FREEDOM OF CHOICE AS THE BASIS OF CREATIVITY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF THOMAS AQUINAS

The article examines the essence and mechanisms of creativity as they were understood by one of the most prominent representatives of the Medieval philosophy – Thomas Aquinas. Capacity for creativity is deter- mined by the dual nature of man, combining both human and divine grounds. In Aquinas' philosophy the phe- nomenon of creativity is directly associated with a concept of freedom which is interpreted as a program of per- sonal development. This approach to the definition of the nature of creativity seems relevant for modern philoso- phy, which understands creativity as one of the distinctive and fundamental properties of a human being