Philosophy of The Middle Ages and The Renaissance

The Problem of Being and Knowledge

At the heart of medieval philosophy lies the ontological question—the problem of being. While Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Aquinas each present differing interpretations of this problem, they all fundamentally adhere to the principle of creationism: the belief that God created the world ex nihilo. In describing God's creation of the world, Augustine poses and answers his own question: "Was there any matter in Your hands from which You could create heaven and earth? But from where could this matter have come, if it was not created by You, and yet became the material for Your creativity? The assumption of such matter would inevitably limit Your omnipotence... Before Your creation, there was nothing but You, and... all that exists depends upon Your being."

Thus, although medieval philosophy does not deny the existence of the world or its objective reality, it delineates a distinction between the being of things in the world—everything that exists, including our thoughts—and the being of God. True being, perfect and unchanging, belongs solely to God. In the view of Thomas Aquinas, essence and existence are inseparably united in Him. Aquinas equates essence in things with form, nature, "whatness," that which is common to things of the same kind or species. "We speak of essence—inasmuch as it is through it and in it that what exists has being." Furthermore, Aquinas distinguishes between potentiality and actuality in each thing. Every created thing possesses potentiality—the possibility of becoming a particular creation, of actualizing itself and acquiring being. Only God possesses pure actuality, while pure potentiality resides in prime matter, which, when united with form, generates the diversity of things and phenomena in the world.

The problem of being is inextricably linked to the theory of knowledge, epistemology, which is most thoroughly articulated by Aquinas. He posits that knowledge begins at the sensory level. Objects impact our senses, and on this basis, images arise in the intellect, which works to extract universals from singular perceptions (for the senses can only provide representations of the singular) and thus form concepts, penetrating into the essence of things, their being. Here, Aquinas follows Aristotle, but their paths soon diverge. In Aquinas’s view, although the senses provide the foundation upon which the intellect formulates concepts, reason does not perceive the material traits of things, but rather their spiritual essence, their ideal form—universals that objectively exist in things, expressing their divine origin. Thus, the intellect comprehends the divine ideal essence of things, drawing closer to its ultimate goal—the knowledge of God, since each thing is true to the extent that it approaches likeness to God. Therefore, religious revelation transcends the cognitive capacity of reason; in it, God reveals to us the highest truth, either directly or through His apostles.