Fennie pray a cost in the news

and there's to all of physical

and bless you all of physical.

He bless you, Hi, I'm Peter Adamson, and you're listening to the History of Philosophy podcast, brought to you with the support of the Philosophy Department at King's College

London and the LMU in Munich. Online at www. History of Philosophy.net.

Today's episode The Ox Heard Round the World, Thomas Aquinas.

Albert the Great was a keen-eyed observer, not only of nature, but also of talent.

His classes were attended by a young man of quiet disposition, who was, shall we say, big-boned.

The other students called him dumb ox. But Albert was impressed by him and so the story goes, remarked that this dumb ox would one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world. And so it has proved that

student Thomas Aquinas would become the most famous medieval philosopher to the

point where he almost needs no introduction.

In this episode, I'm going to introduce him anyway,

by looking at his life, his works, and his approach to the vexed question of how Aristotelian philosophy

could be made compatible with Christian theology.

Like most of the 13th century thinkers we've met, Aquinas plied his trade in a university setting

and wrote, indeed no doubt thought, using the scholastic method.

Born in the mid-12-20s, he came from a wealthy family in Naples.

He was first educated at the Abbey of Monte Cassino. Bonus points, if you remember that name. Monte Cassino was also the home of the recipient of Peter Damien's letter on restoring virginity covered back in episode 203.

Aquinas didn't need to have his virginity restored. A famous anecdote has his

brothers seeking to dissuade him from signing up to the Dominican

Order, sending a prostitute to show young Thomas what he'd be missing out on.

Aquinas simply chased her away. Like most students of the age, Aquinas was only a teenager when he began his university training, in his case at the University of Naples. He joined the Dominicans in the early 1240s over his family's creatively

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