O conhecimento do mundo em Santo Tomás de Aquino

Abstract

The human being has an inclination to knowledge. The way knowledge originates is addressed by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Teológica, the main bibliographic source of this research. The objective of this paper is to interpret and understand the capacity that the Human Being has to know through reason. Through the hermeneutic method and bibliographic research, this study clarifies Saint Thomas perspectives in relation to the way in which the intellect is manifested. The process begins with sensation, aided by external and internal senses, reaching the potency of memory and culminating in intellection. In turn, man is enlightened by the supreme intellect. Through the need for will and freedom, man is able to know what is proposed in his reality. The relevance of this paper is to show the importance of the human intellect. It is possible to perceive, through this theme, the important Thomistic contribution for the Human Being to better understand himself and the world.