Abstract
Thomas Aquinas (1224/1225–1274) is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers in the history of philosophy, and is most famous for his attempts to interpret and expound Aristotelian philosophy within a Christian framework. His political philosophy thoroughly reflects this Christian Aristotelianism, where man has an end designated by God, operating through nature, and the ultimate purpose of political institutions is to enable man to reach this end. Breaking with the traditional Augustinian view of political institutions as a result of man’s sinfulness, Aquinas argued that man was by nature a political animal, both because he had natural impulses to gather with others of his kind and discuss political concepts such as justice and right, and because political institutions could best create the conditions that man needed to reach his end of a life of virtue. Because politics is vested with the purpose of man’s moral development, political freedom for Aquinas therefore becomes associated with the regime which leads man to his own good – that is, to a life of rational, virtuous action.
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Hamilton-Bleakley, H. (2020). Thomas Aquinas, Political Thought. In: Lagerlund, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1665-7_491
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