St. Thomas Aquinas

All knowledge is a posteriori

Was influenced by the teachings of Aristotle

Rejected Plato’s idea that forms exist separately from the physical world

Existence over essence (materialism)

Agreed with Aristotle’s Theory of Four Causes (Material, Formal, Efficient, Final)

Laid the groundwork for the empiricist movement with views that were radical for the times

Believed that although knowledge begins with sense experience and perception, it can grow beyond the sensory world when reason is applied to it.

Believed in inductive reasoning to find universals, or general conclusions.

Summa Theologica

Was Aquinas' most comprehensive work and presented all of this viewpoints.

Knowledge is a kind of being, a modification

There are two types of knowledge: intellectual and sense knowledge

Sense knowledge can be broken down into sense memory, sense consciousness, instinct and imagination.

Intellectual knowledge can be broken down into abstract (ideals, opinions) and general (commonly accepted facts)

Was a 13th century Dominican Monk and worked within a very strict Christian framework

Believes that God exists and is omnipresent as well as all knowing (Summa Theologica)

5 ways to prove that God exists: Motion, Cause, Contingency, Perfection, Order

Thought the world was intelligible and orderly because God created it

God is a perfect being without flaw, and undying presence

God's essence IS his existence

Believed that happiness could only be achieved through self knowledge and the awareness of God

Believed that reason was given to humans to seek out God.

The human is a union of soul and body

The soul can develop its own beliefs and knowledge through sense experience

Intellect is embedded in an immaterial soul

There are no Platonic forms, there is only the nature of God

Knowledge of individuals is prior to the knowledge of universals

It is impossible for the human mind to understand anything without developing mental images (phantasms

Phantasms, whether produced intentionally or unintentionally are our way of experiencing and learning things.