>>10961760Aquinas knew that heresy was a death sentence. He was their butt-boy, nothing more, nothing less.
The Church killed off heretics left and right, most notably, the Lucrecians, whose works were burned and apostates tortured and killed.
Aquinas is a figure of historical significance in the history of philosophy, but his arguments were weak and the most charitable analysis suggests he altered his conclusions to fit his circumstances.
Aquinas was useful for religious authoritarians, who used his arguments to keep enlightenment at bay for centuries via torture, imprisonment, and execution.
The intellectual legacy of this survives in science denial of all kinds, from the Flat Earthers, to the Anti-vaxxers, to Climate denialists.
