Thomas Aquinas Impact On Western Thought Through Time Philosophy Essay

Thomas Aquinas Impact On Western Thought Through Time Philosophy Essay St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher and theologian living between 1225 -1274 of the medieval period. Aquinas began his education at Montecassino, a monastery which became his first battle site. Thomas was later transferred to the University of Naples in France; this is where he came into contact with a newly found mendicant order of Preachers or Dominicans, and Aristotles philosophy. Aquinas became a Dominican, against the will of his family and eventually went to Paris to study, before going to Cologne with Albert the Great, a philosopher whose interest in Aristotle reinforced Aquinass own predilections  [1]  . Aquinas was a classical proponent of the natural theology at the onset of European Scholasticism, and is regarded as the founder of the Thomism school of philosophy and theology. Aquinass philosophy significantly influenced subsequent Christian theology, particularly that of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as Western philosophy in general. Thomass most signif icant and enduring works include the Summa Theologica  [2]  , an article that systematically expounds his mysticism of the quinquae viae and the Summa Contra Gentiles. Aquinas was well known for his contribution to Christian theology, but he was also a classical Aristotelian as well as an Empiricist, and he significantly influenced these two ideas of Western thought. Aquinas believed that truth is well revealed through both natural revelation and supernatural revelation-through faith as in the scripture, for these two elements, Aquinas was careful enough to separate them in a complementary rather than contradictory manner. He argued that, although Gods existence and His attributes may be easily deduced, specific aspects such as the Trinity and Incarnation may only be revealed through special revelation. As mentioned above, His two outstanding works are the Summa Contra Gentiles translated and published in English as the On the Truth of the Catholic Faith, and the Summa Theologica known as the Compendium of Theology. The former piece was broadly intended for non-Christians; while the latter significantly addresses Christians and is more of a philoso phical work on Christian theology. Aquinas utilized scriptures and traditions of the Catholic Church as the raw material data of his theology. He believed that these materials were produced by Gods revelation to humans throughout history. In addition, faith and reason are the two fundamental tools, which are necessary for processing and interpreting this raw data of theology with an aim of obtaining the true knowledge of God. Aquinas blends Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology to argue that God reveals himself to humans through nature. This implies that Gods nature can be studied through rational thinking as well as though the study of nature  [3]  . Aquinas proposed five statements regarding Gods divine qualities from his classical consideration of what God is not. This include: God is simple, He is devoid of matter or form or even body and soul; God is perfect, deficient of nothing; God is infinite, He is unlimited as He created all things, but humans are limited being, physically, rationally, and emotionally; God is immutable, inept of change with regard to His in nature and character; and God is one, His essence is the same as His existence. Aquinas also pioneered the Principle of Double Effect when it comes to ethical decisions. According to this principle, when an otherwise justifiable act such as self-defense is likely to cause an effect, then one may basically be obliged to avoid it for example if it results to the death of another  [4]  . Modern philosophy is a reaction in favor or against Aquinass views As outlined above, Thomas Aquinas has shaped modern worlds philosophy especially when it comes to theology and ethical philosophy. At large, modern worlds philosophy began in the sixteenth century; but nobodys system of philosophy has entirely corresponded to everybodys perception of certainty; bit to what, if set aside for mens perception, common men may not agree on what is common sense. Against all this, St. Thomass philosophy distinctively stands based on the universal common conviction that supports brotherhood of men, in their common consciousness that, all things attested by the ability of the senses originate from God  [5]  . Rene Descartess argument Rene Descartes is regarded as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Descartess system of thought depicts a major break away from all previous philosophical systems, mainly, away from Aristotle and Aquinas philosophy. For example, unlike Aquinas, a proponent for the tabula rasa model of the human mind (At birth, the human mind resembles a blank recording device and as one grows it records data from sensory experience), Descartes posited that human beings are born with innate thoughts and ideas, these ideas exist in their minds even at birth  [6]  . Further, Thomas Aquinas argued that if humans had innate ideas of Gods existence, then proof of His existence would be inappropriate and faith would be irrelevant as human beings would have direct knowledge and experience of Gods essence and nature. Thus, Descartes was trying to offer the world a philosophy which he thought was compatible with both the new world of science and the convention of Christian faith. However, his philosophy was hi deous to the Church. As a result, in the same way the Roman Catholic Church had condemned Galileo in 1633, thirty years later, it added Descartes work on its Index of proscribed reading material. John Lockes argument John Locke, an advanced philosopher of the