Philosophy Degree at Aquinas College

Following the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, members of Philosophy & Theology seek contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere: to contemplate and to hand the fruits of contemplation on to others. As St. Pope John Paul II expressed in Fides et Ratio, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” The need to integrate faith and reason—to rise on these two wings—originates in the nature of the human person, which is ordered to knowledge in itself and by God. Inspired by wonder and seeking the truth to be perfected in our nature, we follow Socrates in answering the charge, γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seauton)—know thyself—to give a λόγος (logos), a word, account, or reason in response to fundamental questions about reason and the person in relation to nature, and the good and flourishing of the individual and the community. Growth in addressing these questions pertaining to the truth about being leads us naturally to the realization of the truth about transcendent being: God known through natural reason and revelation in Christ, the “Word (λόγος/logos) made flesh” and “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” who alone shows us who we really are and sets us free. Following the Augustinian call to an intellectual life of faith seeking understanding (fides quaerens intellectum), our students obtain rigorous training in Classical philosophical and biblical languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Latin), and then in Logic, Ethics, Metaphysics, and the History of Philosophy while being rooted in Scripture, the soul of Theology, in line with the Catholic tradition. Inspired by the Truth of the Gospel we seek to contemplate the truth about being, to refute and oppose error, and to place ourselves at the service of Life and Love in and through Jesus Christ.

All full time Theology faculty have been offered and accepted an individual mandatum from ecclesiastical authority. In order to embody and transmit a “living Thomism,” our Philosophy Professors are formally trained scholars in the History of Philosophy and the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Our Philosophy and Theology Program works closely with our Aquinas College Catholic Studies Program and Campus Ministry in order to provide the most intellectually and spiritually rich experience possible for our students.

The Philosophy & Theology Department at Aquinas College is committed to the following goals:

1. Generally, to provide students with the skills of critical thinking and expression essential to Liberal Arts education. More particularly, by synthesizing the historical and systematic approaches of philosophy and theology, to provide a foundation so that students may engage important perennial philosophical and theological questions, and address them well in dialogue and in writing. These questions—such as what is Truth? Reality? The Human Person? The Good? Power? Justice? God? And, who is Jesus Christ?—are foundational to human flourishing in general, and for success in the particular disciplines. Acquiring the skills for answering them logically, soundly, and persuasively is invaluable to the spiritual and intellectual life and virtue of the person, the College, and the Civic Community. In accord with our Dominican mission, this is to seek truth for individual perfection and the common good.
   
   
2. Taking inspiration from our namesake, St. Thomas Aquinas, to give special attention to the relationship between faith and reason as it has developed in the perennial philosophical and theological tradition and the Catholic Intellectual tradition of which St. Thomas Aquinas is such an integral part. Students will be rooted in Scripture, the soul of theology, and they will have the Catholic tradition transmitted faithfully. Students will learn to promote 205 action in the world that springs from the Truth of the Gospel, placing themselves at the service of Life and Love.
   
   
3. To develop an interest in and prepare students for graduate studies in Philosophy and Theology along with interdisciplinary work in philosophy and theology in connection with professional disciplines such as law, medical or environmental ethics, journalism, teaching or public policy work, Church Parish work in faith formation and Catholic Schools. This requires ongoing contact on the part of the department members with the majors in order for them to tailor their degree to their particular professional goals, and requires a faculty with diverse research and teaching interests, methodologies and professional experiences which are conducive to supporting a Philosophy & Theology Major.
   
   
4. As Philosophy and Theology have traditionally sought holistic and unifying theoretical insight into foundational issues pertaining to the various disciplines of human knowledge, whether they are of a logical or methodological, ethical, metaphysical or theological nature, to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue, teaching, research, and scholarship enlivening the perennial Philosophy and Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other manners of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. This foundation leads our students move towards further study, such as philosophy graduate programs, medical school and law school.