Commentary on Aristotle's De Anima [Aristotelian Commentary Series]

Yale Library of Medieval Philosophy Series

by Thomas Aquinas

The fine editions of the Aristotelian Commentary Series make available long out-of-print commentaries of St. Thomas on Aristotle. Each volume has the full text of Aristotle with Bekker numbers, followed by the commentary of St. Thomas, cross-referenced using an easily accessible mode of referring to Aristotle in the Commentary.Each volume is beautifully printed and bound using the finest materials. All copies are printed on acid-free paper and Smyth sewn. They will last.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Medieval, Religion

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and theologian of Italy and the most influential thinker of the medieval period, combined doctrine of Aristotle and elements of Neoplatonism, a system that Plotinus and his successors developed and based on that of Plato, within a context of Christian thought; his works include the Summa contra gentiles (1259-1264) and the Summa theologiae or theologica (1266-1273).

Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.

People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."

Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for an Independent Study. We focused on Books II and III, paying particular attention to Aquinas' view of the Intellect and Imagination. Aquinas revises and criticizes Averroes view of Imagination. For Averroes Imagination was very different than the modern view of Imagination. He thought it was integral to the Intellect and formation of Universal ideas. For Aquinas, in contrast to Averroes' position, the imagination was a way of retaining representations, memories, and images; and was individual and particular. It was not the bridge between sense and Intellect (which I believe was Averroes' position). Aquinas attempts to reconcile the Christian notion of the Mind with the Aristotelian, and he does so in a strong and convincing way. This wonderful book is powerful in its logic, and you cannot help but to have a lot of respect for Aquinas' scholarship. His intellect was indeed massive. Anyone who criticizes the Medieval thinkers as being dogmatic is superstitious is silly. They attempt to prove their arguments with extreme argument and rigor, and precise and thorough logic. Simply disbelieving the concept of God qua God and using that as a criticism of Medieval thinkers is naive and willful ignorance. This text is very important in understanding Aquinas own thought and his own views of the intellect.

Lastly, this book reads like a lecture course. Rarely does he move away from a strict exposition and analysis, and even more rarely does he criticize Aristotle. When you get to Book III, then Aquinas begins to disclose his own personal views.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in Aquinas, Aristotle, and Medieval Philosophy in general. It is a difficult and laborious work, but well worth the effort.

[David Haines · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an essential read for anyone who wishes to talk about the soul (spirit, etc.), or pursue the philosophy of human nature, theological anthropology or philosophy of mind. It is the best commentary on Aristotle's De Anima that exists, and gives a clear understanding of all of the major issues in the subject. It does not, of course, interact with developments or thoughts since the 13th century, but, it equips the thinker to interact with contemporary thoughts on these issues.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, for anyone who finds Aristotle a rather bland and thus difficult read, or perhaps for anyone who, admittedly like myself, finds Aristotle a difficult person to understand, this must be picked up immediately. Not only does the book offer a (from what I can tell, and from what I have heard) reliable translation of Aristotle's own text, but Aquinas's commentary is elucidatory and extremely helpful. It is rightly said of the latter that he is perhaps the most knowledgeable reader of the former, and his commentary here (and, as I shall soon discover, in his other commentaries on "The Philosopher") is most helpful. I highly recommend it to any student of philosophy studying Aristotelian philosophy, as well as to anyone else who seeks philosophic knowledge.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the greatest of Thomas's commentaries on Aristotle that I have yet read. The translation is excellent, and the Angelic Doctor does a fantastic job of explaining The Philosopher's work here. There are too many good passages for me to select a favorite.

[Austin Hoffman]

I realized I wasn’t enjoying, understanding, or even reading this book anymore, so I stopped.