Very simply, a Thomist life view is a perspective of the natural world that models itself on the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Thomas lived in the 13th century when Europe was beginning to rediscover the writings of the classical world. Saint Thomas was a Dominican monk and lived from 1225 to 1274, a time when the monks were the premier scholars of Europe.
During the dark ages in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, much of classical learning was lost. Luckily, some of the classical writings (including Aristotle) were preserved both by Muslims and by the Christian monks in Ireland and Britain. It was during Thomas's lifetime that all of Europe began "relearning" this classical knowledge. It was the writings of Aristotle that particularly interested Thomas.
Aristotle was the classical philosopher most associated with natural learning or what we might call science today. Unlike Plato, who believed that the real world was in in the "forms" that existed outside of nature, Aristotle found much to learn from Plato's "shadow" world and consequently, he devoted much of his studying to this world of change that included animals, humans, and nature.
Early in Christianity, another great saint of the Catholic church, Saint Augustine, had formulated early Christian doctrine primarily based on Plato's ideas. Accordingly Christian doctrine from the time of Augustine, roughly the 4th century, through the time of Saint Thomas, emphasized an otherworldly, upwardly looking, rather earth denying existence. If natural life seemed rough, it was because, as Plato said, the "real" world was somewhere else.
For the Christians that somewhere else was heaven with God. Sadly, it took almost a thousand years for Europe to rediscover the counterpart to Plato. Saint Thomas eagerly devoured the newly discovered Aristotle, and transformed Aristotle's teachings of "physics" so as to conform perfectly with Christian Doctrine.
By consistently studying Aristotle's ideas and by utilizing the methods of Aristotle's natural learning, Thomas affirmed the idea that the natural world was made by God, and as such, was good. It merited study, reverence, and admiration as the creation of the Lord. This long awaited balance to Augustine has remained part of church doctrine ever since.
For the work he did to reconcile ancient "pagan" and worldly philosophy with Christian doctrine, as well as for his devotion and piety, Thomas was made a saint in 1323. His contribution to Catholic doctrine has come to be known as a "Thomist" world view. This very Catholic view of life sees life as sacramental.
While scholars often acknowledge that this new reverence for the material world and scientific method propelled Europe into the age of discovery that was to come during the renaissance, for Christians, the Thomist respect for the world is much more. The sacramental view sees the natural order as infused with divinity because it is made by an eternal being.
Every part of nature warrants study because of this, and no part of nature is to be maligned. While there is a tremendous amount more To Thomas's analysis of Aristotle, quite simply, what this "Thomist" life view emphasizes and indeed insists is that there is God in everything. It is a view still very much followed consciously and unconsciously today by Christians.
