The question of whether beauty is transcendental is a subject that has been debated throughout history. Saint Thomas Aquinas was among those who debated this subject. In order to fully understand the question, we must first learn about Thomas Aquinas, what he defines as beauty and transcendentals, then finally how the question is posed. “Is beauty transcendental? had been considered over time.Thomas Aquinas was a theologian who lived from 1224 to 1274 AD. He was born into an aristocratic family and spent his early years in the Kingdom of Sicily. When Thomas Aquinas was young there was a clash between the pope of the time and Frederick II, the conflict between civil and ecclesiastical authority was the first of many conflicts that would influence Aquinas' theological and philosophical writings. When Thomas Aquinas and his family moved to the University of Naples, he began reading the works of Aristotle. Thomas Aquinas admired the work of Aristotle and was influenced by it. He then completed his studies in Paris where he finally became a professor at the Faculty of Theology. He traveled from Rome to Paris, living in various locations until his death in 1274. Aquinas' writings are heavily focused on theology but also lean toward Christian philosophy. He is also considered the father of Thomism. Thomas Aquinas often took a religious turn in his work to improve society. This can be seen when Aquinas mentions that God had “equipped the human mind to capture” (Spicher). It is about knowledge of the world around us. Thomas Aquinas was considered a close friend of the Church, with some even saying he was the ideal Catholic. It provided logic to prove the existence of God, thus giving more power to the Church. He did this by first stating that something could be in the middle of a paper ......e (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifested)” source. According to this definition, beauty is subjective; appeal to his pleasures and his taste. The modern definition of a transcendental is described as "unexperienced but knowable: independent of human experience of phenomena but within the scope of knowledge." There is no concrete answer to this question of whether beauty is a transcendental. If you move away from Saint Thomas' definition of beauty and transendalities, the short answer would be no. The longer answer is debatable. The modern view of this issue follows some of the same paths. Works Cited Spicher, Michael. “Medieval Theories of Aesthetics.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Np, December 11, 2010. Web. December 09, 2013.College Binary. “Philosophy in Three Minutes: Thomas Aquinas.” CollegeBinary. YouTube, April 24, 2008. Web. December 9. 2013.