seventeenth-century, effectively presents his argument against Descartes innate ideas, in a manner that is similar to that of Aquinas. Locke criticize Descartes claim that God must exist based on Descartes idea of God in his mind even though he (Descartes) has disconnected his mind from his senses. Locke argued that, holding such a claim is the same as believing that millions of gods must exist just because millions of different minds have ideas of millions of different gods. However, Locke used Descartes argument that in order to have a clear and distinctive idea of something one must have a clear understanding of that which they are having an idea about. Locke uses scripture to argue that in the Bible, no other belief clearly distinguishes a believer from an unbeliever except the belief that, Jesus is the Messiah, and He (Jesus), is able to save everyone who formed this belief with no requirement of other beliefs whatsoever  [7]  . Immanuel Kant argument From research, it is clear that St. Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant were born almost half a millennium apart and, on the exterior, the styles of argumentation of the two philosopher and their broad approaches to philosophy emerge as being equally distinct from each other; nevertheless, both philosophers aimed to congeal the essential knowledge of God. Kants metaphysics legitimately attempted to develop a kind of critical science that would guarantee the truth of knowledge. Similarly, Aquinas succeeded in arguing that some of the worlds most closely held beliefs can be justified in the course of rational thinking; exclusively, he tried to generate a wide-ranging argument in favor of the Gods existence, which supports the most central doctrines of the Catholic Church. Comparing Thomas Aquinas to Kent, one can argue that Thomas was more ensconced in the conventional hierarchy of the Catholic Church and interpretations of Gods existence than Immanuel Kant. Thomas main focus was placed u pon the issues and concerns regarding the relationship between God and man, in as well as the relationship between God and the natural world. Basically, he aimed at investigating the various aspects of the world that casts doubt to the existence of God, and as a result, why Gods existence is questioned so often. Ultimately, Aquinas writings would then be adopted as the accepted books of theology for the Catholic Church, and consequently, would strongly possess a kind of stigma for either those who were not Christians or not Catholics, especially after the protestant reorganization. Indisputably, in as much as, Aquinas arguments were definitely rational. This implies that, he purposed to draw an abstract of claims regarding the nature of God and mankind by examining physical anomalies. This distinguished him strongly from most of the modern philosophers, particularly with regard to the fact that he supposed that true faith required rational investigation; however, it made him similar to Immanuel Kant, who also believed that faith in God and salvation require critical analysis. Aquinass impact on the Catholic Churchs philosophy Aquinas believed that Gods existence is neither patently obvious nor is it beyond proof. In the Summa Theologica, Aquinas outlines five rational proofs (quinquae viae) for the existence of God, these include: God is an unmoved mover (ex motu), as everything that is moved is moved by God, the source of all motion. God is the cause of all things; this is argued though the argument of the first cause (ex causa), where everything that is caused is caused by God. Through the argument from contingency, Aquinas argues that Gods existence is not contingent of any other being. But the universe contains contingent beings as something cannot come of nothing. God is the pinnacle of perfection; it is from this lesser degrees of perfection derive their meaning. This is outlined in the argument from degree. The final argument is the teleological argument, also known as the argument from design (ex fine). According to this argument, all natural bodies in the world are in themselves unintelligent, and are guided by God to act towards ends rationally. Aquinas understood that Jesus Christ was ultimately divine and He (Jesus Christ) is not simply a human being or merely God in humanly inhabiting the body of Christ. Nonetheless, Aquinas posited that Christ also had a justly cogent human soul, resulting in a duality of natures that endured even after Incarnation. In essence, these two natures existed concurrently yet distinctively in a single existent human body. Aquinas is also credited for defining the four cardinal virtues: prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude. For these values, Aquinas held that they are revealed by nature and are and necessary for everyone. Further, he highlighted three theological virtues; faith, hope and charity, which are the chiefest, supernatural and distinctive from other virtues as their object is God. Furthermore, Aquinas distinguished four kinds of law: natural law-discovered by reason, eternal law- Gods decree that governs all creation), human law-natural law as applied by governments and institutions and divine law-this is specifically revealed in the scriptures  [8]  . According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate goal of human existence is to find eternal union and fellowship with God. He believes in life after death for those who have experienced Christs salvation and redemption while living on earth. The Incarnation is an adorable vision which will be granted to Christians as a perfect and everlasting happiness through understanding of the very quintessence of God. Thus, during an individuals existence on the earth, their life must be inclined toward right things such as peace, holiness and charity.

