Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas

Disability as a human condition has aroused the interest of philosophers and theologians from ancient times, through the Middle Ages, to the present day. The article attempts to demonstrate the development and continuity of Christian views on the phenomenon of disability by examining the philosophi...

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Main Authors: Adam Machowski, Beata Borowska-Beszta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie 2024-11-01
Series:Collectanea Theologica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/ct/article/view/14027
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author Adam Machowski
Beata Borowska-Beszta
author_facet Adam Machowski
Beata Borowska-Beszta
author_sort Adam Machowski
collection DOAJ
description Disability as a human condition has aroused the interest of philosophers and theologians from ancient times, through the Middle Ages, to the present day. The article attempts to demonstrate the development and continuity of Christian views on the phenomenon of disability by examining the philosophical and theological thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. The hermeneutical analyses conducted in this article suggest that contrary to the position of theologian Brian Brock, Saint Augustine’s thought concerning disabilities did not focus solely on the category of wonders. Moreover, Augustine’s original openness to disability was not forgotten in the Middle Ages. There is a development in the understanding of disability in the texts of Augustine and Aquinas. It is possible to interpret in this way medieval theological texts referring to disability, as well as texts of Aristotle, which at that time returned to intellectual circulation.
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spelling doaj-art-4ddc68087c5e4781af0e97b55f80805e2024-11-14T06:43:37ZengUniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w WarszawieCollectanea Theologica0137-69852024-11-0194410.21697/ct.2024.94.4.03Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas AquinasAdam Machowski0Beata Borowska-Beszta1Jagiellonian College in ToruńNicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Disability as a human condition has aroused the interest of philosophers and theologians from ancient times, through the Middle Ages, to the present day. The article attempts to demonstrate the development and continuity of Christian views on the phenomenon of disability by examining the philosophical and theological thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. The hermeneutical analyses conducted in this article suggest that contrary to the position of theologian Brian Brock, Saint Augustine’s thought concerning disabilities did not focus solely on the category of wonders. Moreover, Augustine’s original openness to disability was not forgotten in the Middle Ages. There is a development in the understanding of disability in the texts of Augustine and Aquinas. It is possible to interpret in this way medieval theological texts referring to disability, as well as texts of Aristotle, which at that time returned to intellectual circulation. https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/ct/article/view/14027disabilityattitudesSt. AugustineSt. Thomas Aquinas
spellingShingle Adam Machowski
Beata Borowska-Beszta
Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
Collectanea Theologica
disability
attitudes
St. Augustine
St. Thomas Aquinas
title Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
title_full Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
title_fullStr Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
title_full_unstemmed Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
title_short Disability and Attitudes toward It in the Christian Thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
title_sort disability and attitudes toward it in the christian thoughts of st augustine and st thomas aquinas
topic disability
attitudes
St. Augustine
St. Thomas Aquinas
url https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/ct/article/view/14027
work_keys_str_mv AT adammachowski disabilityandattitudestowarditinthechristianthoughtsofstaugustineandstthomasaquinas
AT beataborowskabeszta disabilityandattitudestowarditinthechristianthoughtsofstaugustineandstthomasaquinas