Problem pojęcia natury w pismach Tomasza z Akwinu

The term “nature” in the Middle Ages was used (not to say: overused) commonly to denote a lot of things, often mutually exclusive. The source of this confusion seems, at least in the thirteenth century, the “educational” heritage of Boethius, from whom the divisions of nature and the Aristotle’s metaphysics were taught. They were studied diligently at the beginning of this century. Analyzing the views of nature in the texts of Saint. Thomas, it’s hard not to get the impression that Aquinas is not talking much about it. Not only does he not incorporate the concept of nature into his existential metaphysics, but he does not even do anything to sort out the terminological confusion that Aristotle and Boethius have introduced to the problems of nature. Calling „natural” the things that are mutually exclusive is causing trouble to himself. In the Treatise of Man he recognizes reason and the freedom resulting from it as the most important distinguishing features of a human being. As far as the freedom derives from rationality, obviously state of slave is totally unnatural. However, in the Treatise on Marriage, Thomas writes about slavery as a punishment imposing for original sin, which has been prescribed by law, but comes from natural law, as something determined from the determining.