Aquinas on the Role of Another in Perfect Self‐Knowledge.

Aquinas is clear that human intellect can only know itself through knowing others. Yet he seems to treat this need for others as a mark of imperfection: both angels and God can know themselves through themselves, and their intellects seem therefore to be more perfect than ours. In this article, howe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Modern Theology Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 19 - 36
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Jan2022
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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Sumario:Aquinas is clear that human intellect can only know itself through knowing others. Yet he seems to treat this need for others as a mark of imperfection: both angels and God can know themselves through themselves, and their intellects seem therefore to be more perfect than ours. In this article, however, I focus first on Thomas's teaching on angels' morning and evening knowledge, where he suggests that angels only know themselves perfectly if they know themselves in Another. Second, I turn to his theology of the Word, where he suggests that the Father only ever knows Himself in knowing another Person. By exploring these areas of Thomas's thought, I argue that to know oneself perfectly is to know oneself in another.