Abstract:

According to a statement by Thomas Aquinas in his Commentary on De caelo, the study of philosophy does not consist in knowing the opinions of men, but rather in penetrating the truth of things.
An absolute interpretation of this idea would undoub- tedly lead to a distorted image of its author: a medieval master indifferent to the history of thought, who maintains that direct access to the real is the only way for philosophy to reach its goal.
Our work attempts to specify the way in which Thomas integrates the opinions of men within a traditional conception of philosophical knowledge, whose main intention is to know veritas rerum.

Key words:

philosophy, history, truth, realism, Thomas Aquinas.