8. Sacred Doctrine as Wisdom and Its Nature

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Sacred Doctrine as Wisdom (Article 6 of Question 1) #

• Central Question: Does sacred doctrine merit the name “wisdom”?
• Sacred doctrine is most of all wisdom among human wisdoms—not just wisdom in some particular genus but simply (absolutely)
• Wisdom is characterized by two activities: ordering and judging; the wise man orders and is not ordered
• Sacred doctrine considers the highest cause (God) of the whole universe, distinguishing it from wisdoms about particular genera

The Hierarchy of Wisdoms #

Wisdom exists at different levels depending on what “highest cause” one considers:

• In building (architecture): The architect is wise relative to craftsmen who prepare materials; architect comes from Greek meaning “chief artist”
• In human life: The prudent man who orders human acts toward a suitable end
• In first philosophy: The philosopher who considers being and the first cause
• In sacred doctrine: Considers God as highest cause, both through natural reason and through revelation

Objection 1: The Problem of Derived Principles #

• Objection: No teaching that supposes its principles elsewhere deserves the name wisdom, because the wise man orders and is not ordered (from Aristotle, Physics prelude and Metaphysics). Sacred doctrine takes its principles from God’s knowledge, so it should not be called wisdom.
• Reply: Sacred doctrine does not take its principles from any human science (which would make it inferior), but from divine science (God’s knowledge), which is the summa sapiens (highest wisdom). All human knowledge is ordered by this divine wisdom.

Objection 2: The Problem of Proving Principles #

• Objection: Wisdom proves the principles of other sciences (hence it is called “head of sciences,” as stated in Aristotle, Ethics Book 6). Sacred doctrine does not prove the principles of other sciences; therefore it is not wisdom.
• Reply: Sacred doctrine does not prove the principles of other sciences (these are proven by natural reason and are either self-evident or proven in other sciences), but it judges them. Whatever in other sciences contradicts revealed truth is condemned as false (as in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “destroying counsels… extolling itself against the knowledge of God”).

Objection 3: The Problem of Acquisition #

• Objection: Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit (infused, not acquired), as shown in Isaiah 11. But sacred doctrine is acquired by study. Therefore sacred doctrine is not wisdom.
• Reply: There are two distinct kinds of wisdom requiring a careful distinction:
  1. Wisdom as a gift of the Holy Spirit: Judges by inclination (by being inclined toward divine things through virtue, especially charity)
  2. Acquired wisdom (sacred doctrine): Judges by knowledge (acquired through study)

Two Ways of Judging #

Thomas distinguishes two modes of judgment:

By Inclination:

• The person with a virtuous habit judges rightly about what ought to be done by virtue through the very inclination of virtue
• The virtuous person is “the measure and rule of human acts” (Aristotle, Ethics Book 10)
• Example: Desdemona in Othello judges adultery as repugnant by the inclination of her virtue, not by moral reasoning
• This pertains to the gift of wisdom connected to charity

By Knowledge:

• Someone instructed in moral science can judge acts of virtue even without possessing the virtue
• This mode of judgment is intellectual and proceeds from principles already known
• This is the mode of sacred doctrine acquired through study

Why Sacred Doctrine is Simply Wisdom (Not Merely in Some Way) #

• Sacred doctrine considers absolutely the highest cause (the first cause simply), not just the first cause of a particular genus
• It is more about God than first philosophy, which treats God as an end rather than as a subject
• Wisdom is defined as knowledge of divine things (Augustine, De Trinitate Book 12; Aristotle, Physics)
• Sacred doctrine knows things about God through revelation that God alone knows about himself (e.g., the Trinity, the Incarnation)—things inaccessible to philosophical inquiry

Key Arguments #

Thomas’s Resolution #

• From the nature of wisdom: Since wisdom is knowing the highest cause and ordering by it, and sacred doctrine considers God as the highest cause of all things, sacred doctrine is most properly called wisdom
• Comparison to Aristotle: Even Aristotle recognized that “God alone, or God most of all, is wise” (Metaphysics); therefore, sharing in knowledge of God is the highest wisdom
• Two kinds of wisdom: The wisdom that is a gift of the Holy Spirit (perfecting the will through inclination) is distinct from the wisdom acquired through study (perfecting the intellect through knowledge)

Sacred Doctrine vs. Natural Reason #

• Sacred doctrine uses things known through natural reason not because it is deficient, but because of the weakness of human understanding
• Philosophy provides “handmaidens” (ancillae) and tools to lead us “by the hand” (manducatio) from what is more known to us to what is higher
• Sacred doctrine judges philosophical conclusions but does not depend on them for its principles

