Best Expositors of Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophy

[Francis1636]

As i enter college this upcoming fall, i am interested in taking up philosophy. I do not think i am ready to begin directly reading St. Thomas, so i would like some opinions on peoples’ favorite philosophers in his tradition. I just read Maritain’s “Introduction to Philosophy” which was decent, and was wondering who people think the best Thomas philosophers are in both Maritain’s era of the Neo-Thomist revival as well as more recent popularizers of Thomas (McInerny, Feser, et al). Any suggestions (as well as explanations) would be appreciated, particularly with respect to a beginner in philosophy. Thanks in advance! Also, I am interested in people’s opinions on the New Natural Lawyers, as i am very familiar with Robert George’s work and have profound respect for the man.

 

[Rhubarb]

You’ll cover a lot of Aristotle in the ancient philosophy classes, and I would bet dollars to doughnuts your department will have upper-division history of philosophy classes about Aristotle. Aristotle should figure in to some parts of philosophy of physics and philosophy of math, too. Ethics classes might touch on Aristotle’s ethics, too.

You should touch Aquinas in philosophy of religion.

I just completed a BA in philosophy. In all honesty, I don’t think anyone is ever really ‘ready’ to approach a text in philosophy. Our grad adviser, whom everyone in the department considered brilliant, always said seriously that when you read philosophy a legitimate reaction is ‘huh?’ In my opinion, start with Aristotle if Aquinas is your interest. Read Categoriae, De Interpretatione, De Anima, and Metaphysics. (Categories, On Interpretation, On the Soul, Metaphysics) And probably Nichomachiean Ethics. I think these books will give you the foundation you need to approach philosophers of an Aristotelian vein. These should definitely be covered in the coursework if you pursue philosophy on campus so the instructor will likely assign textbooks that are well translated and abridged for the parts that are most crucial. The unabridged texts are easy to find.

 

[Rhubarb]

Also, plato.stanford.edu/ is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in philosophy. It is edited by professional philosophers.

philosophybro.com is a wonderful resource for breaking down philosophy texts in common language - if you don’t mind the salty words. It’s very tongue-in-cheek. (Imagine a frat-boy philosopher) The material is good, and the author clearly is passionate about philosophy. He also knows his stuff.

 

[utunumsint]

Hi Francis,

I would suggest Edward Feser’s books. Aquinas is a good introduction. The Last Superstition is a good polemic take down of new atheists. Especially when they are trying to argue against the five ways. If you don’t like polemics, then Aquinas is the better place to start. Scholastic Metaphysics is a very technical book. Definitely read that after you read Aquinas. In fact, I would suggest re-reading Aquinas after reading Scholastic Metaphysics. Aquinas’ natural theology is a whole lot clearer and convincing if you do that.

I also liked The Way Toward Wisdom: An Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Introduction to Metaphysics. But it is very dense. He gives a very good overview of the different brands of Schoalisticism as well. Although you can find one on Edward Feser’s blog as well here.

In general, I would recommend reading through Feser’s blog. It interesting and also entertaining at times.

I would also suggest his book on the philosophy of mind. The last chapter provides a brief introduction to hylemorphic dualism. It is one of his earlier works. I believe it predates Aquinas, The Last Superstition, and Scholastic Metaphysics.

All of these suggestions are from a non-academic. If you are going into philosophy, you will also likely have to read all the primary sources as Rhubarb says.

God bless,
Ut