Neo-scholasticism facts for kids
Neo-scholasticism (also called neo-Thomism) is a movement that brought back and developed medieval scholasticism. It focused a lot on the ideas of Thomas Aquinas. This revival of Catholic theology and philosophy began in the second half of the 19th century.
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What is Neo-Scholasticism?
Neo-scholasticism is a way of thinking that came back into style in the late 1800s. It's based on the ideas of thinkers from the Middle Ages, especially Thomas Aquinas. These thinkers used a special method called scholasticism to understand God, the world, and human life.
Why did Scholasticism decline?
During the Middle Ages, scholasticism was the main way people studied philosophy and theology. But around the 15th and 16th centuries, new ideas like humanism became popular. Some people started to see scholasticism as too strict or old-fashioned.
However, scholastic philosophy never completely disappeared. There was a smaller revival in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thinkers like Francisco de Vitoria and Francisco Suárez kept these ideas alive. Also, the Dominican Order always continued to teach the ideas of Thomas Aquinas.
Why did it come back?
In the mid-1800s, people became interested in scholastic thought again. This happened partly because some new ideas, called "Modernism," seemed to go against traditional Christian beliefs. Thinkers like René Descartes and Immanuel Kant had introduced new ways of thinking.
What was "Modernism" in the Church?
"Modernism" in the Catholic Church wasn't one single teaching. But it included ideas like:
- The belief that God's revelations (messages) continue even after the time of the apostles.
- The idea that religious rules (dogmas) could change over time.
- Using a historical way to study the Bible.
Pope Pius X strongly disagreed with these ideas. In 1907, he called Modernism "the sum of all heresies."
Many thinkers believed that the best way to deal with Modernism was to bring back scholastic theology. They felt that Aquinas's writings were the best way to understand true Catholic philosophy and theology.
Where did it start?
This new interest in scholasticism was very strong in Italy at first. Gaetano Sanseverino was a key leader in this movement in Naples. Joseph Kleutgen, a German Jesuit who taught in Rome, also argued that modern philosophy was hurting Catholic theology. He believed the best solution was to return to Aquinas's scientific methods.
Many books and articles were written by people like Giovanni Maria Cornoldi and Giuseppe Pecci. These Italian writers focused a lot on the deeper philosophical ideas of scholasticism.
How did the Popes support it?
The Popes also supported this movement. Pope Pius IX praised it in his letters. Important Church decisions like the Immaculate Conception (1854) and papal infallibility (1870) showed a move away from Modernist ideas.
The biggest push came from Pope Leo XIII. In 1879, he wrote an important letter called Aeterni Patris. In this letter, he strongly supported neo-scholasticism. He called for "Christian philosophy to be restored according to the spirit of St Thomas." This letter was a major turning point.
Core Ideas of Neo-Scholasticism
Neo-scholasticism focuses on careful study, clear terms, and arguments that start from basic truths. A main idea is that objective truth is real and we can know it. It aimed to bring back the main teachings of 13th-century scholasticism.
Here are some of its key principles:
- God's Nature: God is pure perfection and completely different from everything else. Only God can create and keep all other beings alive. God knows everything that has happened, is happening, will happen, and everything that is possible.
- Understanding the World: Everything that exists is a unique, individual thing. For example, an oak-tree has a core reality, and then other things like its size, shape, and roughness are added to it. All oak-trees share certain basic parts. Our minds group them into a species and then into a larger group (genus) based on common features. This is how scholasticism explains how we understand general ideas from specific things.
- Change and Purpose: Things change and grow. An oak-tree grows from a small seed. What is actually in the tree now was potentially there from the beginning. The tree's life functions continue, but eventually, it will die. From its decayed trunk, new things will grow. This idea of "matter and form" helps explain how bodies change. Everything in the universe has a purpose, known to God.
- Human Nature: Humans are made of a body (matter) and a soul (form). We can do higher-level things like knowing and choosing. Through our senses, we see specific things, like this oak-tree. Through our intellect, we understand the general idea of "oak-tree." Our ability to think abstractly shows that our soul is spiritual and immortal. This is the basis for logic and how we gain knowledge.
- Free Will and Happiness: After knowing, we desire things. Our will can be free in some situations. Because of this freedom, we control our own future. Like all other beings, we have a goal to reach. We are morally expected to reach it, but not forced.
Natural happiness comes from fully developing our abilities to know and love. We should find God in this world because the physical world is what our intelligence is meant to understand. But beyond nature is grace, and our highest happiness will be directly seeing God. This is where philosophy ends and theology begins.
How Neo-Scholasticism Spread
From the time Aeterni Patris was published in 1879 until the 1920s, neo-scholasticism slowly became the main and most important philosophy in the Catholic Church.
On October 15, 1879, Pope Leo XIII created the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. He also ordered the publication of a special edition of Aquinas's complete works. The Pope expanded studies of Aquinas at the Collegium Divi Thomae de Urbe (which later became the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum). He started its Philosophy Faculty in 1882 and its Canon Law Faculty in 1896.
The ideas of Thomas Aquinas became more important than other "modern" ways of thinking. For example, Aquinas's ideas were preferred over those of Immanuel Kant. Other modern ideas, like ontologism and the ideas of Descartes, were also seen as flawed compared to Thomism.
The movement spread beyond Italy. It found supporters in Germany, Spain, Belgium, England, France, the United States, and other countries. In Louvain, Belgium, Pope Leo XIII started the Institut de philosophie in 1891. This institute taught Aquinas's ideas along with history and natural sciences.
Neo-Scholasticism in the Early 1900s
In the early 20th century, neo-Thomism became the official Catholic teaching. It was increasingly defined by its opposition to Modernism.
In July 1907, Pope Pius X issued a decree called Lamentabili sane exitu. This decree condemned 65 Modernist ideas. Two months later, he wrote the letter Pascendi Dominici Gregis. In it, he clearly condemned Modernism as the "synthesis of all heresies."
The anti-Modernist oath of 1910 was very important. It stayed in effect until 1966. In 1914, Pius X listed 24 philosophical statements. These statements summarized the main ideas of neo-scholasticism. They were to be taught in all colleges as basic elements of philosophy. In 1917, the Church's new Code of Canon Law said that Aquinas's teachings, methods, and principles should be used to teach philosophy and theology. Because of this, Thomist thought became the basis for textbooks in Catholic colleges and seminaries before Vatican II. It was also promoted to regular church members.
Different Interpretations within the Tradition
Some writers, like Edouard Hugon and Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, continued the traditional way of teaching Thomism. Others had different interpretations.
Authors like Étienne Gilson and Jacques Maritain explored new ways of understanding Aquinas from the 1920s to the 1950s. Gilson and Maritain taught and lectured in Europe and North America. They influenced many English-speaking Catholic philosophers.
Studying Thomas Aquinas's original ideas led some to believe that neo-Thomism didn't always perfectly reflect Aquinas's own thoughts. Writers like Marie-Dominique Chenu and Henri de Lubac argued this. At Vatican II, these new ideas were sometimes against traditional neo-Thomist thought.
However, many Thomists still continue in the neo-scholastic tradition today. Some recent supporters include Cornelio Fabro and Edward Feser. Because it is careful not to mix Aquinas's ideas with other philosophies, neo-scholastic Thomism is sometimes called strict observance Thomism.
See also
- Mortimer J. Adler
- Anthony Kenny
- Analytical thomism
