Mice scurry because the can; animals eat because the want to. In humans, the animal desires and powers can be corrupted by human intelligence, as well e. In humans it is not the animal powers that corrupt, but reason that corrupts the animal inclinations. Human Reason. The rationality of humans consists of three basic abilities, three powers of the psyche, whose operations are i conception, ii judgment and reasoning and iii choice.
The most basic form of judgment is a constant reality commitment, an existential commitment, usually accompanied by habitual affirmation of appearances. Aquinas does not discuss the varying vividness of such commitment or its willing suspension, for stories. Its states are our beliefs, our convictions, and our reasoning. When true, the content of the states is the reality known. It is causation that consists of a constant leaning to satisfaction from what we choose e.
But that inclination is opaque, to get what one decides on. Thus, an unlucky person can be constantly mistaken in what he seeks. A vicious person, rancorous, or badly trained, can constantly mistake relief of desire for satisfaction, like a person imprudently scratching an itch he makes worse. And one typically terminates deliberation by decision: that ability is to reach decision from indifferent options is freedom of will.
Freedom of choice, as an ability, is both a necessary condition of action in accord with understanding and for the fact that humans, unlike animals, are subject to moral praise and blame I-II, 6,2 ad 3 , that is, to judgment as to whether they act rightly or wrongly, in contrast to merely well or badly, as with horses or dogs.
Do humans seek happiness? In the abstract, yes, because they always want what they choose. But do they always want something? But is there one end for which humans always act? Even what is in other respects evil, is always chosen under some respect in which it is a good: for pleasure, power, excellence. And anything sought as a good is either sought as a good in itself or as an intermediate to some good I-II, 1, 6.
Opaquely it is what ends the constant pursuit I-II, 2,7 , namely, that our wills be satisfied. Such a satisfaction has to be permanent, and consist in active understanding and enjoyment.
So it is not naturally available. The present life is limited to various forms of flourishing, and that is uncertain and transient III, 75, 1. Immortality and the possibility of resurrection. Immortality, as indestructibility of the soul is not sufficient for human personal survival of death. For the soul, even though per se existing, is not the person III, 75,1 ad 2 , but a part, requiring individual embodiment for a complete human.
So, it has to be possible that humans are resurrected for it to be possible for humans to survive death. Aquinas does not offer reasoning that is independent of revelation, to establish the possibility of resurrection. His philosophical reasoning goes only this far: the human spirit cf.
I, 97,3 , is incorruptible and naturally immortal, and the soul spirit is not the person III, 75,1, ad 2. That amounts to a weak likelihood. The rest has to be settled by divine revelation; for such a vast material change, from dust, mud, or ashes, or from parts of cannibals, to a restored living body, lies only in the miraculous power of God III, 75,3.
He seems to take it as sure that such a transformation is not within the power of nature, as is metamorphosis. Hence, no soul will remain forever separated from the body. Man: The Regulation of Human Conduct: Internal: The morality of human actions depends on their being voluntary done from desire in the absence of defeating ignorance, fear, violence or passion ; voluntary actions are either habitual or deliberate chosen.
The measure of objective moral permissibility right or wrong, not tied to the praise or blame of the agent of a sort of action is whether such an action is in accord with reason used rightly. The same test applies objectively to the intention, circumstances and foreseeable consequences of the act.
The measure of subjective moral permissibility praiseworthiness or blameworthiness of the agent is: a permitted intention, and a reasonable belief that the action is right in itself, and under the circumstances and in its consequences.
Virtues and Vices. Human action is typically habitual, though the most important acts, including the ones that initiate habits, are deliberate choices. Habits are constant tendencies to action, a constant causation; some are natural, like bold temperament, or timorousness; some are acquired, by training, or by self-discipline, like studiousness; others, by self-indulgence, pride and gluttony.
Those are just the headings; the classification is detailed and full of examples. And courage is the active propensity to act against obstacles, when reasonably afraid of the danger, while cowardice is loosing action to the fear, and rashness is the tendency to act, underrating the danger.