A Conflict Case Study Analysis and Proposal

A destructive conflict was created by the parties involved in the case study 2 section 2 (Erbe, 2003) when they failed to recognize the sole purpose of a spiritual community. The spiritual community's sole purpose was to unite the members by leading them through a common belief and offering them any support they may require.The spiritual leader was charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the goals of the community were achieved. Instead of her using the powers bestowed to her to perform her role and the duties expected of her, she started to abuse these powers and instead of uniting the staff members and drawing them close to her, she scared them off. She started using her power to abuse and intimidate the subordinate staff in her office.This continued for such a long time that it became a ritual. It was in fact perceived that the spiritual leader's intention was to hurt those individuals she thought did not belong to her circle.The issue of a fired staff came at the time th e spiritual leader was also serving as the leader of the community. The spiritual leader's apparent abuse of power is said to have caused the occurrence of the incident.We can not conclusively say that the complaining group's accusations made against the leader are accurate as no face to face interview with the spiritual leader to get her side of the story and comment had yet been conducted. This implies that facts about the true motive behind the sacking of the staff member and whether bullying really is going on are still unknown.Besides, the complaining parties might be exaggerating in describing their accusations against the spiritual leader as there always is possibility of cognitive and perceptual distortions occurring where such issues are concerned. This calls for further investigation into the matter as it is necessary to establish the truth and also find out if the perceptual and distortion theories are present in the issue.It is important to note that the organization com prised of only women. However, the culture of the organization is more masculine than feminine. This is based on the on the way the leader executed her leadership responsibilities. Her expectations of the staff members were more rigid than what is normally expected of feminine organizations (Erbe, 2003).The leader created power and status, had matched experience to commanded attention and built ideas competitively which is characteristic of masculine organizations (Erbe. 2003). These leadership traits hence made the spiritual leader masculine as she did not exert the female leadership skills that are usually more dynamic.This caused her to conflict with the rest of the staff members as her version of leadership was not favourable with them (Erbe, 2003). Â   These differences in the way the leadership was handled caused the first phase of conflict which proceeded with time as in the escalating destructive conflict model created by Erbe.The conflict proceeded as members of the staff who were not in the leader's circle got scared of opposing her abuse and bullying. This resulted to repeated abuse by the leader as no one was able to stand up to her. This eventually triggered accumulation of ill feelings against the leader amongst the staff members.This was even made worse by the fact that the spiritual leader was not meeting the staff member's root expectation of her. Usually people expect spiritual leaders to be kind, fair, just and humane, this was however not so with this leader.The complaining group was later empowered when a law graduate entered the conflict and joined their side. She made them aware of heir legal rights which they did not know before. She explained to them that they could file a suite against the spiritual leader for abusing them.This was an empowerment to the complaining party as they got to know that there was a venue for them to air their grievances and concerns with the hope of getting help. More abuse from the leader were reported, for example there is an instance where she is said to have verbally abused a secretary who later went to seek counselling as she had been deeply hurt by the abuse.The peak of the conflict was experienced when one of the staff members was found with a gun. Violence which is known to be the ultimate manifestation of a conflict usually triggers destructive and undesired dynamics (Erbe, 2003).

Alexander the Great Essay Topics Options

Alexander the Great Essay Topics Options That is the reason we must ask the opinion of others. To make things easy, we've put them in various categories so that you are able to choose what works best for you, with topics on a number of themes. In the end, you must locate a topic that will somehow link your aims and aspirations with what's extended in the college that you aspire to join. Evidence to demonstrate my opinion is the way he killed thousands and thousands of innocent people which were slaughtered by Alexander and his army in only four big battles. You should produce an open-ended research question. In today's world, many tools for study on the web and research have been developed, and they're slowly replacing the library for a source of research material. The same as every book really needs main motif, your research must have the most important question that you will answer at the end. The same is true for your research. Go with your gut and select a subject which really is most effective for you. After you have read and understood all that is expected from you, you'll be in a position to choose a topic that will allow you to attain all of your desired benefits. There are a few important things to think about before you select the research topic. Here, you don't will need to open an account. Assessment and Reflection The teacher utilizes the LDC rubric to evaluate the students' writing and offer feedback to help students enhance their performance. In some instances, diaries are the very best source of information. Although it may be intimidating to seek out the support of your instructor in selecting a topic, he or she's always keen to aid you in excelling in your academics. Thus, ask questions and make certain you understand your assignments before picking the topic. Before you proceed and write your own question, pay attention to the 3 unique types. You ought to consider all the options. The fundamental trick of making some bit of writing impressive and exciting is to concentrate on the subject of your interest. Just like any bit of writing, choose something which you've got an interest in. As soon as we have worked on something for a long duration of time, our eyes are swimming. Put down all your ideas and ideas. Then they went on to discuss the usage of more technology in school. The topic which you choose to pursue will to a particular extent determine how much you're likely to write. Medical marijuana the advantages and disadvantages. The Secret to Alexander the Great Essay Topics Alexander The Great is vital because he was made a king at the time of twenty. He didn't hesitate. He is given credit for creating the phalanx style of battle. He the great was one of the intelligent, tough and determined leaders in the world history. The Macedonian king's degree of intelligence, the total amount of land which he acquired, and the simple fact he was a military genius, is a number of the absolute most important elements to the life of Alexander the Great. As a consequence the big country disintegrated after his death. Following that, the world was never the exact same again. The reason for death isn't known. High school essay writing is a frequent classroom activity and is also part o f several normal examinations. Following are a few essays students may read, not just to help them see how such writing is done in real life, but also to find out more about the world around them. When it is merely too tough for you, you might purchase an essay online from our writing service. Writing a research essay means being a specialist in a little place. Writing an essay about large school another expertise in your life may be far more difficult than it seems. All you need to do is contact an expert essay writer at MyPerfectWords. To get started writing an excellent rhetorical analysis essay, the first thing which springs to mind is the rhetorical analysis essay topic ideas. The most difficult thing for those students of high school when writing their research papers is to locate a topic for writing it.

