Chapter 9: Intellectual Knowledge According to St.

Thomas Aquinas
Introduction
Intellectual knowledge, as articulated by St. Thomas Aquinas, provides a detailed framework
for understanding human cognition as something fundamentally distinct from the sensory
experiences shared with animals. For Aquinas, intellectual knowledge is what defines
humans as rational beings; while animals perceive and react to their environments, humans
uniquely possess the capacity for rational thought, which manifests through our ability to
engage with abstract concepts. This chapter delves into Aquinas’s perspective on intellectual
knowledge, exploring how human beings interact with reality through processes of
abstraction, judgment, and reasoning. It discusses the implications of these mental
operations in our quest to grasp universal and particular truths. To support this exploration,
we draw on primary sources, including Frederick Copleston's A History of Philosophy, Volume
II and Gianfranco Basti's Filosofia dell’Uomo.
The Unique Nature of Human Knowledge
Aquinas posits that of all embodied creatures, only humans possess intellectual knowledge.
This view, deeply embedded in the classical philosophical tradition, emphasizes that the
intellect is the hallmark of human distinctiveness. Unlike animals, whose sensory
experiences are bound to immediate, instinctual responses, human knowledge extends far
beyond the confines of the physical senses. We can reason, deliberate, and engage in
abstract thinking, qualities that signify our intellect. This fundamental distinction underlies
much of Thomistic thought, although it has faced criticism, particularly from atheistic
scientists and proponents of evolutionary theory. Despite these critiques, Thomists
maintain, together with Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, that intellectual knowledge is a unique
feature of humanity and a necessary element in understanding what it means to be human.
The intellectual component of human knowledge also plays a role in sensation itself, which
in humans is inherently rational. While animals react to stimuli automatically, human
sensation is accompanied by conscious awareness and often reflective thought. This unique
integration of sense and intellect allows humans to interpret their experiences with greater
depth, enabling a level of reflective awareness and intentionality that other creatures lack.
When we see, hear, or touch, our experiences are colored by intellect, lending meaning and
context to what we sense. For example, a human does not just "see" an object but can
consider its purpose, its relationship to other things, and its potential applications. In
Aquinas’s view, our senses provide not just data but also insights, filtered through an
intellectual lens.
The Structure of Human Cognition
Aquinas breaks down human cognition into an intricate interplay of external senses, internal
senses, and the intellect, each serving a distinct role in our understanding of reality. The
process begins with sensory perception: through our external senses—such as sight,
hearing, touch, taste, and smell—we receive information from the world around us. This
sensory data then undergoes a process of refinement by the internal senses, faculties that
organize, retain, and evaluate these impressions as explained in the previous chapter.
Aquinas identifies these internal senses as imagination, memory, and the common sense,
which help process the raw data provided by external perception. The end product of the
work of the internal senses is the phantasm: a complete sensorial representation of the
external object which is not only a visual image, but contains all the other information
gathered by the external and internal senses such us sound, taste, smell and whatever may
be grasped by the tactile sense.
This phantasm ultimately presented before the intellect, the highest faculty in Aquinas’s
cognitive hierarchy, where it becomes like the “raw material” for the abstraction of the
concept. The intellect does not simply mirror the external world; rather, it abstracts universal
principles and ideas from specific, concrete experiences. In this way, the path from reality to
intellect moves from physical sensation to refined internal processing, culminating in
intellectual comprehension. The intellect thus interprets, organizes, and assigns meaning to
sensory information, producing what Aquinas calls the universal concept.
The Universal Concept: Abstraction, Judgment, and Reasoning
At the heart of Aquinas’s theory of knowledge are the three intellectual operations that
define human cognition: abstraction, judgment, and reasoning. Each of these operations
contributes to our ability to understand universal truths, transcending the immediate data of
sensory experience.
Abstraction is the first operation and involves isolating the intelligible content—the
essence—from sensory images. According to Aquinas, the intellect has two aspects that
facilitate this process: the agent intellect and the possible intellect. The agent intellect is
active; it functions much like a light, illuminating the sensory image, or phantasm, and
enabling the intellect to perceive the underlying form or universal idea within the sensory
experience. This "light" of the agent intellect acts upon the phantasm, “bringing to light” the
hidden intellectual form that is the basis of the unity of all the perceptions. The agent
intellect, therefore, serves as the initiator of intellectual understanding, guiding the mind to
uncover meanings not immediately visible in sensory perception alone.