Aquinas elaborates on whether the defects and excesses are from deficiencies of understanding, weakness of resolution, distraction, and the like. Even the modes of habits are detailed, for example, virtuous anger in defense of the innocent, or in self-defense , is distinguished from the many sorts that are evil: rage, wrath, ire, revenge, sullenness, indignation, contempt, vindictiveness, and rancor II-II, Law, both human and divine, is an external explanatory feature of human action because it regulates it.
This Treatise is one of the most influential documents in Western Legal History. All the rest of the principles are specifications of it, some obvious in themselves and others through experiences.
Theologically, such moral law is a human cognitive participation, in the divine regulation of the universe Eternal Law, I-II, 93,6, God regulated the universe by divine governance and positive law. That presupposes that all human beings form one real kind of thing that does not vary in essentials with history or environment, race or culture, and is the foundation of universal moral principles.
The very basic moral principles are self-evident, that is, evident just from a consideration of them. However, he acknowledges that the self-evidence of some propositions is accessible only to the educated, I-II, 94,2.
They belong to the natural moral law as well as to divine positive law the revealed Commandments. So it might not be surprising that, unless one were specially trained, one might not know what reason requires in the way of transferring real property to another, or how to care for the dying or how to relieve pain, or whether a lawyer can present a witness he knows will lie, what punishments are fitting for offenses, and how such ideas are conditioned by local custom that can amount to law I-II, 97,3.
So he claims there are simple, obvious, absolutely certain, unchanging moral principles for all times and circumstances that are the bedrock of morality, but that the more particular principles become, the less certain and the less universal they may be, depending on various factors, as do the usages of war, on the customs and abilities of times, persons, and places, and, when proportionality or special sorts of issues I-II, 95,4 are involved see below , they may be subject to uncertainty and variability.
Thus, the widespread picture of his natural law moral theory as conservative, static, authoritarian, and a priori, distorts it. For it is empirical, adaptive, and, when applied to civil law, is the origin of the fist general account of the invalidity of legislation, and of insuperable rights of conscience against the state. Moreover, natural law can change by accretion and adaptation I-II, 95,5 and The primary and very general secondary principles do not change. But the content of natural moral law, both requiring and prohibiting things, can grow as circumstances change, and some requirements may not continue for every case, as when there are special causes hindering the observance of such precepts e.
He does not discuss whether something thought permissible in the past maybe found, in new circumstances, impermissible e. But it seems that his moral theory requires both changes by contraction and expansion. For what reason requires and prohibits is a function human nature and the conditions of human life, mediated by human experience. Foundations of civil law. He observes that society is cooperative, and aimed at things that are important goods for everyone that cannot be reliably achieved by mere cooperation, without entrusting, what otherwise would be individual rights of defense and coercion, to a common source.
So, government is coercive power i. In fact law is defined as:. In the absence of any of those conditions, a general command is not law: it is void. Historically, that is the first general philosophical theory of the invalidity of legislative enactment. Moreover, legislative power does not extend to prohibit private vices, or intentions, or inner vices I-II, 96,2 , only public ones affecting others; or allow the law to require all virtues, even useful ones, unless needed for the common good I-II, 96,3.
And the law may be disobeyed, morally, when the burden is imposed unequally on the community, unless the danger of scandal forbids it.
Disobedience is also permitted in a variety of circumstances, for instance when reasonable disregard of the letter of the law is needed to attain the very purpose of the law e. The same would apply to traffic patterns, zoning laws, tax codes, trade regulations, food safety and thousands of others elements of public safety and convenience and commerce, though the legal systems of his time were much simpler; and he might generally be found on the side of legislative minimalists; for he also proposed that persons harmed by changes of law for the better should be compensated I-II, 97,2.
He offers a theory of just war II-II, 40 on principles of self-defense, which implies the principles of revolution and rebellion, as well , and of civil disobedience, partly to be found in the conditions stated I-II 96,4 and 6 and by analogy from the principles of conflict.
The basic principles of those theories are i proper public authority to act; ii moral necessity to act against a wrongdoer or aggressor, iii a permissible intention e.
The latter provisions iv and v, vi have been culled by commentators from other places in his moral theory, and from his other writings.
These ideas have reverberated in legal systems ever since. So too have the Questions, II-II , on judges, prosecution and accusation, defense, witnesses and counsel in judicial proceedings. Individual rights theories came later. Finally, Aquinas, like Augustine, regarded civil law as a necessity arising from the sinful condition of mankind in which conflicts and crimes arise.
All such coercive law will by abrogated as unnecessary with the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The work is dominated and organized by the task of providing a unified conception of the origin and destiny of the world, and of individual life, within the framework of the Catholic Christian Faith.
The philosophical underpinning of it all, and the detailed explanation of the religion in a unified philosophical system and with explicit philosophical reasoning, distinguished this book from any prior comprehensive Christian work; and its excellence as philosophical craftsmanship established it as one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western Literature.
Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae, Blackfriars Edition, Latin and English, with notes and introductions, 61 volumes, Christian Classics.
Summa Theologiae: a concise translation, pp, selected, translated and edited by Timothy McDermott. Copleston, Frederick, History of Philosophy 9 vols. II, Augustine to Scotus In terms of the signs preceding the End Times, he follows Augustine. On Hell The saints see perfectly the sufferings of the damned Supp.
Divine justice and their own deliverance will indeed by a direct cause of the saints Joy at seeing the sufferings of the damned. Conclusion This book will change you. Thomas forces you to always work with the implications and connections. Much can be said about the Angelic Doctor, Thomas Aquinas. The Summa Theologiae is, without a doubt, one of the finest treatments of theology given to the church.
One cannot simply do justice to such a work in an Goodreads review. However, I want to focus, in this review, on this edition of the Summa, published by the great folks at The Aquinas Institute.
My short review is this: if you are going to get one copy of the Summa Theologiae, make it this one. In brief, here are a few reasons why I am convinced this is the best edition you can grab. This is a must especially for theological students and scholars.
The binding, the page type, the ink, the cover—all of it. They have put together one of the most beautiful book sets I have come across in a world that loves to cut corners on books. Having sat with this for a few weeks now, I am convinced they could be charging double, but instead keep costs low for those looking for an affordable but handsome edition of the Summa.
Also, the size of the books is quite large think tall and wide , but that keeps them remaining quite slim. While this might seem silly to some, this in fact is crucial for the student who is wanting to reference while they read. The ease of reference was superb. The Aquinas Institute is currently working to publish all of Aquinas' works. You can learn more about them here: theaquinasinstitute.
I have one of the John commentaries and it is world-class like the rest of their output. View 1 comment. Oct 08, Walter rated it it was amazing Shelves: philosophy-medieval.
Aside from the Bible itself, the Summa Theologica is perhaps the most informative source of information about the Christian faith than any source ever written. In it, St. Thomas Aquinas tackles pretty much every detail of the Christian faith, incorporating scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers and the writings of the ancient and medieval philosophers into the analysis. The work is divided into three books, the first of which deals with the nature of God, the second of which deals with th Aside from the Bible itself, the Summa Theologica is perhaps the most informative source of information about the Christian faith than any source ever written.
The work is divided into three books, the first of which deals with the nature of God, the second of which deals with the nature of man and the third deals with the union of God and man in the incarnation, the Church and the sacraments. Aquinas presents the arguments against each teaching, and then presents the teaching, defends it, and then addresses each of the arguments that he originally made against the doctrine.
In this way, Aquinas supplies the Christian apologist enough ammunition to stave off any attack that is reasonably made against the faith. In my mind, if the Summa were more widely understood and studied then many if not most of the misunderstanding of the Christian faith would be eliminated. My advice to the aspiring Thomist is to approach the Summa as one would approach scripture. Don't try to read it all quickly. Tackle a question or an article each day and take your time in reading it.
Reading the Summa too quickly would be like taking a ferry ride across the ocean, rather than deep diving in scuba gear to explore the riches of the depths.
Understanding the Summa is a lifetime effort. The use of good commentaries is essential, and if you get into the Summa then you will want to familiarize yourself with the sources that Aquinas uses, such as Aristotle, Augustine, St. Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite and others. The technical philosophical language that St.
Thomas uses would be explained in a good commentary, and it would not be a bad idea to identify a Thomist scholar who can help you with your questions. Overall, I am a huge fan of Aquinas and recommend him to anyone who is brave enough to delve into his works with a view to deepen your faith and your understanding of life itself. I've seen this work described as "encyclopaedic," but I don't think that does it justice. While I don't remember it addressing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and I may very well have forgotten given that it's taken sixteen or so months of fairly consistent reading to get through , it covers just about any theological question you might think of and many, many more that would not have occurred to you from a 21st century vantage point.
Admittedly, my interest in this work was prima I've seen this work described as "encyclopaedic," but I don't think that does it justice. Admittedly, my interest in this work was primarily a result of its importance in the history of philosophy. It's one thing to be told that Aquinas sought to reconcile Aristotle with Christian theology and quite another to see how he does it.
Going in, I thought I'd be most fascinated by the cosmological discussions in the First Part; it turned out that the ethical discussions of the Second Parts- especially as informed by Aristotle's model of human psychology- were most interesting. Aquinas did have to do some gymnastics to square the idea that goodness is a mean with some things that seem proscribed arbitrarily.
But for the most part it became clear just how easy Aquinas made it for the Church to find purely secular justification for many beliefs with only a scriptural basis. There are also several discussions that put me in mind of George Carlin's routine on growing up Catholic where he talks about coming up with trick questions for the priest.
For instance, did Adam and Eve actually excrete in the Garden of Eden? This is addressed in FP Q. Or how about what happens if someone poisons the Eucharistic chalice after the wine has been consecrated? See TP Q. A rating for this kind of work is somewhat pointless. Three stars seems suitable for various reasons.
Jan 04, Mike T rated it it was amazing. This has been and likely always will be the greatest theological book series I've ever read. I'm still not through it but Aquinas seems to have more philosophy to him than religion in much of his work and in that I can find a huge amount of intrigue. While I'm not generally interested in the argument for why god does or does not exist I find the argument for why man should be great to his fellow man to be maybe the most important question and this book argues for logical reasoning of the highest This has been and likely always will be the greatest theological book series I've ever read.
While I'm not generally interested in the argument for why god does or does not exist I find the argument for why man should be great to his fellow man to be maybe the most important question and this book argues for logical reasoning of the highest fashion in regards to morality.
For that, this will likely be one of my go to tomes for the rest of my life. Mar 08, Thomas Crown rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: everyone, especially my friends with their toes constantly in the Tiber. As with most works of this length and breadth, you're better off reading it in the original Latin, even if it means you have to and I confess I had to keep an unabridged Latin-English dictionary nearby, and not merely for when you get bogged down with the ethical dative.
With that said, Aquinas goes through periods of mild contempt in American Catholic scholastic opinion, yet always survives his critics; and it is actually impossible to understand John Paul II's, and Benedict XVI's, theologica As with most works of this length and breadth, you're better off reading it in the original Latin, even if it means you have to and I confess I had to keep an unabridged Latin-English dictionary nearby, and not merely for when you get bogged down with the ethical dative.
With that said, Aquinas goes through periods of mild contempt in American Catholic scholastic opinion, yet always survives his critics; and it is actually impossible to understand John Paul II's, and Benedict XVI's, theological works, without first understanding Aquinas.
Aug 16, Jeremy rated it it was amazing. Haven't actually read all of it, but most of it, and its free on-line. Archaic to read, of course, but the use of logic and reason is fantastic. He beat Newton by years on at least one of the Laws of Physics, and described the notions of potential vs kinetic energy. Nov 29, Rebecca Hicks rated it it was amazing. Obviously, this isn't counting the Bible What more can one say? Extremely long. Few start it, fewer read it all the way through.
Only some people can even begin to appreciate it. Mar 14, Corey Rowe rated it it was amazing. Mar 17, Gigi rated it it was amazing. You could read this for years and still learn new things. Apr 12, Kenneth rated it it was amazing Shelves: reviewed. Read the vast majority of the five volumes of the Summa over the course of the years. In order to understand the text well a solid background in Catholic history, theology, Greek Philosophy Aristotle , as well as Scripture is necessary.
