The Analogy of Being in the Thought of St. Thomas - Free Paper

The analogy of being, according to Aquinas, is a vast philosophical concept that requires systematic, literary, and scriptural exegesis. Aquinas exposes a controversial topic of metaphysics and its relation to the existence of beings. Various scholars have dismissed Aquinas's thoughts. For example, Kant dismissed metaphysics claiming that it cannot deliver any knowledge regarding the world independent of the mind as a science in the name. Aquinas's thoughts Understanding Aquinas's doctrine of the analogy of beings requires one first to gain the meaning of the terms used to describe the doctrine. The term analogical is used to denote individual enlightenment on the presence of a relationship between God and man. Aquinas further states that the relationship between man and God is not univocal or equivocal.

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St. Thomas's comments on metaphysics will be highlighted to provide clarity on his doctrine. The predicamental analogy is used to explain how being is said of both accident and substance. In understanding the knowledge of being, Thomas's readings will be refereed to draw a logical distinction between apprehension and judgment. Further, an elucidation will be made to probe whether human intellect knows being through apprehension or judgment. Various explanations will be made, such as the analysis and the apprehensive grasp of being.

The three different concepts that Aquinas brings together to predict a term analogically will be discussed. The first involves the act of existing, the second one the concept of participation, and the third involves existing and the concept. Analogical prediction is shown where a concept is classified through prior and future but recognized in a single overall attribute. Analogical predication is depicted in situations where several objects are placed on equal footing, but a single idea exists diversely among them. This exposition aims to determine what Thomas Aquinas taught about the analogy of being. In the future, special consideration will be made to determine how his work is connected with his thoughts on divine participation.

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