Philosophical and theological system developed by St.
It holds that the human soul is immortal and is a unique subsistent form, that human knowledge is based on sensory experience but also depends on the mind's reflective capacity, and that all creatures have a natural tendency to love God that can be perfected and elevated by grace and application. In the 20th century, Thomism was developed by Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) and Jacques Maritain . After World War II, Thomists faced three major tasks: to develop an adequate philosophy of science, to account for phenomenological and psychiatric findings, and to evaluate the ontologies of {{link=existentialism">existentialism and naturalism .