Aquinas 101: A Basic Introduction to the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas

by Francis Selman

A brief, engaging, and readable summary of the influential thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the Catholic Church's greatest minds. In this clear, thoughtful and immensely readable book, Francis Selman offers summaries on some of the most complex topics in the writing of St. Thomas Aquinas. Selman deftly draws on the work of contemporary scholars while situating Aquinas in relation to the thinkers and schools of thought he was both confronting and drawing upon. The result provides an overview that places the thought of Aquinas both in his time and in our own.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Philosophy, Catholic

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sam Eccleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic overview of Aquinas' thought; Selman manages, mostly, to bring out the genius and subtlety of Aquinas words in terms that make sense to modern minds. Many of the passages of this book reward re-reading, particularly those that deal with the virtues, the soul, and charity. The work is let down by the occasional mistake; sometimes, when grouping related concepts together, Selman will forget to explain or define one or two of them, which makes the whole discussion somewhat unclear. He also occasionally uses arguments and definitions which seem circular, and thus perhaps misses out on what could be interesting segues into other related topics or the work of other thinkers.

[Ei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. This is someone else's intro to Aquinas' works. I couldn't get into it. I did not finish it. Moved on to Saint Thomas Aquinas Philosophical Texts, translated by Thomas Gilby. Enjoying this much more.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of why I never studied philosophy. Recycled Aristotle with a Christian purpose. Some of the argumentation was interesting, but most of it was absolutely, and I can't believe I'm making this pun, soul-numbing. If your goal is to get a solid handle on Aquinas' thought, this book is pretty good. It certainly would help to read a short treatise on Aristotle's philosophy first since I think some of what Selman had to say would have been reasonably hard to follow if I hadn't been up on my Aristotle, well what I remembered from grad school. Yep, definitely not going for a second career in medieval philosophy.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been interested in reading a bit more on Aquinas for a while, because I am weird (which can only explain why I am the lone person to have reviewed this book on Goodreads). Mostly I picked this book because I found it at the library, so i won't say it is the best place to go for a summary of St. Thomas' thought. But it was helpful and interesting. I think Christians today should give another hearing to St. Thomas, especially in regards to the relationship of natural theology to special revelation.

[Matt "Hawk" Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great read. Selman writes in a way that isn't too scholarly without dumbing it down too much. Great insight into the teaching and works of Aquinas. This is the first Aquinas book I've read and it was great introduction to learning and understanding his works.

[Bob Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and the way it broke down the information. It's obvious that I'll need to read more of what St. Thomas has written.