Aquinas Be Damned: Tension between Nothingness and Suffering

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-P63WKM1TM1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-P63WKM1TM1'); </script>  <script type="text/javascript" > (function(m,e,t,r,i,k,a){m[i]=m[i]||function(){(m[i].a=m[i].a||[]).push(arguments)}; m[i].l=1*new Date(); for (var j = 0; j < document.scripts.length; j++) {if (document.scripts[j].src === r) { return; }} k=e.createElement(t),a=e.getElementsByTagName(t)[0],k.async=1,k.src=r,a.parentNode.insertBefore(k,a)}) (window, document, "script", "https://mc.yandex.ru/metrika/tag.js", "ym"); ym(55165297, "init", { clickmap:false, trackLinks:true, accurateTrackBounce:true, webvisor:false }); </script> <noscript><div><img src="https://mc.yandex.ru/watch/55165297" style="position:absolute; left:-9999px;" alt="" /></div></noscript>    <title>Aquinas Be Damned: Tension between Nothingness and Suffering</title> <meta name="description" content="Aquinas Be Damned: Tension between Nothingness and Suffering"> <meta name="keywords" content="aquinas, catholic catechism, consciousness, philosophical psychology, summa theologica"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" rel="shortcut icon"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/bootstrap-4.2.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/fontawesome/css/all.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/css/site.css?v=150220211555" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <header> <div class="container"> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light"> <a class="navbar-brand" href="https://waset.org"> <img src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/images/wasetc.png" alt="Open Science Research Excellence" title="Open Science Research Excellence" /> </a> <button class="d-block d-lg-none navbar-toggler ml-auto" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarMenu" aria-controls="navbarMenu" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation"> <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span> </button> <div class="w-100"> <div class="d-none d-lg-flex flex-row-reverse"> <form method="get" action="https://waset.org/search" class="form-inline my-2 my-lg-0"> <input class="form-control mr-sm-2" type="search" placeholder="Search Conferences" value="" name="q" aria-label="Search"> <button class="btn btn-light my-2 my-sm-0" type="submit"><i class="fas fa-search"></i></button> </form> </div> <div class="collapse navbar-collapse mt-1" id="navbarMenu"> <ul class="navbar-nav ml-auto align-items-center" id="mainNavMenu"> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/conferences" title="Conferences in 2024/2025/2026">Conferences</a> </li> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/disciplines" title="Disciplines">Disciplines</a> </li> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/committees" rel="nofollow">Committees</a> </li> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbarDropdownPublications" role="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false"> Publications </a> <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdownPublications"> <a class="dropdown-item" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts">Abstracts</a> <a class="dropdown-item" href="https://publications.waset.org">Periodicals</a> <a class="dropdown-item" href="https://publications.waset.org/archive">Archive</a> </div> </li> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/page/support" title="Support">Support</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> <main> <div class="container mt-4"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-9 mx-auto"> <form method="get" action="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search"> <div id="custom-search-input"> <div class="input-group"> <i class="fas fa-search"></i> <input type="text" class="search-query" name="q" placeholder="Author, Title, Abstract, Keywords" value=""> <input type="submit" class="btn_search" value="Search"> </div> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="row mt-3"> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Commenced</strong> in January 2007</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Frequency:</strong> Monthly</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Edition:</strong> International</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Paper Count:</strong> 87364</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="card publication-listing mt-3 mb-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem">Aquinas Be Damned: Tension between Nothingness and Suffering</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Elizabeth%20Latham">Elizabeth Latham</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Aquinas has long been revered by the Catholic Church as one of the greatest theologians of all time. His most well-known and widely respected theological work, the Summa Theologica has been referenced by countless members of the clergy in support of arguments for and about the existence of God. It is surprising, then, and important that one component in his ontological arguments seems to contradict a precept upheld by the Catechism, the Catholic Church鈥檚 comprehensive document detailing their theological positions and laws. In Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas argued that God鈥檚 eternal existence is both an observable and necessary quality. In the Catechism, the Catholic Church argues that souls in Hell are separated from God, and only souls in Heaven are like him. After introducing research on Philosophical Psychology and the natures of consciousness and pain, this paper comes to the conclusion that in order to reconcile the theology of the Catholic Church at large with that of Thomas Aquinas, one must somehow solve the following problem: if a soul must exist eternally to suffer eternally, it must be like God; and, if a soul is in Hell, it is completely separate from God and not like him at all. Thomas Aquinas deviates at this point from the current theological holdings of the Catholic Church, and this apparent discrepancy must be resolved if the Church hopes to use him going forward as a standard for natural theology. <iframe src="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/111919.pdf" style="width:100%; height:400px;" frameborder="0"></iframe> <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=aquinas" title="aquinas">aquinas</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=catholic%20catechism" title=" catholic catechism"> catholic catechism</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=consciousness" title=" consciousness"> consciousness</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=philosophical%20psychology" title=" philosophical psychology"> philosophical psychology</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=summa%20theologica" title=" summa theologica"> summa theologica</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/111919/aquinas-be-damned-tension-between-nothingness-and-suffering" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/111919.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">211</span> </span> </div> </div> </div> </main> <footer> <div id="infolinks" class="pt-3 pb-2"> <div class="container"> <div style="background-color:#f5f5f5;" class="p-3"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> About <li><a href="https://waset.org/page/support">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/page/support#legal-information">Legal</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/WASET-16th-foundational-anniversary.pdf">WASET celebrates its 16th foundational anniversary</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Account <li><a href="https://waset.org/profile">My Account</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Explore <li><a href="https://waset.org/disciplines">Disciplines</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/conferences">Conferences</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/conference-programs">Conference Program</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/committees">Committees</a></li> <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org">Publications</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Research <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts">Abstracts</a></li> <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org">Periodicals</a></li> <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org/archive">Archive</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Open Science <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Open-Science-Philosophy.pdf">Open Science Philosophy</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Open-Science-Award.pdf">Open Science Award</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Open-Society-Open-Science-and-Open-Innovation.pdf">Open Innovation</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Postdoctoral-Fellowship-Award.pdf">Postdoctoral Fellowship Award</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Scholarly-Research-Review.pdf">Scholarly Research Review</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Support <li><a href="https://waset.org/page/support">Support</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/profile/messages/create">Contact Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/profile/messages/create">Report Abuse</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container text-center"> <hr style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:.3rem;"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" class="text-muted small">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a> <div id="copy" class="mt-2">© 2024 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology</div> </div> </footer> <a href="javascript:" id="return-to-top"><i class="fas fa-arrow-up"></i></a> <div class="modal" id="modal-template"> <div class="modal-dialog"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="row m-0 mt-1"> <div class="col-md-12"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button> </div> </div> <div class="modal-body"></div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/jquery-3.3.1.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/bootstrap-4.2.1/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/js/site.js?v=150220211556"></script> <script> jQuery(document).ready(function() { /*jQuery.get("https://publications.waset.org/xhr/user-menu", function (response) { jQuery('#mainNavMenu').append(response); });*/ jQuery.get({ url: "https://publications.waset.org/xhr/user-menu", cache: false }).then(function(response){ jQuery('#mainNavMenu').append(response); }); }); </script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Aquinas Be Damned: Tension between Nothingness and Suffering