Where to Start with Thomas Aquinas

[inomcoke]

I’m interested in reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and was hoping to get some thoughts as to where to start.

Please provide me with your recommendations on which book I should by first.

Thanks!

Michael

 

[gferrer]

I’m interested in reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and was hoping to get some thoughts as to where to start.

Please provide me with your recommendations on which book I should by first.

Thanks!

Michael

I have found Peter Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa to be a useful collection. It includes substantial excerpts from his writings.

Also useful is Aquinas by Edward Feser. This is an accessible introduction to Aquinas’s thought that helps contextualize things.

 

[balto]

I have found Peter Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa to be a useful collection. It includes substantial excerpts from his writings.

Also useful is Aquinas by Edward Feser. This is an accessible introduction to Aquinas’s thought that helps contextualize things.

You beat me to it . I’m reading Aquinas now and it is an excellent introduction to St. Thomas. I have Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa but I have not read it yet (it’s the next book on my list).

 

[hicetnunc]

I’m interested in reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and was hoping to get some thoughts as to where to start.

Please provide me with your recommendations on which book I should by first.

Thanks!

Michael

The best advice I ever received from a theology professor was to start reading St Thomas by reading St Thomas. There are many great interpretations out there, but they are just that: interpretations.

The Compendium of Theology was the last book St Thomas wrote before he died, and it is a summary of his key theological insights based on the theological virtues. It is very accessible, and requires little interpretation, as he wrote it for beginners in theology and it represents his own summary of the Summa. The Compendium is a great primer before starting on the other two Summas.

As you progress with the primary texts, good secondary sources and commentaries will shed light on some of the more technical details and wider context; but it is not without reason that St Thomas has been declared the doctor communis, or common doctor for everyone.

 

[PietroPaolo]

I have found Peter Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa to be a useful collection. It includes substantial excerpts from his writings.

Also useful is Aquinas by Edward Feser. This is an accessible introduction to Aquinas’s thought that helps contextualize things.

You nailed it. I read Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa in conjunction with taking Kreeft’s course on Aquinas from Modern Scholar. It’s a great intro to Aquinas, but it does only deal with the philosophy of Aquinas, leaving out his theology.

I have Aquinas 101 by Francis Selman and Aquinas by Edward Feser, but haven’t cracked them open yet and can’t give a real recommendation of either, but I expect them both to be good.

I’ve also read a free e-book by Dr. Taylor Marshall, Aquinas in 50 pages, which was a nice overview - you can get it on his blog.

You can also dig right into the Summa Theologiae - which I downloaded free on my Nook and which is also available on New Advent. I also was able to get a free Nook edition of Summa Contra Gentiles, Aquinas’ less famous other major work.

Finally, I’d recommend Peter Kreeft’s Socratic Logic. Its not directly about Aquinas, but it is an excellent background in the logic and terminology Aquinas uses. Aquinas’ technical scholastic vocabulary proves to be a stumbling block for many modern readers.

Good luck!

 

[inomcoke]

Thank you everyone! This is perfect. I’ll pick up the books you’ve recommeded and start digging in.

Michael

 

[ccmnxc]

I guess it depends on what you want. I can also vouch that Feser’s Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide is quite good, however, it really only covers his philosophy.

I also own The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas by Etienne Gilson, which has much more breadth. However, I find the prose to be somewhat more difficult, and I don’t think his explanation of Aquinas’ metaphysics is quite as clear or lucid as Feser’s.

Finally, I would have to second PietroPaolo that Socratic Logic is pretty good. However, while it can make some reading of Aquinas easier, I wouldn’t buy it unless you’d also like a course in logic, since dropping nearly forty bucks on a book isn’t something most do easily.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

I’m interested in reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and was hoping to get some thoughts as to where to start.

Please provide me with your recommendations on which book I should by first.

Thanks!

Michael

Thomas’ philosophy actually starts with his commentaries on Aristotle, especially on Physics, Metaphysics, , De Coelo at Mundo, De Generatione et Corruptione. Then would follow his general discussions on various topics, especially the QUAESTIONES DISPUTATAE. But these are formidable. I would begin with the suggestions above.

Linus2nd

 

[oldcelt]

The best advice I ever received from a theology professor was to start reading St Thomas by reading St Thomas. There are many great interpretations out there, but they are just that: interpretations.

The Compendium of Theology was the last book St Thomas wrote before he died, and it is a summary of his key theological insights based on the theological virtues. It is very accessible, and requires little interpretation, as he wrote it for beginners in theology and it represents his own summary of the Summa. The Compendium is a great primer before starting on the other two Summas.

As you progress with the primary texts, good secondary sources and commentaries will shed light on some of the more technical details and wider context; but it is not without reason that St Thomas has been declared the doctor communis, or common doctor for everyone.

This holds true in any field of study, read the original whenever possible. Once you have developed your view on a subject it is then time to read the thoughts and interpretations of others.
Having done this in historic studies, I found it fascinating to see those with whom I agreed and those I did not,
On occasion, I have started with a highly regarded secondary source when the primary sources are obscure or difficult to obtain.

 

[oldcelt]

Thomas’ philosophy actually starts with his commentaries on Aristotle, especially on Physics, Metaphysics, , De Coelo at Mundo, De Generatione et Corruptione. Then would follow his general discussions on various topics, especially the QUAESTIONES DISPUTATAE. But these are formidable. I would begin with the suggestions above.

Linus2nd

To the best of your knowledge Linus, are all the works of Aquinas in print and available. I know something about the subjects he covered, but have no notion of how extensive, how many pages, these works are.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

To the best of your knowledge Linus, are all the works of Aquinas in print and available. I know something about the subjects he covered, but have no notion of how extensive, how many pages, these works are.

I don’t know if the following site contains all the works of Thomas in translation, however it contains all of his major works. You will find that his commentaries are difficult reading. Of course Aristotle himself was very difficult.

dhspriory.org/thomas/

Have fun .

Linus2nd

 

[gferrer]

The best advice I ever received from a theology professor was to start reading St Thomas by reading St Thomas. There are many great interpretations out there, but they are just that: interpretations.

I agree completely that this is the ideal. It works best if a suitable professor is available, to help explain the work.

In my situation, I found much of Aquinas incomprehensible because I did not understand his philosophical vocabulary. Feser’s book Aquinas was, for me, a virtual professor. I remember trying to read Aquinas and finding phrases like “in act” and “substantial form” meaningless. Feser defines all of these things carefully, tailored to a modern audience.

I subsequently went back and read some other interpretations of Aquinas (e.g. Gilson) to make sure I was getting a consistent picture regarding this technical vocabulary. The writing of Aquinas proper became much more comprehensible to me at that point.

The Compendium of Theology was the last book St Thomas wrote before he died, and it is a summary of his key theological insights based on the theological virtues. It is very accessible, and requires little interpretation, as he wrote it for beginners in theology and it represents his own summary of the Summa. The Compendium is a great primer before starting on the other two Summas.

Would I be correct in assuming that this edition corresponds to the Compendium to which you refer above?

 

[hicetnunc]

I subsequently went back and read some other interpretations of Aquinas (e.g. Gilson) to make sure I was getting a consistent picture regarding this technical vocabulary. The writing of Aquinas proper became much more comprehensible to me at that point.

Yes, that is an excellent method.

Would I be correct in assuming that this edition corresponds to the Compendium to which you refer above?

Yes; that is indeed the one…I have that edition, and it has an excellent introduction too. Here is a link to the online version, with English and Latin in parallel:

dhspriory.org/thomas/Compendium.htm