During his early education he
showed that he had a wide
knowledge of things.
Because he was born into a powerful
family his early entry into the Dominican
order in the early 1240s was very
surprising.
His family tried many ways to
discourage him from joining the
Dominican order. They even
imprisoned him for two years!
In 1257 he received his
degree of Doctor of
Theology.
The rest of his life was
spent praying, studying and
writing.
Views on good and evil
He had two views
on good and evil.
He thought an act is good or
bad depending on whether it
contributes or prevents us from
our proper human end (final
goal at which all human actions
aim)
He said God is good and
he must have an
appropriate reason for
allowing evil to exist.
He said that all goodness
in the world must exist in
God.
God must be good, and
that God is goodness and
that there is no evil in
God.
Beliefs
People found it hard to tell the difference
between faith and reason. St Thomas
Aquinas said, “Both kinds of knowledge
ultimately came from God.”
He believed that the existence
of God can be proven in 5
ways:
1. By observing
movement in the world as
proof of God, the
“Immovable Motor”
2. By observing cause
and effect and identifying
God as the cause of
everything.
3. By knowing that the temporary
nature of humans proves the
existence of a necessary being God
who originates only from within
himself.
4. By noticing changeable levels
of human perfection and
determining that a supreme and
perfect being must therefore exist.
5. By knowing that humans could not have
intelligence without it being granted to
them by God.