Aquinas views are theistic two views cannot coexist within the same theory. Therefore, Aquinas views on morality suppose upon the feasibility of achieving the ideal.Another aspect of Aquinas methods that receives much criticism is his impatient acceptance of Aristotelian ideas without criticism from biblical revelation (Hoffecker 110). Although commendable, the attempt to prove spiritual matters such as the existence of God using human logic alone seems a bit ambitious. Aquinas is criticized for looking likewise hastily elsewhere, outside the biblical revelation . . . to support the Christian creed (Hoffecker 110). Straying so far away from manufacturer revelation and relying so heavily on reason endangers the importance of faith. Positively, with the knowledge of such dangers, comprise uses of Aquinas methods can result in powerful tools for the Christian faith. This is the reason for praising Aquinas as the greatest theologian of the medieval Catholic Church (Aquinas 145).Aquinas contributions in theology and philosophy revolutionized Christian thought. His work combines Aristotelian logic with theology producing a revolutionary line of thought known as Thomism (Aquinas 145). Although not mentioned in The Human Good, earlier deeds by Aquinas use similar methods of logic to prove the existence of God. Aquinas ideas on morality and man made them more matched for people with non-Christian worldviews.Even though venturing so far away from divine revelation may be risky, his work helped introduce more people to Christianity. The popularity of Aquinas may have caused the rise of applying reason in more areas such as religion in the westbound world. The logical, cause-and-effect mindset of the western world may be attributed partly to this newly sparked popularity of Aristotelian thought. world able to justify the ones position using logic is also useful when defending the Christian faith.Although a complica ted work of theology, Aquinas was able to reflect his fundamental views on man and morality though The Human Good. He left a lasting legacy by gaining a wide audience with whom to share his ideas. Some leave legacies by their memorable actions or character. Others construct revolutionary ideas and alter the operate of public thought forever. Whichever method is used, the worldview of the person shapes their actions and their thoughts.Works CitedAquinas, Thomas. The Human Good. The western sandwich World. Ed. Mark Kishlansky. Boston Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002. 145-155.Hoffecker, Andrew. Medieval Scholasticism The Thomistic Synthesis. expression a Christian World View. Ed. Andrew Hoffecker. Phillipsburg Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1986. 97-113.James, sire. Universe Next Door. Downers Grove Intervarsity Press, 1996.Porter, Jean. The Recovery of Virtue. Louisville John Knox Press, 1990.