Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas on Religion and Philosophy. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper examines reason, revelation and tradition in both Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and in St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica. It is found that there are both differences and similarities. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_AaA.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in mixing religion and philosophy whereas Nicomachean Ethics embraces the ideas surrounding ethics in general. Yet, the concepts in each of the works to some extent play a role in
a discussion on reason, revelation and tradition. For Aquinas, knowledge was something that could be created through reason, and revelation is also an important source of knowledge. Tradition however is
something that cannot give the human being the same results as would revelation. An example may help to explain Aquinas position. People go through their lives wondering about things. They
want to know truth and so, many rely on tradition or their churches for comfort and information. They believe much of what their priest or minister says, for example, but
that is only one source of knowledge. Religion or tradition is stagnant to some extent, whereas revelation is personal and in the moment. When discussing reason, revelation and tradition, it
is important to understand the distinction. While reason is important to Aristotle for example, it takes on a reduced importance to Aquinas. Ideas that are reasoned are quite important to
Aristotle and in fact he based much of his moral philosophy on that aspect. However, revelation is vitally important because it is a truth that transcends the traditional means of
understanding or knowing. For Aquinas, reason does have limitations. He writes: "Natural reason cannot discover the Trinity of persons in God" (Aquinas 71). Yet, for Aristotle, reason seems to
be much more important than anything else. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle says: "To judge from the lives that men lead, most men, and men of the most vulgar
type, seem (not without some ground) to identify the good, or happiness, with pleasure; which is the reason why they love the life of enjoyment. For there are, we may
...