On the Principles of Nature

by Thomas Aquinas

"On the Principles of Nature" is part of The Fig Classic Series on Medieval Theology.

Genres: Philosophy, Medieval, Theology, Metaphysics, Logic

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1255

About the author

Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and theologian of Italy and the most influential thinker of the medieval period, combined doctrine of Aristotle and elements of Neoplatonism, a system that Plotinus and his successors developed and based on that of Plato, within a context of Christian thought; his works include the Summa contra gentiles (1259-1264) and the Summa theologiae or theologica (1266-1273).

Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.

People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."

Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bussin’

[Francis E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, concise, and precise introduction to Aristotelian and Thomistic metaphysical terminology. Yet still a challenging read, often causing you to stop and think what St Thomas meant. He explains act, potency, form, matter, the efficient cause, the final cause, privation, substance, accidents, univocal predication, equivocal predication, analogical predication, etc.

This is a MUST read for anyone who wants to read the Summa Theologiae.

[David Montes Sori · Rating 3 out of 5]

En realidad es un libro demasiado complejo, he batallado bastante para captar y entender tantos conceptos diferentes y nuevos, tantas definiciones propias del autor, géneros nuevos, términos extraños y palabras nuevas que utiliza a lo largo de la lectura.
Todo es súper confuso y mucho de eso tiene que ver con la manera en que está escrito (y traducido) ya que estamos leyendo una obra que tiene casi 800 años de antigüedad.
No lo recomendaría en general, no porque sea malo o aburrido, sino porque su dificultad te puede hacer desertar fácilmente, aburrirte e incluso frustrarte; realmente tuve que tener la libreta enfrente de mi a cada momento e ir apuntando todo lo que iba aprendiendo, como si fuera una materia de la universidad con la cual batallaba demasiado, ya que todo es un mapa mental que tienes que ir construyendo para poder entender los puntos a loa que quiere llegar. Creo que incluso personas más cultas que yo en estos temas, como religiosos o teólogos han batallado con este tipo de libros, Santo Tomás tiene su fama por las grandes dudas que abrió y sus grandes debates que condujo, la manera en la que mete la física y metafísica de Aristóteles y otros grandes pensadores es increíble y la manera en que las desafía, analiza y desglosa es otro nivel que realmente no es para cualquiera.
A pesar de todo ha sido un libro del que he aprendido mucho, he nutrido muchos conceptos que tenía, me han surgido varias dudas o debates internos pero también he esclarecido varias incógnitas personales que tenía sobre Dios y algunos conceptos de metafísica, que si bien sé que no he entendido al cien por ciento, sé que por lo menos mi “canasta espiritual” ahora está más llena y se ha complementado de una manera única.

Torreón, Coah.
31 de Diciembre, 2021.
Útlimo libro del año.

[Felipe · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the principles of nature is a very short philosophical treatise by St. Thomas Aquinas that deals with the basic concepts of Aristotle's physical canon, namely the causes, principles of change, and generation/corruption. Perhaps due to a change of style when compared to the Greek philosopher, I found the text particularly more dense than expected, especially due to my familiarity with the content. Although, that may be because I've read this during what the Spanish calls siesta, lol. In short, it is a brief treatise summing up Aristotle physics that introduces the reader to Aquinas' apparently dense style of writing.

[Camila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es interesante leer filosofía cristiana antigua, simpatizo con ella sólo porque conozco el contexto y la única forma de estar de acuerdo con ciertas cosas es ponerles mis significados a sus términos, como cada vez que habla de "Dios". Se agradece su intelecto e ideas como parte del desarrollo filosófico occidental.

[亮君 · Rating 5 out of 5]

虽然只能看懂圣托马斯阿奎那《哲学基础》中的几十分之一，但是仍然有一种思维被开刀做手术，重组之后，仿佛多了一个器官去感受多维度世界的感觉。看完这本书之后，我甚至开始觉得翁贝托艾科的著作《玫瑰之名》中对于基督徒能不能笑的神学辩论十分幼稚了。

[David De Salvo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is clarity. Basic, but not easy, simple, but challenging.

[Jordan Coy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Aquinas’ attempt to follow in the line of Aristotle’s Categories or Prophery’s Isagoge. About 20 pages long, its a good place to start for understanding the categories Aquinas uses for the Summa and his other writings.

Book Notes/Terms and Concepts:

Potency- those which can be and are not are said to be; what could exist
Act- those which already exist are said to be; what does exist

Existence is twofold:
Substantial- essential
Accidental- non-essential

Matter- Both that which is in potency to substantial existence and that which is in potency to accidental existence
Prime Matter- that which is in potency to substantial existence
Per se- complete existence of itself

Form- everything from which something has existence whether that existence be substantial or accidental; that which gives existence to matter and causes existence in act.
Generation is a motion to form

3 things required for Generation:
Being in Potency--Matter
Non-exisitence in act-- Privation
That through which something comes to be in act-- Form

There are three principles of nature: matter, form and privation.

It is necessary that besides the matter and form there be some principle which acts. This is called the efficient, moving or agent cause, or that whence the principle of motion

Every agent, both natural and voluntary, intends an end, still it does not follow that every agent knows the end or deliberates about the end

There are four causes: material, efficient, formal and final
An example: a Bronze statue:
Material Cause- Bronze metal
Efficient Cause- Sculptor
Formal Cause- shape of the statue
Final Cause- Ceremony/decoration

Two causes, the material and the efficient, are prior by way of generation, but the form and the end are prior by way of perfection.

Two kinds of necessity:
Absolute-- That which proceeds from the causes prior by way of generation: the material and the efficient causes.
Conditional-- That which proceeds from causes posterior in generation, namely, the form and the end.

Something is predicated of many things in three ways:
Univocally-- same name and the same nature (ex. Animal is predicated of man and of donkey)
Equivocally-- same name but according to a different nature (dog is said of the animal that barks, a person of low standing, and of the constellation of stars)
Analogically-- many whose natures are diverse but which are attributed to one same thing (healthy is a description of the body, or blood, or food, but it does not signify entirely the same thing in all three).

4/5 Good primer on Thomist/Aristotelian metaphysical and logical categories

[Josh Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wording of this edition is difficult at times

Such a helpful, fundamental work for understanding Thomas. The wording of this translation could be better. There are free, online translations that are much more understandable if the reader hits a tough spot.