I'm about to place my very last paper (for this degree anyway) in the prof's mailbox. It discusses the history of philosophical inquiry into the nature of history. In other words, it combines the philosophy of history and the history of philosophy into a confusing mish-mash, which I may or may not have succeeded in finding my way out of again after getting myself into it. Ah, well. Here you are:
THE EXPLICATION OF TRUTH IN HISTORY
St. Thomas Aquinas solves the question as to whether the articles of faith have increased in the course of time by comparing them to the first principles of natural reason. He writes:
The articles of faith stand in the teaching of faith as principles known through themselves stand in the teaching of what is had by natural reason. A certain order is found in these principles. Some are implicitly contained in others… Thus it is to be said that, as regards the substance of the articles of faith, there has been no increase in them with the passing of time, since whatever things the later Fathers believe were contained in the faith of the earlier, even if implicitly. But as regards explication, the number of articles grew.
The rest of the paper is available via the link on the sidebar.
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