The Aesthetical Philosophies of St Thomas Aquinas Essay Example for Free

The Aesthetical Philosophies of St Thomas doubting Thomas EssayThomist philosophical system as the only unfeigned Christian philosophy3 , regarded to the best of its kind. As we delved into the study of the aesthetics of Tomas doubting Thomas, the interesting thing about it that there seemed to be no singular book written about the topic among his great body of philosophical oeuvre. It likewise comport been said that he seemed to be not written a clear, specific aesthetic theory4 . heretofore his discernment of yellowish pink and aesthetics and his finesseistic personality are spread throughout and real some(prenominal) evident in his works. Now lays a problem for me, our contemporary era in the 21st blow has no relevant comparison to the knightly times. Our contemporary times with the technological advancements and societal developments and upheavals present comminuted resemblance to the conditions of the Middle Ages. To my mind the world we are living in, i. e. my life and my stylus of thinking, is anything but knightly. analyse the philosophies of St. Thomas, made me think if there is any significance of his aesthetic principles to my artistic future.Now comes the question do the aesthetic principles of St. Thomas still be relevant to our fickle fast-faced times of anything-is-possible and art-isover5 mentality? In these era of mobile phones, Internet, iPods, iPads and Digital Cameras, where beauty is a sinuous shape and titanium casings to to die-for, do integritas, proportio, and claritas6 still ring true to the contemporary artists like Vik Muniz7 , designers at Apple, or to the recent OSCARs best picture movie director of The Kings Speech, are they even applicable to other arts such as performance art like dance? What got me interested in this particular topic is stating the obvious I am curious if St.Thomas aesthetics and handle of beauty is still relevant to me? With a 700 years between us, can his teaching still have any impact to me? A newbie artist / graduate student. 3 4 5 Ralph McInerny, Thomas doubting Thomas Selected Writings (London Penguin Books, 1998) p. xxvii Umberto Eco, The Aesthetic of Thomas Aquinas (Milan Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1970) p. 19 Arthur Danto, The End of Art in the philosophic Disenfranchisement of Art ( tonic York Columbia Uni- versity Press, 1986) pp 85 6 7 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica Q39, Ar 8.Vik Muniz is a Brazilian operative who is famous for bringing multi-media artform to the wide acceptance of the public. See his TED video presentation of his life, work and artistic philosophy http//blog. ted. com/2007/04/20/vik_muniz_on_te/ Majella Salceda-Tresvalles emailprotected com UST Graduate School 4 Tomasso DAquino His fostering and professional life Thomas from the province Aquino was born in the thirteenth century Italy, in 1225, at a time of resurgence in the appreciation of the classical literature, philosophical writings and concepts.He was born to an aristocrat ic class, and having been well provided for, had been educated at the nearby monastery of Monte Cassino. He was exposed very early in his life to musical education thanks to the resources of his landed family. Having been honed early in rhetoric, grammar, dialectic in his trivium years and later, quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy8 , the appreciation of the fine arts of music, poetry and literature came very natural. Through his education that his aesthetic sense was developed.His early perceptiveness of musical harmony shows in his liturgical musical compositions later in his professional life. His solid orbit in rhetoric is well evident in his voluminous writings of the Summas, Commentaries, Letters, etc. All these presents us, in advance(p) people, a deep artistic appreciation of the many creative talents of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas wrote on his appreciation of beauty of the arts was coming from the breath of his education and experience and not merely comi ng from complimentary point of view of an observer or mere intellectual.Before becoming a friar himself he had already a highly-developed sense of artistic talent and aesthetics. Much was said about how Tomas became a Dominican, a mendicant order of friars, much to the consternation of his wealthy family who had designs for him to function a landlord himself or become an Abbot of the nearby Benedictine Abbey, Monte Cassino, much like his uncle the Abbot Sinibald. But Tomas had other plans. He became a Dominican, this ambition was instrumental to his success as the leading thinkers of all explanation. It was with the Dominicans that 8Ralph McInerny, editor, Thomas Aquinas Selected Writings, (London Penguin Books, 1998) pp. x Majella Salceda-Tresvalles emailprotected com UST Graduate School 5 his in-depth intellect was nurtured and encouraged and given credence. It was a match patently planned in heaven Tomas became a protege of Albertus Magnus, a giant among the intellectuals in the Dominican order. But before on, in his education at the University of Naples Tomas was introduced by one of his instructors, Master Lawrence, a Transylvanian, of to the great writings of Aristotle9.It similarly have to be noted that the classical philosophies at that time had a resurgence by way of Alexandria. The islamic scientists and scholars have been known to have and propagated the ideas championed by Plato, Aristotle 10, Plotinus, Boethius and many more. St. Albert the Great nurtured Tomas talent and intelligence to maturity. To mention a few of his compositions, The Office and Mass of Corpus Christi is surely the most admirable liturgical serve well ever composed, the Adoro Te touches deep emotion and has been considered as a great poetry.Tomas was not only have in his theology but also a master of prosody11 . Tomas became a bright young teacher himself after being conferred a master at the University of Paris. He was under the tutelage of his great mentor, Albert us Magnus and