Aquinas and Descartes – Minds or Matter

Write an essay on why Aquinas and Descartes disagree about which is known first, our minds or matter.
1. In Question 87, Article 1, Aquinas argues that the intellect cannot know itself before it knows the natures of material bodies.
a. Why does Aquinas think this?
b. Which premises and inferences in Aquinas’s argument would Descartes disagree with. Explain why
2. In Meditation 2, Descartes argues that we can know that we are a thinking thing before we know whether any material bodies exist.
a. Why does Descartes think this? Explain using the concept of acquaintance.
b. Which premises and inferences in Descartes’s argument would Aquinas disagree with? Explain why.

The essay is meant to be 1200 words but 4 pages is the only option I can select.