Philosophical (Thomistic) Reading Plan
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READING PLAN FOR THE TRAINED PHILOSOPHER'S STUDY OF AQUINAS: 4 – 8 months
We provide the following Plan so that it may serve as a refresher course for those already familiar with Aquinas’s thought
Stage 1 (Month 1)
1. Brian Davies’s The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (or, from another point of view, Eleonore Stump’s Aquinas)
Davies's work, considering the sheer volume of Aquinas to be read and considered, is an excellent introduction. This work is placed first on the list because of Davies's expertise and primary focus being on the ideas and doctrine of God and how we can come to know God. Thus, he focuses attention on the Prima Pars of the Summa Theologiae even though Aquinas himself undoubtedly spends the greatest majority of his work on the Secunda Pars and concerned with morality, human activity, powers, etc.
2. Ralph McInerny’s Ethica Thomistica
It is rare that an introduction to moral theology, particularly Aquinas's moral theology, makes one laugh. It is rarer still for such a book to also be one of the best introductions we have ever read. With wry humor and concrete examples, McInerny breaks down Aquinas's moral theology and philosophy. Rather than being a dry read, relying on Scholastic-style language, McInerny puts Aquinas's language into more contemporary language without losing any of the Angelic Doctor's distinctions or thought.
Davies's work, considering the sheer volume of Aquinas to be read and considered, is an excellent introduction. This work is placed first on the list because of Davies's expertise and primary focus being on the ideas and doctrine of God and how we can come to know God. Thus, he focuses attention on the Prima Pars of the Summa Theologiae even though Aquinas himself undoubtedly spends the greatest majority of his work on the Secunda Pars and concerned with morality, human activity, powers, etc.
2. Ralph McInerny’s Ethica Thomistica
It is rare that an introduction to moral theology, particularly Aquinas's moral theology, makes one laugh. It is rarer still for such a book to also be one of the best introductions we have ever read. With wry humor and concrete examples, McInerny breaks down Aquinas's moral theology and philosophy. Rather than being a dry read, relying on Scholastic-style language, McInerny puts Aquinas's language into more contemporary language without losing any of the Angelic Doctor's distinctions or thought.
Stage 2 (MONTH 2)
1. Norman Kretzmann’s The Metaphysics of Theism
Kretzmann's work is an exploration and commentary on Aquinas's natural theology and as such comes early in the Reading Plan. At this stage, we are still evaluating how best to integrate philosophy into the service of Theology, "the Queen of the Sciences." Natural theology offers the best introductory route by which philosophers and those who are philosophically-inclined can, as philosophers, approach theological propositions such as God, aka a Necessary Being, such a being's nature, and so on.
2. Ralph McInerny’s Praeambula fidei
Another McInerny work has made are list and while certainly heavier than the first on Aquinas's moral theology and philosophy, this book is still quite accessible to the studious reader. Much of McInerny's work would be classified within the Neo-Thomist tradition, particularly the River Forest School of Thomism made famous by the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great, the Central US Province. This book provides an analysis of Aquinas which seeks to prove that not only is he a theologian of the first class, but that he is also a first rate philosopher in his own right. The first section of the work in an an in-depth history of Thomism in the 20th Century and the second section is devoted to analyzing Aquinas's commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics where Aquinas establishes, on his own, a First metaphysical Cause for Creation.
Kretzmann's work is an exploration and commentary on Aquinas's natural theology and as such comes early in the Reading Plan. At this stage, we are still evaluating how best to integrate philosophy into the service of Theology, "the Queen of the Sciences." Natural theology offers the best introductory route by which philosophers and those who are philosophically-inclined can, as philosophers, approach theological propositions such as God, aka a Necessary Being, such a being's nature, and so on.
2. Ralph McInerny’s Praeambula fidei
Another McInerny work has made are list and while certainly heavier than the first on Aquinas's moral theology and philosophy, this book is still quite accessible to the studious reader. Much of McInerny's work would be classified within the Neo-Thomist tradition, particularly the River Forest School of Thomism made famous by the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great, the Central US Province. This book provides an analysis of Aquinas which seeks to prove that not only is he a theologian of the first class, but that he is also a first rate philosopher in his own right. The first section of the work in an an in-depth history of Thomism in the 20th Century and the second section is devoted to analyzing Aquinas's commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics where Aquinas establishes, on his own, a First metaphysical Cause for Creation.
Stage 3 (MONTH 3)
1. John Wippel’s The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas
A long work, a little more than 600 pages, Wippel's work provides, in a single book, the basic themes and principles for Aquinas's metaphysical thought and does so through Aquinas himself and not his interpreters. An essential text for a budding Thomist but also for the trained philosopher wishing to encoutner the man himself.
A long work, a little more than 600 pages, Wippel's work provides, in a single book, the basic themes and principles for Aquinas's metaphysical thought and does so through Aquinas himself and not his interpreters. An essential text for a budding Thomist but also for the trained philosopher wishing to encoutner the man himself.
Stage 4 (MONTH 4)
1. Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy: Aquinas: Summa Theologiae, Questions on God
Based on the Blackfriar's translation of Aquinas Summa Theologiae, this text collects those questions directly relating to God and his being and existence. Heavily revised for clarity, this text also provides an excellent introduction which places these questions in their historical and philosophical context, thus setting the scene for Aquinas and his thought.
