A Summary of Philosophy

by Thomas Aquinas, Richard J. Regan

This compact collection of philosophical texts from the Summa Theologica --on God, creation, the soul, human acts, moral good and evil, love, habits, virtue, and law--is presented newly translated in abridged form and cast in a modified version of the medieval quaestio . Included are only the most important objections and Aquinas’ replies; appeals to scriptural, theological, and philosophical authorities have been omitted. Unlike the ordering of the originals, questions and answers are here presented prior to objections and replies; the result is a sharp, rich, topically organized question-answer presentation of Aquinas' major philosophical arguments within a brief compass. A general Introduction, headnotes, a glossary, an index, and a select bibliography offer expert guidance to the work of this major philosopher.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

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

[Brandon Stariha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gets a 4 for its content and importance but man this sucked to get through

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soul, body, obligation, the will, goodness, distinctions, natural law, and essence ad nauseam... okay.

Aquinas is dense, but I appreciate his organization. I find his soft determinism to be disappointing. Very Aristotelian.

I liked his "5 Ways" arguments as it stood in contrast to Anselm's "Ontological Argument" (whom I label as more Platonic). Aquinas, in comparison, is much more logical in presentation (less comically entertaining). Nevertheless, I find both arguments to be foolish in any rational discussion.

[Milo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This man's an irritating quack. He stole Aristotle's main theories and Christianized them to a point where they stopped making any sense. I found most of his arguments to be fairly circular and easily visualized with the not-so-invisible ending of "because God says so." A few of his arguments were actually interesting, thought-provoking and--dare I say it--nearly believable, but they were few and far between.

Whatever issue you have with the Roman Catholic church you can ultimately thank Aquinas for.