How are Christian Beliefs Justified?

Four Interpretations of Aquinas’s View

Abstract

This article discusses the epistemological principles behind Aquinas’s account of faith and relates these principles to debates in analytic epistemology. Aquinas regards beliefs held by divine faith as epistemically justified to a preeminent degree. Since his understanding of the nature of faith is rather complex, however, a number of different interpretations of the epistemological principles behind it have been suggested. I will highlight problems with three common interpretations (the “Naturalist”, “Voluntarist” and “Supernatural Externalist” interpretations) and suggest a fourth model – the “Testimonial” interpretation – which escapes these problems. Given the Testimonial Interpretation, moreover, Aquinas’s view of faith as preeminently justified knowledge is arguably defensible in a contemporary context.