Hopewell Culture North Americas Horticulturalists

The Hopewell culture (also known as Hopewellian or Adena culture) of the United States refers to a prehistoric society of Middle Woodland (100 BCE–500 CE) horticulturalists and hunter-gatherers. They were responsible for building some of the largest indigenous earthworks in the country, and for obtaining and trading imported, long distance source materials from Yellowstone Park to the Gulf coast of Florida. Key Takeaways: Hopewell Hunter-gatherer and horticulturalists in the American eastern woodlands between 100 BCE–500 CE  Built numerous large earthworks, which were likely ceremonial centers  Lived in small dispersed settlements  Built and maintained the Hopewell Interaction Sphere, a trade network in exotic raw materials that spanned nearly the entire North American continent Distribution of Sites View of Mound City at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, near what is today the town of Chillicothe Ohio. Marilyn Angel Wynn / Nativestock / Getty Images Plus Geographically, Hopewell residential and ceremonial sites are located in the American eastern woodlands, concentrated along the river valleys within the Mississippi watershed including parts of the Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio Rivers. Hopewell sites are most common in Ohio (where they are called the Scioto tradition), Illinois (Havana tradition) and Indiana (Adena), but they can also be found in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The largest cluster of earthworks are found in the Scioto River Valley of southeastern Ohio, an area which is considered by scholars the Hopewell core. Settlement Patterns The Hopewell built some truly spectacular ritual mound complexes out of sod blocks—the best known is the Newark mound group in Ohio. Some Hopewell mounds were conical, some were geometric or effigies of animals or birds. Some of the groups were enclosed by rectangular or circular sod walls; some may have had a cosmological significance and/or an astronomical alignment. Generally, the earthworks were solely ritual architecture, where nobody lived full time. There is clear ritual activity at the mounds, though, that included the manufacture of exotic goods for burials, as well as feasting and other ceremonies. Hopewell people are thought to have lived in small local communities of between 2–4 families, dispersed along the fringes of rivers and connected to one or more mound centers by shared material cultural and ritual practices. Rockshelters, if available, were often used as hunting campsites, where meat and seeds may have been processed before returning to base camps. Hopewell Economy Mica Raptor Talon Effigy, Hopewell Culture, Ohio, North America. John Weinstein  © The Field Museum At one time, archaeologists thought that anyone who built such mounds must have been farmers: but archaeological exploration has clearly identified the builders of the mounds as horticulturalists, who tended stands of seed crops. They built earthworks, participated in long-distance exchange networks, and only periodically traveled to earthworks for social/ceremonial gatherings. Much of the diet of the Hopewell people was based on hunting white-tailed deer and freshwater fish, and nuts and seeds, supplemented by the tending and shifting slash and burn methods of growing local seed-bearing plants such as maygrass, knotweed, sunflowers, chenopodium and tobacco. The Hopewell people were semi-sedentary, who exercised a varying degree of seasonal mobility, following the various plants and animals as the weather changed throughout the year. Artifacts and Exchange Networks Winneswissa Falls, in Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota. John Brueske / iStock / Getty Images Archaeologists still debate how much of the exotic materials found in the mounds and residential areas got there as a result of long-distance trade or as a result of seasonal migrations or long distance travels. But, quite nonlocal artifacts are found in many Hopewell sites, and were manufactured into a variety of ritual objects and tools. Appalachian mountains: Black bear teeth, mica, steatiteUpper Mississippi valley: Galena and pipestoneYellowstone: Obsidian and bighorn sheep hornsGreat Lakes: Copper and silver oresMissouri River: Knife River FlintGulf and Atlantic coasts: Marine shell and sharks teeth Hopewell craft specialists made pottery, stone tools, and textiles, in addition to exotic ritual artifacts. Status and Class It seems inescapable: there is evidence for the