Abstract

According to the Thomistic reflection on contingent matters, a conclusion is probabilis when it is arrived to through “dialectical” arguments, in the Aristotelician sense. In particular, for Aquinas dialectics is a method for searching truth also in the specific realm of judicial context, which represents a particular case of probable knowledge. Dialectics, as attends non only to value the reliability of testimonies, but aims more in general to the verification of the facts at stake, ensures the highest probability of the solution to be reached. From the Thomistic perspective, then, one can claim that, if in a trial the acquired evidence is sufficient, the solution arrived to through the dialectical method is, among the many possible, the one which most probably “corresponds” to reality.