ultimately out-shined his master. A contemporary of Tomas was Giovanni Di Fidanza, who later became Bonaventure, a Franciscan who later became a saint himself. The two had a mutual respect for each other but that relationship was later tested by a spiritual controversy, which we will not be discussing, as the scope of this paper is limited.The two former classmates went on their separate directions, Thomas became a renowned teacher and philosopher, had two stints as regent master of the Parisian Dominican house and Bonaventure, a noted Theologian, eventually became the Minister General of the order of Franciscans. Both conduct parallel lives and both died in the same year, 1274, a mere four months of each other. Bonaventure was eventually declare a Doctor Seraphicus and we know Tomas is Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Universalis. St. Thomas died early without finishing his greatest work, the three part of Summa Theologica, about Christ.Around six months prior to his untimely 9 Peter Strather, Thomas Aquinas in 90 Minutes An Audiobook (Blackstone London, N. d. ) Ibid. David Knowles, The Evolution of the Medieval Thought 2nd ed. (Longman Group Essex, England, 10 11 1988), p235 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles emailprotected com UST Graduate School 6 death, he had another vision of God that changed his point-of-view. Apparently he had conversation with God while saying a mass, this vision had shown him the magnificence and grandeur of God. After which, he hanged his writing instruments, so to speak.His reasoning was that all his writings were mere straw compared to the majesty of God. Tomas was canonized a saint some fifty years after his death, but not without controversy within the theological community, largely brought by the Franciscans 12 and other theologian opposed to his theoglogy. But Pope Leo XIII, an vehement Thomist scholar, prevailed in 1879, citing in his encyclical Aeterni Patris that the theology of Thomas is philosophia perenis, whose philosophies are to be taught in all the religious schools from there on after.Thus, the prophesy of Albertus Magnus came true, that the dumb oxs bellowing will be perceive to the ends of the earth, and it is still being heard as of this day, loud and clear. 12 St. Thomas Aquinas, New Advent website, 7 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles emailprotected com UST Graduate School Medieval Concept of Beauty and Art Gothic duomo in Lyon, France (Photo Credit Majella Salceda-Tresvalles, 2008) Let us start by understanding the concept of beauty and art during the medieval times, the appreciation of beauty is very much different fromappreciation of arts. Way back in the classical times in Greece, Arts, or Ars, as it was known then, as techne ( , meaning craft)13 were related to craftmaking only, dissimilar what we know of art today. The artist then was a craftsman that churns the requirements of the religious to come up with tall(a) church buildinges, golden vestments and bejeweled chalices . The monarchs and landed too are among the privileged few that can afford to have splendiferous things to adorn their palaces and splendid residences.Medieval thought, like the classical thought, did not considered that art necessarily had to do with the return of beautiful things or stimulation of aesthetic pleasure. As Ars (art) signified a technique for constructing objects. If some of these objects appeared to be beautiful, this was a side issue. However this side issue is central to modern philosophy, to which the artistic experience is endlessly somehow connected with aesthetic experience. 14 13 14 Steve Shipps, (Re)Thinking Art A Guide for Beginners (USA Blackwell publish Ltd, 2008) pp. 4Eco, Aesthetic of Thomas Aquinas, pp. 3 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles emailprotected com UST Graduate School 8 A survey of the history of medieval aesthetics provides ample evidence of the two of the elements in medieval culture (1) philosophical aspect factor on beauty (2) a concrete a nd conscious awareness of the beauty of things and the aesthetic reality of art. few historian assert that the two are in fact independent of each other, the metaphysical reflection on beauty was something quite separate from the everyday, concrete aesthetic sensibility at that time.In the medieval times, the appreciation of beauty in the everyday living was grounded on the ordinary taste. It cannot be denied that the medievals had aesthetic sense, unless it must be noted too that during those times, they lack in the proper artistic semantics unlike what we have in our advanced era of the 21st century. But not knowing the terminologies does not mean that they did not admire what beauty was. One only has to survey the designs of medieval cathedrals, musical compositions, commissions to produce various metal functional implements, to agree that truly there was medieval aesthetics.The consolidation of the temporal pleasures to the theological beauty was very much evident in the Mid dle Ages, i. e. temporal pleasures admiration of the beauty of a church, theological beauty- church architectural design served to give praise to the divinity of God. If art could simultaneously instruct and delight (prodesse et delectare) this was because the medieval sensibility like the whole medieval culture as a whole, was an integrated sensibility. 16 This integration was used to the fore by the church, choosing the art in churches to simultaneously instruct and enhance worship.The Catholic church was the biggest benefactor or client for the artisans, art was used for religious, court and political purposes only. Whether one favors that the only appreciation of beauty was limited to theological aspects or only of this earth, or both, the apparent system of aesthetic sensibility, i. e. its limitations in semantics should be taken into account within the cultural framework of the medievals at the time. Lets face it, the wheels of history was sorrowful slowly during that time, and inventing new words and discovering new things took time.