THE ARISTOTELIAN CONCEPT OF NATURE, IN THOMAS AQUINAS’ COMMENTARY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Aristotle offers us a comprehensive understanding of the subject of Nature. On one hand, by synthesizing the contributions of his predecessors; on the other, by presenting it as substance (lunar and sublunar) that encompasses all things, as it holds within itself the development of everything that exists. Thomas Aquinas then relates the concept of Nature, right from the start, to first philosophy (metaphysics), as the substance of all things, that is, the universal substance.

For Thomas Aquinas, God is the efficient cause par excellence, which does not nullify other efficient causes, but rather makes them possible. All things have a cause, and ultimately, the first origin traces back to the Creator, who is also the end of all things. Now, if all things move toward an end, this can only be the realization of those things themselves. Otherwise, it would be contradictory to the Creator, who is perfect and contains the perfection of all things within Himself. Each creature exists for its own act and perfection, and all exist for the perfection of the universe. The entire universe, and each of its parts, is ordered toward God. Human action, from an Aristotelian-Thomistic perspective, grounded in reason, yields better outcomes than action without reason. When the desire for good is not regulated by reason, it becomes disordered ambition.