Now, given what has been thought-through about Thomism and Thomists in the introductory posts, the next most obvious question is one related to the fundamental teachings of Aquinas and Thomism—what do Thomists more or less universally hold to be the case: 1) Are there particular teachings that are fundamental to Thomism? 2) In what sense are they fundamental? And 3) What are they?

Given what I have said about Thomism and Thomists in the first two posts (here and here), perhaps it is already clear why one would want to be a Thomist, or why one would happily be identified as a Thomist (even one of the ‘Strict Observance’) By taking Aquinas as a primary guide in the life of the mind, one hands oneself over to someone who is both sure in his argumentation and insightful in his conclusions, conservative in his preservation of the intellectual inheritance bequeathed to him, and liberal in his application of this tradition together with the innovations he charitably introduces.

Given what I’ve said about Thomism, we can begin by saying that a ‘Thomist’ is someone who participates in the Thomistic Tradition, someone who receives from this tradition, someone who adopts at least some of its method and/or contents, and, ideally, if possible, someone when contributes to this same tradition. A Thomist is then a link in the chain of philosophical exploration joining all great thinkers throughout the ages, uniting all those who participate in Thomism across place and time… and thus also a participant in the philosophia perennis, together with the broader human venture to strive after wisdom.