The role of Thomas Aquinas in the “scientific” universe of the 13th century

Abstract

These reflections aim at showing the aporias and difficulties that affected, in an essential way, the different attempts to build a “science of religion” and, more specifically, to read “scientifically” the data of faith, or revelation. That is the reason why we gave a special attention to the 13th century and, principally, to the role of Thomas Aquinas, when more explicitly intensified the relations and the conflicts between science, philosophy and theology. To be sure, the science we deal with is that one derived from Plato – under the form of episteme – which marked the whole tradition of the Christian thought and that culminated in the 13th century with Aristotle’s philosophy. Therefore, it was necessary to retrace the vicissitudes that, from Plato on, characterized the history of this concept and that enhanced themselves from the 12th century onward and, principally, throughout the 13th century. Thus, the question that remains suspended refers to the possibility of founding scientifically and philosophically religion in general and theology in particular.