presence of an elite class. A few individuals were buried at the earthen mound sites and interred in complex burial mounds, with lots of exotic and imported grave goods, and show evidence of receiving elaborate mortuary. Their bodies were processed in ritual center charnel houses before being buried in mounds with exotic funerary offerings. What additional control those individuals had while living, apart from earthbound construction, is difficult to establish. They may have been political leaders of kin-based councils  or non-kin sodalities; or they may have been members of some hereditary elite group who were responsible for the feasting and earthwork construction and maintenance. Archaeologists have used stylistic variations and geographic localities to identify tentative peer polities, small collections of groups that were centered around in one or more mound centers, particularly in Ohio. Relations between the groups were typically nonviolent among different polities  based on the relative lack of traumatic injuries on Hopewell skeletons. The Rise and Fall of the Hopewell The reason why hunter-gatherer/horticulturalists built big earthworks is a puzzle—the earliest mounds in North America were built by their predecessors, whose archaeological remains are called the American Archaic tradition. Scholars suggest that mound construction occurred as a way to bind small communities together, communities who were mostly confined to waterways, but were too small to build social connections required to support one another in hard times, or to find appropriate marriage partners. If so, then economic relationships might have been established and maintained through public ritual, or mark territory or corporate identity. Some evidence exists suggesting at least some of the leaders were shamans, religious leaders. Little is known about why Hopewell mound-building ended, about 200 CE in the lower Illinois Valley  and about 350–400 CE in the Scioto river valley. There is no evidence of failure, no evidence of widespread diseases or heightened death rates: Basically, the smaller Hopewell sites simply aggregated into larger communities, located away from the Hopewell heartland, and the valleys were largely abandoned. Hopewell Archaeology Hopewell archaeology began in the early 20th century with the discovery of spectacular artifacts of stone, shell, and copper from mounds in a complex on Mordecai Hopewells farm on a tributary stream of the Scioto River in southcentral Ohio. Indigenous peoples living in the region today have argued that Hopewell is not an acceptable name for the ancient people, but have not as yet agreed on an acceptable alternative. There are hundreds if not thousands of archaeological sites associated with Hopewell. Here are a few of the better known. Ohio: Mound City, Tremper mounds, Fort Ancient, Newark Earthworks, Hopewell site, Great Serpent Mound (partly)Illinois: Pete Klunk, Ogden FettieGeorgia: KolomokiNew Jersey: Abbott Farm Selected Sources Boulanger, Matthew T., et al. Geochemical Analysis of Mica Source Specimens and Artifacts from the Abbott Farm National Historic Landmark (28ME1). American Antiquity 82.2 (2017): 374–96. Print.Emerson, Thomas, et al. The Allure of the Exotic: Reexamining the Use of Local and Distant Pipestone Quarries in Ohio Hopewell Pipe Caches. American Antiquity 78.1 (2013): 48–67. Print.Giles, Bretton. A Contextual and Iconographic Reassessment of the Headdress on Burial 11 from Hopewell Mound 25. American Antiquity 78.3 (2013): 502–19. Print.Herrmann, Edward W., et al. A New Multistage Construction Chronology for the Great Serpent Mound, USA. Journal of Archaeological Science 50.0 (2014): 117–25. Print.Magnani, Matthew, and Whittaker Schroder. New Approaches to Modeling the Volume of Earthen Archaeological Features: A Case-Study from the Hopewell Culture Mounds. Journal of Archaeological Science 64 (2015): 12–21. Print.Miller, G. Logan. Hopewell Bladelets: A B ayesian Radiocarbon Analysis. American Antiquity 83.2 (2018): 224–43. Print.---. Ritual Economy and Craft Production in Small-Scale Societies: Evidence from Microwear Analysis of Hopewell Bladelets. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 39 (2015): 124–38. Print.Wright, Alice P., and Erika Loveland. Ritualised Craft Production at the Hopewell Periphery: New Evidence from the Appalachian Summit. Antiquity 89.343 (2015): 137–53. Print.Wymer, Dee Anne. On the Edge of the Secular and the Sacred: Hopewell Mound-Builder Archaeology in Context. Antiquity 90.350 (2016): 532–34. Print.