In contrast, the possible intellect is receptive and passive, providing the mind with a capacity
to receive and store intelligible forms. While the agent intellect is always “in act,” constantly
ready to abstract knowledge, the possible intellect remains in potential until it encounters
new information. When the possible intellect receives an intelligible form, it transitions from
potentiality to actuality, thereby actualizing knowledge. Together, these two facets of the
intellect—the active illumination of the agent and the receptive capacity of the possible—
enable the abstraction of universal ideas from particular sensory experiences.
Judgment, the second intellectual operation, entails the union or division of concepts to
form propositions. Through judgment, the intellect assembles meaningful statements about
reality, determining the truth or falsity of these propositions. Aquinas famously describes
judgment as an alignment, or adaequatio rei et intellectus, between the intellect and reality.
This alignment allows the intellect to affirm what exists outside itself, creating propositions
that accurately reflect the world. For example, when we say, “Man is mortal,” we affirm a
truth about human nature that is universally valid, not dependent on a specific instance but
true in an abstract, general sense. Judgment is thus the means by which we confirm reality
through rational assertions, a capacity unique to human intellect.
Reasoning, the third and final operation, is the step-by-step process of connecting
judgments to reach new conclusions. Through reasoning, or deduction, we construct logical
chains of thought that build upon previous judgments. In Aquinas’s view, reasoning allows
humans to extend their understanding, forming conclusions that may not be immediately
apparent. A classic example of reasoning is the syllogism: “All men are mortal. Socrates is a
man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.” By linking premises to form a conclusion, reasoning
enables the intellect to structure knowledge in a coherent and systematic way.
The First Principles of Knowledge
Aquinas holds that certain principles form the foundation of all knowledge. The first of these
is the concept of "being," or ens, which Aquinas claims is the initial content grasped by the
intellect. This fundamental apprehension of existence is the starting point for all intellectual
inquiry. From this notion of being arises the principle of non-contradiction, which states
that something cannot both be and not be in the same respect simultaneously. This principle
underpins all rational discourse, as it establishes the coherence necessary for meaningful
thought.
In the realm of practical knowledge, Aquinas introduces another foundational principle
known as synderesis. This principle, encapsulated by the dictum "do good; avoid evil,"
serves as an innate moral guide within the intellect. Synderesis operates as the basic
orientation of human rationality towards ethical conduct, shaping our judgments in matters
of right and wrong. Through synderesis, Aquinas situates the intellect not only as a faculty
for understanding reality but also as a tool for moral discernment.
Intellectual Habits
For Aquinas, the intellect develops through the cultivation of habits, which shape and refine
our cognitive abilities. He distinguishes between entitative habits, which are inherent
dispositions, and acquired habits, which we develop through deliberate intellectual practice.
Among the acquired habits, Aquinas identifies virtues such as scientia (knowledge) and
sophia (wisdom) that enhance the intellect’s capacity to comprehend and evaluate truth.
These habits enable the intellect to operate more effectively, ensuring that our
understanding aligns with reality and our actions reflect ethical principles.
Logic: The Structure of Reason
Logic, for Aquinas, is both a natural and an acquired skill, providing the framework within
which the intellect operates to discern truth. Drawing on Aristotle’s philosophy, Aquinas
describes logic as a system that organizes thought in pursuit of true knowledge. Logic,
therefore, is an "art," designed to guide reasoning in a clear, systematic way, avoiding error
and confusion. This logical structure is based on "second intentions," or mental constructs
that organize our understanding of "first intentions"—the primary apprehensions of reality.
In other words, logic builds upon our initial understanding of the world, structuring it in a
way that facilitates deeper inquiry.
Certainty of Knowledge
In Aquinas’s epistemology, human knowledge varies in its degree of certainty. Knowledge of
reality, or objective truth, aligns the intellect with what exists independently of perception.
Subjective knowledge, meanwhile, reflects our internal understanding, which may be more
or less certain depending on the clarity of our reasoning. Knowledge spans a range from
absolute certainty to doubt, with ignorance representing a blank state of potential
knowledge, something that can be corrected through learning and inquiry.
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In conclusion, Aquinas’s theory of intellectual knowledge provides a comprehensive account
of human cognition, highlighting the unique operations of the intellect—abstraction,
judgment, and reasoning—that allow us to comprehend universal truths. Through these
operations, the intellect transcends mere sensory perception, engaging with concepts that
represent reality in its fullness. This intellectual capacity is the hallmark of human nature
and a pathway to deeper understanding, both of the world and of our ethical responsibilities
within it.