Abstract
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is reckoned as the scholastic philosopher and theologian par excellence who produced a comprehensive synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian philosophy that influenced and continues to influence Roman Catholic doctrine for centuries and was adopted as the official philosophy of the Church in 1917. The Doctrine of Creation provides the general metaphysical framework of most of his philosophical, theological, anthropological, and ethical inquiries for the notion of creation pervades his writings. There is the ongoing debate between the scientific evolutionists on the one side and fundamentalist Christians on the other. The Christians maintain that the theory of evolution contradicts the biblical account of the creation of the human beings whereas the evolutionists point to the mountain of scientific data which has been amassed in support of the theory of evolution. Who is currently winning this debate? This paper revisits the creation and evolution debate scrutinizing it through the lenses of Thomas Aquinas metaphysics of creation wherein evolution is placed within the ambit of creation.
Presenters
Reuel Rito SenoAssistant Professor, Theology and Philosophy Area, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Philippines
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
THOMAS AQUINAS, METAPHYSICS, CREATION, EVOLUTION
