Date of Award

2025

Degree Name

Master of Philosophy (School of Philosophy and Theology)

Schools and Centres

Philosophy and Theology

First Supervisor

Nathan Lyons

Second Supervisor

Renee Kohler-Ryan

Abstract

Many interpreters of Thomas Aquinas since the second half of the twentieth-century emphasise the Platonist dimensions of his thought, particularly his metaphysics. This contrasts with, and is a shift away from, the dominant Aristotelian interpretations of previous generations. Aquinas’s theory of knowledge, however, tends still to be interpreted in Aristotelian terms, according to which Augustine’s Platonist illuminationism is replaced by a Peripatetic emphasis on sensation and abstraction in the soul.

This thesis reexamines the role of illumination in Augustine and Aquinas’ theories of knowledge. It asks whether scholarship today ought to reconceive the relationship between these two major thinkers in regard to their theories of knowledge. The thesis examines the various ways illumination has been understood, and traces the key interpretations through Augustine and Aquinas. It begins by examining how Augustine’s illuminationism is built upon the Platonic tradition, especially with regard to intellectual vision and perception of truth. In Aquinas’ context illumination is understood differently from this. Aristotelian psychology, Dionysian participation, and Avicenna’s separate active intellect are present alongside Augustine in shaping Aquinas’ approach to illumination. These factors frame his engagement with Augustine’s thought on illumination.

Analysing these factors reveals both contrasts and continuities between the two thinkers on the theme of illumination. The thesis concludes that Aquinas cannot be understood as merely “Aristotelian” or “Augustinian.” Instead, Aquinas forms a new synthesis involving both Augustine and Aristotle.

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