The Bearded Thomist

Most people will know that St Thomas Aquinas is a significant thinker in the history of philosophy and theology. He is well known for his (in)famous five ways for God's existence, and those who have studied the history of thought know that he made significant contributions to philosophy and theology. But what about the man himself? One can get lost in all the arguments and abstract reasoning and forget about the man; indeed I myself have often forgotten that the Angelic Doctor was just a man subject to the same challenges, disappointments, and failings as the rest of us. Thomas was born around 1224 at Roccasecca Aquino. At around 5 he began his education with the Benedictine monks in Monte Cassino, but owing to disagreements between Pope and the Emperor Frederick II which spilled over into the abbey, Thomas was enrolled at the recently established university of Naples around the age of 15. It was here that he was exposed to two significant influences on his life: the study of A...

Welcome to the Bearded Thomist blog. My name is Gaven Kerr; I am a bearded Thomist, and I have been engaged with philosophy and theology, particularly the work of St Thomas Aquinas, for a number of years. My engagement with Thomas has always been to understand him within the contemporary philosophical and theological situation. Thus, I don't read Thomas as some historical artifact to be preserved. I do think that Aquinas was systematically correct about most issues of philosophical and theological importance, but I also understand that other philosophers and theologians have come after St Thomas, and that there are issues in these areas that for good or ill are taken to be pressing. I believe that Aquinas's thought provides us with the resources for dealing with issues not only in contemporary philosophy and theology, but also life and society. This blog is devoted to engaging with those issues. Accordingly, some of the posts will be of a somewhat academic nature, but other...