Adequatio Rei Et Intellectus
…I wished to live deliberately, to face only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived (Henry David Thoreau).
“What should I do?”
The question faces us multiple times a day. What should I do with my time, my particular relationships, my job, etc…?
Each day brings with it the challenge of discerning how to live one’s life, and in such a way that, as Thoreau remarks, we do not come to the end of it to discover that we had never really lived at all.
In order to answer the question of daily discernment, we must first answer a bigger question: what is the ultimate purpose of our lives; since, it is only from knowledge of the end, that we can determine the appropriate means to that end (i.e. what we should do day-to-day).
As a Christian, but even for the non-Christian, the goal of human life is the same: the imitation of Christ. As Jesus Christ said:
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there also will my servant be (Jn. 12:26).
And as St. Paul continued:
My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you (Gal. 4:19).
Therefore, if our life is about imitating Christ’s life, then what was His life about?
The Truth
…For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth (Jn. 18:37).
Jesus’ life, according to himself, was about the Truth.
But “what is truth?” (Jn. 8:38).
According to philosopher Avicenna, as quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas, truth is:
…adaequatio rei et intellectus (conformity of the thing to the mind) (ST.I, Q.16., A.1).
For example, when I think there is a computer in front of me and there actually is a computer in front of me then that thought, being equal to the reality outside of me, is true: the thing and thought are “adequatio” (equal).
So, if that is the definition of truth, then what makes for a true life?
Simply put, it is a life that conforms to the mind of God (i.e. what God had in mind when He created us).
Now, there is a sense in which this always happens and without fail—no matter what we do—since God knows all things, whether they be past, present, or future.
But there is also a sense in which this doesn’t necessarily happen, as Scripture attests:
He (God) has not commanded any one to be ungodly, and he has not given anyone permission to sin (Sir. 15:20).
Yet, sin occurs, and so it seems we have a choice. We can choose either to live a life in conformity with the mind of God, who said:
Let us make man in our image and likeness…(Gen. 1:26).
The image and likeness of which is Jesus Christ “the image of the invisible God,” (Col. 1:15) “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).
Or, we can choose to live a life that is false—to live a lie (literally).
True life
True life is that life which conforms to Christ, who is Truth, and who:
…being found in human form humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8).
It is His life that our lives must imitate in our daily decisions. It is His model that is our compass in making day-to-day decisions.
So then, next time we are faced with the difficulty of “what to do” whether right now, later today, tomorrow, or with our entire lives, let us rely on the Holy Spirit to provide the answer, and prayerfully ask the question:
“What is the truth?” (Jn. 18:37).
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