Important Definitions #

• Wisdom (sapientia): The intellectual virtue or habit that judges and orders other knowledge by knowing the highest cause; to be wise is to order and not be ordered
• Judgment (iudicium): The separation of true from false (or good from bad) according to some principle or measure by which we distinguish
• Sacred doctrine: The science or teaching that proceeds from principles revealed by God (not from human reason alone) and treats of God and divine things
• Inclination (inclinatio): The orientation of the will or appetite toward the good, characteristic of virtue; one judges by inclination when one’s virtuous disposition moves one to the correct judgment
• The highest cause (altissima causa): In Latin, cause is conceived as above the effect (supra), and effects hang upon (dependet) their cause; the highest cause is God, who is above all other causes
• Manducatio: Leading by the hand; the pedagogical method of moving from what is more known to what is less known

Examples & Illustrations #

Hierarchy of Causes and Ordering #

• The architect: Chief artist who disposes the form of the house and directs inferior artists who work wood and prepare stones (from Paul, 1 Corinthians 3:10, “As a wise architect I have laid a foundation”)
• The prudent man: Orders human acts to a suitable end; prudence (φρόνησις, foresight) is wisdom for man (Proverbs 10:23)

Judgment by Inclination vs. Knowledge #

• Desdemona in Othello: When asked if she would sleep with another man for all the world, she judges adultery as repugnant by the very inclination of her virtue—not by reasoning through moral principles. The maid, lacking virtue, judged differently (though she claims she would not do it, she does not spontaneously reject it as Desdemona does)
• The virtuous person as measure: The virtuous man or woman is the rule and measure by which we should judge human acts
• Moral theologian without virtue: A person learned in moral science can judge acts of virtue correctly by knowledge even though they do not possess the virtue themselves (cautionary note: “make sure they have sinned before they do it”)

Corruption of Judgment Through Vice #

• If someone is brought up badly with vice instead of virtue, their judgment is corrupted by the bad inclination of their appetite
• Example: If someone grows up listening to rock and roll instead of Mozart, their judgment about music is corrupted; they do not spontaneously reject rock and roll as bad
• Example: If someone has been habituated to treating grave moral evils (like abortion) as trivial (just a procedure like nail clipping), they cannot judge rightly by inclination

Notable Quotes #

“It belongs to the wise man to order and to judge, and judgment is had about lower things through a higher cause.” - Aquinas

“God alone, or God most of all, is wise.” - Aristotle (referenced by Aquinas as support for sacred doctrine’s wisdom)

“The spiritual man judges all things.” - 1 Corinthians 2:15 (on wisdom as judgment)

“Erotheus taught not only by learning but by undergoing divine things.” - Dionysius, De divinis nominibus ch. 2 (on the passivity of the will toward divine things)

“The virtuous man is the measure and rule of human acts.” - Aristotle, Ethics Book 10

Questions Addressed #

Is sacred doctrine wisdom? #

Yes, absolutely. Sacred doctrine is the highest wisdom because it considers the highest cause (God) of all things, whereas other wisdoms consider the first cause only of particular genera (architecture, medicine, ethics, natural philosophy). God is not merely the end of sacred doctrine (as God is the end in first philosophy) but its very subject.

How does sacred doctrine differ from natural philosophical wisdom? #

While first philosophy (metaphysics) is wisdom about being and considers God as an end or ultimate explanation, sacred doctrine is wisdom about God as subject. Sacred doctrine also knows of God things that philosophy cannot attain (the Trinity, the Incarnation) because these come through revelation alone.

Why does sacred doctrine borrow from philosophy if it is supreme? #

Sacred doctrine uses philosophical truths as handmaidens not from its own deficiency but because of the weakness of human understanding. By being led “by the hand” from what we know naturally, we are better able to grasp divine truths that exceed our native capacity. This is comparable to how an architect uses inferior craftsmen—not because the art of building is deficient but because the material world requires such cooperation.

What is the relationship between the gift of wisdom and acquired sacred doctrine? #

They are two different perfections of two different powers. The gift of wisdom (perfecting the will through charity) judges divine things by inclination and intimate affection. Acquired wisdom (sacred doctrine, perfecting the intellect) judges divine things by knowledge and reasoning from revealed principles. Both are forms of wisdom, but they operate in different ways.