Protas Tomo Akviniečio antropologijoje

Abstract

Thomas Aquinas inherited the definition of man as a rational animal from Aristotle, but elaborated the notion of rationality so that in a strict sense reason as discursive cognition is a unique human attribute distinguishing man not only from beasts, but also from angels and God. This is the conclusion the author of this article draws from an analysis of Aquinas'major and minor works. The necessity for such an analysis is caused by the fact that Aquinas uses the word reason in two ways: as a synonym of intellect, and as a strict term. In order to read Thomas' works correctly one has to know both senses, which can be explicated by the relationship between intellect and reason.This relationship is opposite to that which is presented in classical German philosophy, especially in Kant.