Comment on Summa, Part I, Question 1, Fifth Article

In this article, St. Thomas asks, "Whether sacred doctrine is nobler than other sciences?"  He answers (in part) thus, 

"Now one speculative science is said to be nobler than another, either by reason of its greater certitude, or by reason of the higher worth of its subject-matter.  In both these respects this science surpasses other speculative sciences; in point of greater certitude, because other sciences derive their certitude from the natural light of human reason, which can err; whereas this derives its certitude from the light of divine knowledge, which cannot be misled: in point of the higher worth of its subject-matter because this science treats chiefly of those things which by their sublimity transcend human reason; while other sciences consider only those things which are within reason's grasp."

Sacred doctrine (theology) is nobler than other speculative sciences (humanities, liberal arts, those disciplines that are based on logic and abstract thinking rather than empirical data) for two reasons.


First, the truths which theology asserts are more certain because they are based on the knowledge God has of himself and of all things and has chosen to reveal to humanity, a knowledge that cannot err because God is infallible.  In contrast, the knowledge asserted by other speculative sciences (like philosophy, for example) is less certain because it is based on human reason, which can err.  (It is my opinion that if an infallible God revealed an infallible message, then he would have created a guardian of that message which he would have given a share in his own infallibility; otherwise, the message would have become corrupted with error, since to err is human.)


Second, the subject matter of which theology treats is of higher worth because it deals with things (namely, the essence of God) that human reason cannot discover on its own or fully understand; whereas, other sciences only treat of those things that reason can discover on its own and fully understand.  (It is my opinion that only that which the human mind cannot fully understand, namely God, will keep the mind satisfied; for the mind eventually becomes bored with that which it can understand.)