Why a philosopher can and should read St. Thomas Aquinas

Abstract

I begin by explaining how Aquinas understands the task of the theologian so that theology necessarily includes much philosophy. I then present two philosophical theses from Aquinas and describe their relevance for contemporary discussion to the contrary: first, Aquinas' immediate and direct realism of sensation versus the priority of consciousness since the critical turn and, second, Aquinas' view of the thing's existence as a unique kind of act or attribute of the thing versus the contemporary fact-view of what is meant by the thing's existence.