"Nomen lucis ad manifestationem refertur". Koncepcja światła w ujęciu Tomasza z Akwinu
'Nomen lucis ad manifestationem refertur'. The concept of the light in Thomas Aquinas thought

Author(s): Michał Zembrzuski
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Philosophy, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Theology and Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: light; physics of the light; metaphysics of the light; agent intellect; possible intellect; God; Christ; communication
Summary/Abstract: In iconography, St. Thomas Aquinas is shown with the symbol of the sun on his habit, and in the Catholic Church, because of the authority he hold, he is treated as light and the sun. In his works, he addressed the subject of light by describing it in various aspects. First of all, he understood light in physical terms, as the act of a transparent body (air, water, glass). Metaphysical categories (accidentality, relation, effect, participation) made it possible to organize the physical problem of light. The subject of light was also used in epistemological considerations. Light is the condition for realizing the act of seeing, and the agent intellect as light makes intellectual cognition possible. The consequence of light being something physical is that we can only by analogy attributed light to spiritual substances and God. God is not light, although He acts towards created reality similarly as light. In his theological works (especially his biblical commentaries), Thomas strongly emphasizes the role of Christ as light. With the category of light, Thomas also describes cognitive action, which aims to show, reveal and also manifest the known reality.

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