托马斯·阿奎那研究

Analogical Mentality and Aquinas' Way of Thinking

Antonio Olmi

Abstract: Is there such a thing as "natural reason?" From a realistic point of view, it seems hardly disputable to admit the existence of acommon human nature: otherwise, how could we speak about mankind as a whole? How could we identify a human being, when we meet one? Themost relevant and distinctive quality of human nature is reason: "natural" reason, because it belongs to everyone, whatever their place of birth,their culture, and the historical period of their life. The universal validity of natural reason is founded on an intuitive grasp of the so-called "firstprinciples of knowledge"; and, in order to draw from them logically and ethically coherent conclusions, it is necessary to adopt an appropriatemode of thought-an appropriate "mentality". In the development of the Western culture it is possible to identify four "mentalities": the "analytical"mentality, the "synthetic" mentality, the "dialectic" mentality, the "analogical" mentality. Univocal mentalities (especially analytical and dialectical)have not led the West to the attainment of wisdom, but rather have distorted and diverted the Western quest for truth; the real greatness of theWestern culture can only be appreciated through a deep understanding and an intense practice of the analogical mentality, the best example ofwhich is to be found in the work of St.Thomas Aquinas.

Keywords: Human Nature; Natural Reason; First Principles of Knowledge

What is "Natural Reason"?

Quite a few contemporary Western philosophers and opinion-makers believe that, although the existence of "nature" in the physical sensecannot be put into discussion, there is no such thing as "nature" in the anthropological sense: man is the ever-changing product of himself, of hishistory, of his own creative capacity of self-transcending. According to this view, there is nothing "essential" in common among all human beings:"mankind" is only a generic expression, and its members are "human" because of certain behavioural features, which could also be exhibited byanimals or machines.