Abstract

Michael Stickelbroeck:
The Creation of World and Life in Thomas Aquinas
(FKTh 2026-1, p. 15–39)

The present study seeks to examine the theological doctrine of creation in Thomas Aquinas, taking into account its underlying philosophical presuppositions. The focus of the investigation lies on the question of whether, for Thomas, a divine creation conceived as a process of progressive development would be conceivable – namely, a process in which, over the course of evolutionary history, continuous transitions occur among all types of living beings. To this end, the analysis undertakes a close reading of Thomas’s texts concerning the order of things and their emergence in relation to their causes. What kind of causality is operative in the initial coming-to-be of the proper natures of things within God’s creative act? Particular attention will also be given to whether there exists a temporal order in creation, how the emergence of the human being – especially with regard to the human body – is to be understood, and what precisely “creation” consists in according to the teaching of the Angelic Doctor. The argumentative structure of the present inquiry requires recurring reference to the general principles and metaphysical insights that undergird his philosophy of being. Throughout the investigation, the principal formal question will repeatedly guide the progression of the analysis: whether, from Thomas’s perspective, creation could be conceived as occurring through an evolutionary process encompassing all types of living beings. In Sections 5 and 6, the compatibilist model advanced within the “Thomistic school” – which advocates a divinely guided and governed evolution – will be outlined in order to assess its compatibility with what Thomas himself conceived and systematically articulated regarding the reality of creation and the origin of things.