The perenniality of the philosophy of being. John Paul II's invitation to study Thomas Aquinas

Abstract

One of the most remarkable traits of John Paul II’s teaching is the effort to direct philosophical and theological studies; in particular, he has often called for the study and teaching of St Thomas Aquinas’ doctrine. Aquinas thinks that “being” is the chief object of philosophy; in this principle the Pope finds the relevance of thomistic thought for the philosophy of this century. The other characteristic of Aquinas’ thought signalled by the Pope for comparison with the modern age is the interrelation affirmed by St Thomas between philosophy, science and theology. Here, in contrast with the modern scientific way of thinking, faith and reason, theology and philosophy draw together in the one single Truth, because One is the Author of this Truth. According to the Pope, faith and reason must go on together without false and artificial oppositions, each one admitting its ambit and its limits. For all of these reasons, the chief purpose of a Christian philosophy is to be pursued in Aquinas’way.