A Cathedral of Questions About Emotion

The chapter's central question

The question and answer method of scholastic philosophy does not declare the conclusion first. Set the expected objections in their strongest form, provide authoritative evidence and your own answer, and then respond to each objection one by one. Emotion theory also moves from general passion to love and hate, hope and fear, pleasure and sadness, and anger, and tests the relationships between concepts.

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Thomas Aquinas was an intellectual giant and encyclopedic thinker of the Middle Ages. In his masterpiece 『Summa Theologiae』, 'Theory of Passions' is the most elaborate emotional structure in human intellectual history, consisting of a total of 27 questions (Quaestio) and numerous detailed provisions, from questions 22 to 48.

At the time, many religious people treated emotions as 'corrupted remnants of the body' and 'dangerous temptations that pollute the soul' and emphasized only abstinence and repentance. However, Thomas made a revolutionary declaration by combining Aristotle's realist philosophy with Christian theology.

'Humans are not pure angels! 'Because we are beings whose body and soul are combined as one, feeling joy and sorrow through our senses is the essence of humanity and a beautiful gift from God.'

Context and nuance

Thomas Aquinas deals with the passions in the detailed format of question-rebuttal-answer in Summa Theologiae, Part 1, Part 2 (I–II), questions 22-48. By reconstructing Aristotle's theory of the soul and ethics within the Christian understanding of human beings, we see that for humans with bodies, emotions are not accidental defects but natural movements of sensuous desires.

If we only look at Summa Theologiae through an old classification table, we miss the educational power of this format. What Thomas teaches is not just a list of correct answers, but also how to withstand opposition and refine concepts. When understanding your feelings, you need to ask ‘Why not?’ rather than confirming your initial interpretation.

Do not oversimplify it this way

Medieval ‘passion’ does not exactly overlap with the passive passion of modern Korean. Also, the categories of desire and anger should not be treated as if they were two brain circuits or personality types. This is a system that logically divides the movement of desires according to the way good or evil comes to them with ease or difficulty.

Philosophy in life

Have you ever felt guilty because of the emotions rising like fire in your heart, even though your head said, ‘I need to forgive, I need to stay calm’?

Aquinas' bath and sleep: Take a warm shower on a tiring night and sleep for at least 7 hours without a smartphone.

Primary-source guide

Primary guide: Summa Theologiae I–II, qq. 22–48, especially qq. 24, 25, 38, and 40–48.

Pathos Editorial · Reviewed 2026-09-12