(A)
Are there any other powers of knowing in man?
Yes, there is another faculty of knowing and it is man's chief power.
What is this chief power of knowing in man called?
It is called his reason or intellect (LXXIX. 1).
Is reason and intellect one and the same power of knowing in man?
Yes (LXXIX. 8).
Why are these two names given to the same power?
It is because in the act of knowing man sometimes understands at a glance as it were without reasoning whereas at other times he must reason (ibid.).
Is reasoning an act proper to man?
Yes, because of all beings that are, man alone is able to reason, or has need of reasoning.
Is it a perfection in man to be able to reason?
Yes, but it is an imperfection to have need of reasoning.
Why is it a perfection in man to be able to reason?
Because in this wise man can attain to truth; whereas no creature inferior to man, such as animals which are without reason, can do this.
Why is it on the other hand, an imperfection in man to have need of reasoning?
Because in this wise he attains to truth by slow degrees only, and he is thereby liable to err; whereas God and the angels who have no need of reasoning attain to truth straightway without fear of making a mistake.
Next - The Catechism of the Summa - XV. OF THE MIND AND ITS ACT OF UNDERSTANDING (B)
Pegues OP, R P Thomas. Catechism of the "Summa Theologica" of Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Use of the Faithful (pp. 67-69). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.
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