The historical influence of Aristotle (384-322 BC) rests on the labours of one man, namely, Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). I find it remarkable that Aquinas made Aristotle’s philosophy popular even though he had never intended to do so.
Aquinas was an Italian Dominican monk and theologian, who aimed at spreading Christian ideals. He could not care less about Aristotelian ideas as such, but he had read Aristotle and realized that Aristotelian philosophy is true.
The validity of Aristotelian philosophy confronted Aquinas with major questions: How could he present the Gospel as true if it is contradicting Aristotle? How could he claim that Jesus Christ is the only source of truth, if Aristotle had devised a solid philosophy four centuries before Jesus Christ?
Aquinas devoted most of his life to reconciling Christian theology with Aristotelian philosophy because he had realized that anyone reading Aristotle would find it very hard to regard the Bible (in particular, the Gospels) as true.
Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle’s influence on Western philosophy
During the last five years of his life, Aquinas wrote down a series of arguments (“Summa Theologiae”) using Aristotelian philosophy to justify Christian beliefs.
The driving principle in “Summa Theologiae” is that reason and faith can coexist. Aquinas wanted to demonstrate that there are no contradictions between reasons and faith. To this end, he placed the Aristotelian ethics and metaphysics at the service of Christian theology.
Truth be told, Aquinas did a wonderful job, but I consider it more a work of imagination than a work of philosophy. He did find ways to twist Aristotle’s ideas into supporting Christianity, and presented them in polished, flawless Latin.
Despite Aquinas’ ingenuity, there are aspects of Aristotelian philosophy that cannot be conciliated with Christianity. I refer for instance to Aristotle’s definition of virtue (courage, justice, wisdom) compared to Christian virtue (modesty, altruism, self-sacrifice, charity).
I must nonetheless express my gratitude to Aquinas because he made it possible for Aristotelian philosophy to spread across Europe and the rest of the world. Aquinas reinvigorated ideals that had been dormant for centuries and enabled them to grow strong roots.
Key elements in Aristotle’s influence on Western philosophy
Let me enumerate the key aspects in which Aquinas retook Aristotelian philosophy and made it accessible to thousands of readers, thanks to his “Summa Theologiae.”
First of all, Aquinas took over the key Aristotelian concepts in the field of metaphysics. For example, he incorporated most of Aristotle’s causality doctrines (material cause, formal cause, efficient cause, final cause) as well as the concepts of actuality and potentiality.
Second, Aquinas took the Aristotelian concept of the prime mover but gave it a whole new meaning. In his “Metaphysics,” Aristotle had speculated that there might be a common root in all causal relationships. Aquinas identified God as the common root, as the prime mover of all creatures and events.
Third, Aquinas place the cultivation of virtues at the centre of morality, just as Aristotle had done. Aquinas had studied the “Eudemian Ethics” and “Nicomachean Ethics” by Aristotle but gave them a new twist. While Aristotle had defined virtues as the path to happiness, Aquinas viewed them as the path to God.
Christianity and Aristotle’s influence on Western philosophy
Fourth, just as Aristotle had done, Aquinas viewed intellect and reason as the essential feature of human beings. In contrast to predecessors such as Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), it is remarkable that Aquinas did not even bother to argue against Aristotle.
Aquinas was too intelligent to deny the obvious. By reading Aristotle, he had realized that Aristotelian philosophy was true, solid and consistent. If Christianity was to expand, it had to use Aristotelian concepts.
Fifth, Aquinas took over Aristotle’s logic and came up with creative ways to apply it for defending Christianity. The whole “Summa Theologiae” is based on Aristotelian syllogisms (two premises leading to a conclusion).
Although Aquinas takes Aristotelian logic beyond its natural limits, his examples are delightful to read. Rarely has an author formulated such brilliant syllogisms in defence of his faith.
Together with Aristotle’s logic, Aquinas took over concepts such as substance and accidents, and the Aristotelian categories for analysing reality. Modern civilization has an immense debt towards Aquinas and his relentless educational work.
If you are interested in applying Aristotle’s philosophy in your daily life, I recommend you my book “Sequentiality: The amazing power of finding the right sequence of steps.”
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