Inductive theology of Thomas Aquinas

The object of this study is the Thomistic concept of rational-theological knowledge. The subject matter is the philosophical logic and methodology of Thomas Aquinas's five arguments for the existence of God. Adhering to Aristotelian epistemology, which posits that all knowledge begins with the senses, Aquinas significantly deepens and expands the scope of its application, thereby forming the methodological apparatus of medieval rational theology. The questions of epistemology constitute a substantial part of Aquinas's philosophy, which has a distinctly scientific-theoretical character. Aquinas dedicates separate chapters not only in his most well-known works – "Summa Theologiae" and "Summa Philosophiae" – to the questions of the conditioning of thought and its nature and mechanisms of cognition. Epistemological issues are also adequately represented in works such as: "Commentary of Thomas Aquinas on Aristotle's Second Analytics," "Commentaries of Thomas Aquinas on Aristotle's Treatise 'On Interpretation,'" and "Commentary on Boethius's Treatise 'On the Trinity.'" The methodology of the research is presented as a combination of general scientific theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, formal and dialectical approaches), as well as specialized philosophical methods: α) hermeneutic approach (for interpreting primary sources – the texts of Aristotle, Anselm of Canterbury, and Aquinas himself); β) causal analysis (the study pays considerable attention to the examination of the nature of cause-and-effect relationships). Results and scientific novelty. The implementation of this study has allowed for the following findings: α) the relevance of one of the "textbook" philosophical problems of the Middle Ages has been substantiated; β) an authorial systematization and philosophical interpretation of Aquinas's five proofs of God's existence has been presented; γ) the conditioning of the use of the inductive method in natural theology and its scientific advantage over the deductive method has been demonstrated; δ) the principle of applying induction in the pursuit of rational knowledge of God has been revealed; ε) the natural cognitive foundations for constructing Thomistic arguments in favor of God's existence have been identified. The results of the study can be applied as further scientific inquiries in the field of philosophical logic, theory of knowledge, and philosophy of science. The term "theologica," as stated in the title of the article, is borrowed from the eponymous trilogy of the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar in the 20th century, dedicated to the problematics indicated in Thomism: how the infinite God can be comprehended in this world through phenomena (immanence), while remaining transcendent.

Cognition, Methodology, Metaphysics, Nature, Rationalism, Thinking, Causality, Deduction, Induction, Theology