St. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

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St. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine
In this paper, I present a comparative analysis of philosophical principles of St. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo based on the ‘Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas’ and ‘Augustine Earlier Writings’ respectively. The comparison focuses on the differences and similarities of the philosophies regarding their views and understanding of God as the exemplary image of which all things are created. The analysis centers on their philosophical approaches and conclusions regarding their views of faith and reason and the image of God. Saint Aquinas and Augustus are prominent for their major contribution in theology and philosophy. The principles of both their philosophies are derivative of Aristotle and Plato hence the slightly different perspective on knowledge and nature. The analytical comparison of the philosopher’s perceptions of the image of God is conveyed based on their incorporeal and theoretical thinking in their beliefs.
St. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine agree on the philosophy that God is the exemplar of all created things likeness; that creation is an imitation of God’s image. Augustine’s views and philosophies influenced some of Aquinas’ ideals in his beliefs. They both agree that God is the entity of ultimate knowledge and man can know God through reason even though they cannot fully understand Him. Augustine’s philosophy elements found in man such as reason, intellect, existence, memory are also seen in Aquinas’ works. Aquinas and Augustine have major similarities in regards to the contrast of reason and faith, the belief in the existence of God and the image of God.
In regards to the image of God both the philosophers hold that human beings have an imperfect likeness to God because perfect likeness can only exist in an identical entity. They hold that the perfect image can only exist in the firstborn of creation as it is the most identical. They concur that human beings have the image of God different from other creations such as animals because we have minds. Augustine further elaborates that the trinity comprises of love, awareness and the mind which Aquinas agree to. They agree that the image of God is in the mind and when we know and love God we are to the utmost perfection of His image. They both consider God to be the ultimate entity of the acts of will and intellect. Though both the philosophers possessed ideas that impacted the faith of Christianity their understanding of these beliefs were quite different. Aquinas was influenced by Aristotle while Augustine was more inclined to the philosophies of Plato. The influences of their inspirations are seen in their philosophies of the soul, knowledge, faith, and reason.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas belief in the image of God is that man is in the likeness of God through his mind and intellectual capacity which is superior from an animal. Aquinas believed in the imperfect likeness because the image of God cannot be equally matched to a human being. The only entity that had a perfect image of God is the first born son of creation. In his philosophy, man is not only in the image of God simply by understanding and having a mind but also a mind that acts, thinks and loves similarly as God. Aquinas incorporated both the dynamics of reason and faith in his philosophies more than other philosophers such as Augustine. The amalgamation of both divine and natural worlds made his beliefs on the image of God distinct from other philosophies.
In his writings, Aquinas states that all creatures have the likeness of God to some extent. Every creation has some likeness, but only human beings possess the image of God fully because we have a mind, unlike an animal. Aquinas states that “God’s likeness in the manner of an image is to be found in man as regards his mind; but as regards his other parts only in the manner of a trace” CITATION Tho48 \p 79 \l 1033 (Thomas 79). The philosophy states that the mind is what makes us the image of God and all other things such as the body only have traces of likeness. Aquinas focus on the mind as the entity with God’s image is consistent in his writing. He states that “…thus the image of God is more perfect in the angels than in man because their intellectual nature is more perfect” CITATION Tho48 \p 88 \l 1033 (Thomas 88). The philosophy is stating that angels are more inclined images of God than a man because of their intellectual capacity.
Aquinas further analyses the nature of the mind as the locus of God’s image through observing the three properties of the mind which are intellect, memory, and will. The three aspects encompass the activities of understanding, remembering and loving to be in the likeness of God fully. The aspects transitioned from simply awareness, mind and love because the philosophy had to include the divine activities of thinking and remembering to be in the image of God fully. Aquinas concluded that the image of the trinity in man had to be shown in the three properties of the mind; intellect, memory, and will. The incorporation of these aspects gave him the ability to understand what proportion creations have the likeness of God. Aquinas states that “Thus it is clear that only intelligent creatures are properly speaking after God’s image” CITATION Tho48 \p 109 \l 1033 (Thomas 109). He comes to a conclusion that creations have a proportion of God’s likeness, but only beings with intellectual capacity are a direct image of God.
Aquinas’ philosophies are supported by the belief that faith and reason are not distinct but should always go together. He believed that knowledge is very crucial when it comes to the act of faith. He affirms that faith is an act that involves rationale to an extent since its purpose is the truth. People cannot grasp God as an entity with faith only, but through reason, we can comprehend his being indirectly. Aquinas thought that all worlds, both divine and natural, originated from God and hence revelation and reason are not supposed to conflict.
Augustine
Augustine’s philosophy asserts that humanity exists in the mind hence it is the locus of the image of God. Augustine states that “Some things are made conformable to that first form such as rational and intelligent creatures, among whom a man is rightly said to be made in the image and likeness of God” CITATION Aug53 \p 268 \l 1033 (Augustinus 268). Augustine states that man is in the image of God because God gave him intellect which makes him superior from the animals. He asserts that the image of God is not seen in the mind merely because it understands or loves itself but because it also understands, remembers and loves God its creator. For him, the mind does not exist without self-love or knowledge. He identifies the aspects that enable us to imagine God is on knowledge, mind, and love; the trinity possesses mutual relations that make it inseparable. The knowledge of oneself is nonexistent without the mind and self-love, and love of oneself cannot exist without the mind or knowledge. Augustine asserts that the trinity is the re...