Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas
For Thomas Aquinas, the imagination, being one of the “inner senses”, is a doorway to attain true knowledge. In this paper, we first analyze his lexicon in this regard (<i>imaginatio</i> and <i>phantasia</i>). Second, we discuss imagination as the subject matter of the intell...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/322 |
| _version_ | 1797535501624803328 |
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| author | Piotr Roszak John Anthony Berry |
| author_facet | Piotr Roszak John Anthony Berry |
| author_sort | Piotr Roszak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For Thomas Aquinas, the imagination, being one of the “inner senses”, is a doorway to attain true knowledge. In this paper, we first analyze his lexicon in this regard (<i>imaginatio</i> and <i>phantasia</i>). Second, we discuss imagination as the subject matter of the intellectual virtues, which facilitate cognition and judgment. The development of imagination is the foundation of his vision of education not only on the natural but also on the supernatural level. Third, we explore Aquinas’ moral assessment of imaginative art and finally its influence on shaping the character. This influence occurs on two levels: it is assessed from the perspective of charity, justice, prudence and purity, namely to what extent the art serves these values, whereas the second criterion is beauty. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:45:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b40fe035c6a34d168812ca41bb5ff71d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:45:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-b40fe035c6a34d168812ca41bb5ff71d2023-11-21T18:07:02ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-05-0112532210.3390/rel12050322Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas AquinasPiotr Roszak0John Anthony Berry1Faculty of Theology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Toruń, PolandFaculty of Theology, University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, MaltaFor Thomas Aquinas, the imagination, being one of the “inner senses”, is a doorway to attain true knowledge. In this paper, we first analyze his lexicon in this regard (<i>imaginatio</i> and <i>phantasia</i>). Second, we discuss imagination as the subject matter of the intellectual virtues, which facilitate cognition and judgment. The development of imagination is the foundation of his vision of education not only on the natural but also on the supernatural level. Third, we explore Aquinas’ moral assessment of imaginative art and finally its influence on shaping the character. This influence occurs on two levels: it is assessed from the perspective of charity, justice, prudence and purity, namely to what extent the art serves these values, whereas the second criterion is beauty.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/322fine artsvirtue ethicsprudencecharacterThomismarchitecture |
| spellingShingle | Piotr Roszak John Anthony Berry Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas Religions fine arts virtue ethics prudence character Thomism architecture |
| title | Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas |
| title_full | Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas |
| title_fullStr | Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas |
| title_short | Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas |
| title_sort | moral aspects of imaginative art in thomas aquinas |
| topic | fine arts virtue ethics prudence character Thomism architecture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/322 |
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