Angelicum Thomistic Institute Le Hibou, les Bains et la Petite Vieille | François-Xavier Putallaz
Nov 24, 2025
François-Xavier Putallaz, a Swiss Catholic scholar, delves into Thomas Aquinas's insights on intellect and faith. He discusses Aristotle's owl metaphor, illustrating how our intellect struggles with knowledge due to its limitations. The conversation explores the balance between philosophy and theology, emphasizing the importance of humility in grasping divine truths. Putallaz critiques modern utilitarianism's focus on pleasure, illustrating how physical comforts can soothe grief but not provide true consolation. The session culminates in a deep reflection on faith as a pathway to understanding what reason alone cannot.
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Intellect Like An Owl’s Eyes
- Thomas Aquinas compares our intellect to an owl's eyes to show our cognitive limits in both too little and too much light.
- Some truths are evident in themselves yet remain inaccessible because our intellect is intrinsically weak.
Two Kinds Of Intellectual Night
- Thomas distinguishes infra-intelligible (absurd) and supra-intelligible (too bright) limits that both hinder understanding.
- Things most intelligible in themselves can remain incomprehensible to us because they surpass our cognitive capacity.
Essence Versus Sensible Appearance
- Even familiar material essences remain only partially known because we apprehend them via sensible properties, not their inner substance.
- The intellect can grasp essences yet cannot perfectly know even a single individual thing's full nature.
