Argument and Dialectic (Aquinas 101)

Our world is filled with conflicting opinions and perspectives about many things, and the clash of opinions and perspectives leads many people to despair about the possibility of finding any truth. But the ancient philosopher Aristotle saw in the conflict of opinions not a reason to despair about finding truth, but precisely an opportunity to find it. Aristotle was the first to codify a process of inquiry called dialectic. It was a form of investigation he had learned from his predecessors. Aristotle thought that all human beings were born into an ocean of truth, and no one is so ignorant as to have no truth. The problem is that we have a great deal of truth, but it is out of order in our experience and in our minds. That is why there are so many conflicting opinions about things. We are all born into a cultural web consisting of experience, literature, music, laws, common opinions, sayings of the wise, and lessons of life that we pick up for ourselves along the way. As we grow in understanding of the world, we always run into difficulties or puzzles about things. For example, we are taught that snow melts when the temperature is higher than 32 degrees, but then we learn that on the top of the Rocky Mountains there is snow and the temperature is higher than 32 degrees. What we have here is a difficulty or puzzle that needs to be resolved. Aristotle thought of all progress and understanding as a matter of confronting these kinds of difficulties, wrestling with them, drawing distinctions and gaining insights. In the example of snow, we need to distinguish between temperature at sea level and temperatures at higher altitudes and discover the difference that barometric pressure makes in the melting of snow. Down through the centuries, Christians have faced similar difficulties and puzzles, confronting them both in the sources of divine revelation and in the philosophical tradition. Certain scriptural passages, for example, can seem to conflict, or two fathers of the church can seem to have conflicting interpretations of the same passage. These are exactly the sorts of difficulties that are part of the human process of growing in understanding. What we need to do is to let the sources of revelation and the wisdom of the philosophers speak to us and confront the puzzles and difficulties they pose, and wrestle with them and draw distinctions and acquire new insights. When the texts of Aristotle were rediscovered in the West in the High Middle Ages, the process of dialectic that he codified was rediscovered as a tool for systematically working through puzzles and difficulties. But now the process of dialectic was used by Christians to work through the puzzles and difficulties confronting us in the sources of divine revelation and the wisdom of the philosophers. The result was a new form of theological inquiry that we find in the scholastics, and especially in Thomas Aquinas. This is the history behind the format of the disputed question we find in his works. First, we pose a question. Second, we confront puzzles and difficulties. Third, we draw distinctions in order to acquire insights. Then we're in a position to address our original difficulties. The calling of Saint Thomas Aquinas was to pose all the most relevant questions, face all the most relevant difficulties involved in each question, and draw all the relevant distinctions. That was his intellectual achievement. And for the most part, his answers are perennial truths. For readings, podcasts, and more videos like this, go to Aquinas101.com. While you're there, be sure to sign up for one of our free video courses on Aquinas. And don't forget to like and share with your friends, because it matters what you think.

Channel: The Thomistic Institute

Views: 42,818

Keywords: #aquinas, #thomasaquinas, #philosophy, #theology, #awesome, #wisdom, #faith, #reason, #science, #thomism, #summatheologiae, #scholasticism, #saint, #belief, #christianity, #catholicism, #aquinas 101, #aquinas101, #argument, #dialectic, #aristotle, Argument and Dialectic, argument, dialectic, aquinas 101, thoelogy, thomas aquinas, thomistic institute, aquinas

Id: RY9vokziX3I

Length: 4min 37sec (277 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 30 2019