Posted: Oct 31, 2013 9:21 pm
OlivierK wrote:The thing that gets me about modern Thomists is that they implicitly admit that Catholicism has come up with nothing better in the many centuries since. Given the utter paucity of Aquinas' arguments (the Quinque Viae fail even the most basic logical scrutiny), it says a lot that many Catholics think he's still the cream of their crop.
Most Catholics have no clue about what Aquinas said or that Aristotle has so much influence on their ideas on morality. But Aquinas's work remains the foundation for Catholic morals and an effort by some outspoken priests and other Catholics are trying to bring back the middle ages by breathing new life into his way of "thought". Two notable ones are Father Robert Barron, who has become a visible Catholic spokesman, and Edward Feser. They are very effective at convincing people that Aquinas represents logic at its best. Being a Catholic, I'm hoping that Pope Francis can at least take some of the air at of this middle age revival - not that Thomas ever went away.