Based on the Blackfriar's translation of Aquinas Summa Theologiae, this text collects those questions directly relating to God and his being and existence. Heavily revised for clarity, this text also provides an excellent introduction which places these questions in their historical and philosophical context, thus setting the scene for Aquinas and his thought.
READING PLAN FOR IN-DEPTH STUDY OF AQUINAS: 6-11 months & 4 – 8 months
Here, on the other hand, is a way into the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, if you have no familiarity with it whatsoever. By following this road-map, you will give yourself a very solid foundation in Thomistic philosophy.
Reading Plan Alpha
Stage 1 (Month 1 & 2)
Stage 2 (MONTH 3)
Stage 3 (MONTH 4)
Stage 4 (MONTH 5)
Reading Plan Omega
This Plan requires your procuring/purchasing St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae: A Concise Translation, edited by Timothy McDermott. (Currently around $41 on Amazon, for example.)
As McDermott explains in his editor’s note, this volume is an abridged version of the Summa,—but abridged in a way so as to provide you, the reader, with a holistic presentation of Aquinas’s Summa. It is also a faithful translation. The whole range of Aquinas’s ideas are contained within it. We love it.
Excellent and attainable as the English Dominican Fathers’ translation is, it is not always intellectually "accessible" to students of philosophy/theology who are new to, or unfamiliar with, the Scholastic tradition. The Concise Summa, then, is an excellent Summa for the 21st century, and may be used even by experts for helping women and men outside of the Scholastic tradition, (even perhaps outside of Christianity,) to recognize the depth of Aquinas’s thought
As McDermott explains in his editor’s note, this volume is an abridged version of the Summa,—but abridged in a way so as to provide you, the reader, with a holistic presentation of Aquinas’s Summa. It is also a faithful translation. The whole range of Aquinas’s ideas are contained within it. We love it.
Excellent and attainable as the English Dominican Fathers’ translation is, it is not always intellectually "accessible" to students of philosophy/theology who are new to, or unfamiliar with, the Scholastic tradition. The Concise Summa, then, is an excellent Summa for the 21st century, and may be used even by experts for helping women and men outside of the Scholastic tradition, (even perhaps outside of Christianity,) to recognize the depth of Aquinas’s thought
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Stage 1 (Month 1)
1. pp. xiii-163, or rather, Part I Stage 2 (MONTH 2 & 3)
1. pp. 165-467, or rather, Part II Stage 3 (MONTH 4)
1. pp. 471-600, or rather, Part III |
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READING PLAN(S) FOR A HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
There are two ways to go about reading a history of philosophy: the multi- and the one-volume way.
Multi-Volume
There are several fine multi-volume histories dedicated to filling you in on “the Western philosophical tradition.” However it remains true that Fr. Copleston’s 10-volume set, A History of Philosophy, is the preferred multi-volume history.
Reading it is a long and laborious project, and will take you a year and a half to complete,— if done in the manner we here recommend. It requires starting with the first volume, and concluding a volume every one or two months. (Brandon Vogt, for example, has provided a similar reading agenda for a similar sort of endeavor.) There are other fine multi-volume sets, like Kenny’s, but we don’t recommend these here.
Reading it is a long and laborious project, and will take you a year and a half to complete,— if done in the manner we here recommend. It requires starting with the first volume, and concluding a volume every one or two months. (Brandon Vogt, for example, has provided a similar reading agenda for a similar sort of endeavor.) There are other fine multi-volume sets, like Kenny’s, but we don’t recommend these here.
One Volume
The one-volume approach is a fine way to engage philosophy, especially while discerning a vocation as a friar. We recommend John Deely’s Four Ages of Understanding.
There are other fine one-volume histories, but none of them beats Deely’s. Similar to Copleston, Deely approaches the history primarily from the Aristotelian/Thomist perspective. It is also true that he reads “the history” through the lens of semiotics.
Deely occasionally provides too little content with regard to several philosophers in the modern/contemporary camps. Deely’s volume, however, can easily be read alongside Roger Scruton’s Modern Philosophy should one crave a fuller treatment of those thinkers. (Note: Scruton approaches philosophy from a realism-friendly, although not Aristotelian-Thomist, perspective.)
You need two months to finish Deely’s volume. The first two parts should be completed in the first month; the last two parts in the second. Careful attention to Deely’s volume will well prepare you for philosophical studies as a friar.
Finally, one might read Ralph McInerny’s excellent A History of Western Philosophy. McInerny was an excellent philosopher who taught at Notre Dame. His volume takes only a month. While currently out of stock, McInerny's text can be read online at this site.
There are other fine one-volume histories, but none of them beats Deely’s. Similar to Copleston, Deely approaches the history primarily from the Aristotelian/Thomist perspective. It is also true that he reads “the history” through the lens of semiotics.
Deely occasionally provides too little content with regard to several philosophers in the modern/contemporary camps. Deely’s volume, however, can easily be read alongside Roger Scruton’s Modern Philosophy should one crave a fuller treatment of those thinkers. (Note: Scruton approaches philosophy from a realism-friendly, although not Aristotelian-Thomist, perspective.)
You need two months to finish Deely’s volume. The first two parts should be completed in the first month; the last two parts in the second. Careful attention to Deely’s volume will well prepare you for philosophical studies as a friar.
Finally, one might read Ralph McInerny’s excellent A History of Western Philosophy. McInerny was an excellent philosopher who taught at Notre Dame. His volume takes only a month. While currently out of stock, McInerny's text can be read online at this site.