This post was added as a supplement to the earlier post A Corrective to Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas’ Misreading of Aquinas’ Philosophy in his Book, “Islam and Secularism” in Feb. 2026
—–
Naquib al-Attas’ claim that Thomas Aquinas’s misguided distinction between existence and essence led to the development of nominalism, which in turn was responsible for the rise of secularism, is not only philosophically dubious but is also an oversimplification of intellectual history. His argument presents a linear, mono cause-and-effect narrative that fails to account for the complex, multi-causal factors that drove secularization in Europe. While nominalism did play a significant role in this process, it was one influence among many. Political changes, economic shifts (urbanization which severed the relationship between the migrant workers and the village church and parson), the Reformation, Renaissance humanism, and the religious wars of the sixteenth century all contributed crucially to the rise of secularism. Continue reading “Nominalism, Humanism, and the Rise of Secularism: A Corrective to Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas”