Aquinas

by Stump; Eleonore

• ISBN13: 9780415029605
• ISBN10: 0415029600
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-23
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Few philosophers or theologians exerted as much influence on the shape of Medieval thought as Thomas Aquinas. He ranks amongst the most famous of the Western philosophers and was responsible for almost single-handedly bringing the philosophy of Aristotle into harmony with Christianity. He was also one of the first philosophers to argue that philosophy and theology could support each other. The shape of metaphysics, theology, and Aristotelian thought today still bears the imprint of Aquinas work. In this extensive and deeply researched study, Eleonore Stump enages Aquinas across the full range of his philosophical writings. She examines Aquinas' major works, Summa Theologiaeand Summa Contra Gentilesand clearly assesses the vast range of Aquinas' thought from his metaphysics, theology, philosophy of mind and epistemology to his views on free will, action, the soul and ethics, law and politics. She considers the influence of Aquinas' thought on contemporary philosophyand why he should be still read today.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of abbreviations	xv
List of Aquinas's works	xvi
Introduction: life and overview of Aquinas's thought	1	(32)
Part I The ultimate foundation of reality	33	(156)
Metaphysics: a theory of things	35	(26)
Goodness	61	(31)
God's simplicity	92	(39)
God's eternity	131	(28)
God's knowledge	159	(30)
Part II The nature of human beings	189	(118)
Forms and bodies: the soul	191	(26)
The foundations of knowledge	217	(27)
The mechanisms of cognition	244	(33)
Freedom: action, intellect and will	277	(30)
Part III The nature of human excellence	307	(98)
A representative moral virtue: justice	309	(30)
A representative intellectual virtue: wisdom	339	(22)
A representative theological virtue: faith	361	(28)
Grace and free will	389	(16)
Part IV God's relationship to human beings	405	(74)
The metaphysics of the incarnation	407	(20)
Atonement	427	(28)
Providence and suffering	455	(24)
Notes	479	(102)
Select bibliography	581	(17)
Index	598