Thomas Aquinas held and practiced the principle that truth is to be accepted no matter where it is found. His doctrines drew from Greek, Roman, Islamic and Jewish philosophers. Specifically, he was a realist (i.e. unlike See more

Aquinas says that the fundamental axioms of ontology are the principle of non-contradiction and the principle of causality. Therefore, any See more

"Whatever is in our intellect must have previously been in the senses."— Thomas Aquinas, the peripatetic axiom.
Aquinas preceded the existence of the discipline of See more

Aquinas did not disdain to draw upon Jewish philosophical sources. His main work, the Summa Theologica, shows a profound knowledge not only of the writings of See more

In addition to agreeing with the Aristotelian definition of man as "the rational animal," Aquinas also held various other beliefs about the substance of man. For instance, as the essence (nature) of all men are the same, and the definition of being is "an essence that … See more

Aquinas shifted Scholasticism away from neoplatonism and towards Aristotle. The ensuing school of thought, through its influence on … See more

Individual thinkers
René Descartes
Thomism began to decline in popularity in the modern period, which was inaugurated by René Descartes' works Discourse on the Method in 1637 and Meditations on First Philosophy in … See more