The Aristotelian Philosophy of the Perishable World

When Aquinas treats their the division of the sciences or bodies of knowledge in their unity he makes several key distinctions. The first is between the speculative sciences like metaphysics or mathematics that treat knowledge of the structure of reality considered for its own sake and those practical sciences oriented toward action and human flourishing. Within speculative knowledge then he distinguishes three pure sciences. He considers them pure because of their objects that are distinct and utterly distinguishable. And Aquinas will argue elsewhere I would say beauty.