Otherwise, the Summa is eminently readable for those who have an intellect to comprehend or appreciate. The abridged version provides a picture that is beneficial for Read the vast majority of the five volumes of the Summa over the course of the years.
The abridged version provides a picture that is beneficial for understanding the general composition of the entire body of work. Moreover, endless commentaries or journal entries have been written about the Summa. The Summa is worth studying for Catholics especially even when the reader has no intention of completing the volumes from start to finish. In sum, the Summa is divided into three general philosophical categories.
The First part is concerned with Metaphysics, which is the more abstract subject matter, dense or difficult to read. The Second parts are concerned with the subjects of Cosmology, Epistemology or Anthropology. The Summa becomes more accessible, for the most part, in terms of lay readership at this point.
The perennial philosophical issues regarding the freedom of the will and predestination, the nature of body and soul, or the existence of evil, all have been provided rigorist treatments here by Aquinas.
Finally, the Third parts deal with the subjects of Ethics and Law. The Summa laid an important cornerstone for the major political philosophies that underlie Western civilization. When reading the text, one can easily leave aside the respective aspects of barbarous Medievalism that for us demonstrate impalpable elements of political life. In the end, even denying that there is any relevance to the Catholic Church in the present—age which is hard to deny , or to the secular politics of the times which is more debatable , the Summa still is without doubt one of the most important books of theology ever written, historically.
In conclusion, the Summa was written in a scrupulously ordered fashion that makes reading the text quite easy when the basic structure is grasped. There is a learning curve, true, but understanding the text is rewarding nonetheless. For avid readers of Aquinas, the vision that comprehending the full sweep of the Summa or the theological world that Aquinas gives rise to is analogously akin to appreciating the beauty of a Gothic cathedral.
Interestingly enough, the Summa was actually an introductory text for theologians in the Middle Ages. Aquinas here lays the groundwork for much of what would become contemporary catechesis in the present day Roman Catholic Church. In other words, Aquinas is the foundation for the method of teaching that educates upwards to a billion individuals the world over. Nov 02, Curtis Runstedler rated it it was amazing. Ah, Brother Thomas, where to begin? I read the concise translation, which was elegantly written and naturally concise.
I would have been interested to see where his discussion of the sacrament of penitence went, but I guess we'll never know. I wonder what really happened to him on that fateful St Nicholas Day. It's a beautiful work, and I think the sections that affected me most were the passages on human emotion and the soul. Summa is a treasure and its title truly explains itself. Apr 16, Aya added it Shelves: second-year , philosophy. Of course I didn't read the pages. I only read selected chapters talking about the existence of God and the essence of being.
So, I'm not in the right position to rate this book so i'll leave the rating empty. Apr 24, Nathaniel rated it it was amazing Shelves: on-the-shelf. Yep, I read it. And it was hard Aug 06, Christopher rated it it was amazing. The definitive theological treatise. Oct 03, Jana Light marked it as to-read Shelves: i-ve-lost-my-mojo. I think it's finally time to start chipping away at the STh. Some editions of the Summa Theologica include a Supplement comprising discussions of an additional 99 questions concerning a wide variety of loosely related issues such as excommunication, indulgences, confession, marriage, purgatory, and the relations of the saints toward the damned.
Scholars believe that Rainaldo da Piperno, a friend of Aquinas, probably gathered the material in this supplement from a work that Aquinas had completed before he began working on the Summa Theologica. To this end, Aquinas cites proofs for the existence of God and outlines the activities and nature of God.
Approximately one-half of the Summa Theologica then examines the nature and purpose of man. Finally, Aquinas devotes his attention to the nature of Christ and the role of the Sacraments in effecting a bridge between God and man. Within these broad topical boundaries, though, Aquinas examines the nature of God and man in exquisite detail. His examination includes questions of how angels act on bodies, the union of body and soul, the cause and remedies of anger, cursing, and the comparison of one sin with another.
Aquinas is attempting to offer a truly universal and rational view of all existence. Adopting Aristotelian principles and concepts, Aquinas attempts to explain the origin, operation, and purpose of the entire universe and the role that everything in the universe plays in the attainment of that purpose.
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