Thomism In 60 Seconds | Philosophy In (Almost) 60 Seconds

This video is the first in a series trying to summarize philosophical schools of thought in (approximately) 60 seconds. First up, is Thomism (= the philosophical school following the legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas). Please like, comment, share, and subscribe!

Thomism holds that the universe is made up of a hierarchy of diverse grades of being – from elements to plants to humans to angels – all of which are dependent upon the non-contingent absolute, self-subsistent being (God) who creates, sustains, and moves everything else which exists in accord with their nature. Further, that man himself is a microcosm within a macrocosm being a union of matter (body) and spirit (mind) which is the substantial but immaterial form of the body and destined for life after death. Man by nature desires to know reality and its highest truths and deepest causes (that is, ultimately, to know God) but this possibility stretches beyond this life and man’s natural capacities: thus, if man is to attain eternal happiness, he must be instructed by a divine faith that transcends philosophy, and his actions must be guided by a divine love that builds on and perfects nature through divine grace.

Thomism is theistic (affirms the existence of God), realist (holds that we can come to know a world apart from our heads), and essentialist (affirming formal and final, alongside material and efficient, causality).

Some contemporary Thomistic thinkers include John Haldane, Bernard Lonergan, Gaven Kerr, and Eleonore Stump.

[BeholdTheChrist]

GLORY BE TO THE FATHER, TO THE SON, AND TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD ALMIGHTY. HALLELUJAH. AMEN.

[PhilosophyforthePeople]

If you like the idea of our Philosopohy In (Almost) 60 Seconds series, please offer suggestions for the next installment.

[TriuneGodBeliever]

Dr. Peter Kreeft is also a beloved Thomist.

[PhilosophyforthePeople]

In the meantime, here are some resources for those interested in exploring Thomism.


Norris Clarke's The One and The Many
Eleonore Stump's Aquinas
John Haldane's Reasonable Faith (particularly chapter 2: A Thomistic Metaphysics)
Bernard Lonergan's Insight
Gaven Kerr's Aquinas's Way to God

[brendansheehan]

Man, I love this channel. Reading Stump on Aquinas right now. And Gavin is the man, obviously

[juhadexcelsior]

I don't understand why anyone would disagree with this

[brendansheehan]

For the next installment, could you just do breakdowns on realism, essentialism, teleology, etc, and why they are correct? Anyways, that's what I got. Plus, obviously, Natural Law could be cool.

[juanmanuelgonzalez]

I like the idea of these new series but not without the long-format videos being the pillar content 😅

[whitecast-pixf]

what can we understand from 60 minutes explanatory video about philosophy?

[catholic_based]

One on nihilism or neitzhe would be interesting as well

[TheBrunarr]

Hey Pat, if you haven't already, I'd recommend adding this channel to the channel list on your Pat Flynn channel/linking it in your About page on the Pat Flynn channel, so people who look through the Pat Flynn channel could find it easier. Just a suggestion, keep up the good work.

Also, I've been thinking about starting a blog myself and I've been thinking about using substack, but I'm not familiar with it. Does it cost money to sustain a blog on substack?