Download - Thomas Aquinas Syllabus
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Chapter 1
Life
� Influence of St. Albert on Aquinas (302-‐303)
Works
� The primary work that you should be familiar with is the Summa Theologica.
Mode of exposing St. Thomas’s philosophy
� How does St. Thomas’s theology relate to his philosophy? (306-‐307)
The spirit of St. Thomas’s philosophy
� What did Aquinas attempt to explain? (308)
� Does Aquinas pursue objectivity of subjectivity? (309-‐311)
� What is the whole of philosophy directed towards? (309-‐311)
� Did Aquinas believe philosophical knowledge was final or sufficient? (309-‐311)
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Chapter 2
Philosophy and theology
� What is the principal difference between theology and philosophy? (312-‐313)
Moral necessity of revelation
� Why is revelation morally necessary? (314)
� What are the flaws of natural theology? (314)
Incompatibility of faith and science in the same concerning the same object
� Can there be both faith and knowledge concerning the same object? (314-‐315)
Natural end and supernatural end
� Did Aquinas believe natural and supernatural ends were mutually exclusive? (316)
� How does this affect the question of the relation between theology and philosophy? (317)
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St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure
� What is the principle of all truth according to Aquinas? (318)
� Did Aquinas believe philosophy alone could play a role in discovering truth? (319)
� How did Aquinas view the Aristotelian system? (322)
St. Thomas as an innovator
� How was Aquinas an innovator? (322)
Chapter 3
Reasons for starting with corporeal being
� What is the first philosophical problem Aquinas addresses? (324)
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Hylomorphism
� Extremely abstract and not very relevant. Optional reading? (325-‐328)
Rejection of rationes seminales
� According to Aquinas what is prime matter? (328)
Rejection of plurality of substantial forms
� How did Aquinas view substantial form? (328)
Restriction of hylomorphic composition to corporeal substances
� What are the principles of the soul of man? (329)
� What are the principles of God? (329)
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Potentiality and act
� What is the nature of change? (331)
� Where does the distinction between potentially and act apply? (331)
� Where does the distinction between form and matter apply? (331)
Essence and existence
� What is the essence of a corporeal being? (332)
� What is the essence of immaterial finite being? (332)
� What is the relationship between essence existence? (332-‐334)
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Chapter 4
Need of proof
� Why is proof of God’s existence required? (336-‐337)
St. Anselm’s argument
� This is optional reading
Possibility of proof
� What kind of knowledge can man obtain through the observation of effects? (338-‐339)
� What is the object of human intellect? (339-‐340)
� What kind of natural knowledge can the intellect attain? (340)
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The first three proofs
� Explain the first proof (340-‐341)
� Explain the second proof (341)
� Explain the third proof (341)
The fourth proof
� Explain the fourth proof (343-‐344)
The proof from finality
� Explain the fifth proof (344)
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The third way fundamental
� What is the fundamental proof? (345-‐346)
� What is the argument from contingency based upon?
Chapter 5
The negative way
� How can we attain a notion of God’s nature? (347-‐348)
� What are the limits of our natural knowledge? (348-‐349)
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� What attributes does Aquinas attribute to God? (349)
� What attributes does he not attribute to God? (349-‐350)
The affirmative way
� Provide examples of affirmative predicates of God (350-‐351)
� What are the limits of positive ideas concerning God? (351-‐352)
Analogy
� How can we know the divine essence in this life? (352)
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� How are concepts derived from our experience used? (352-‐353)
Types of analogy
� What are the two types of resemblance listed by Aquinas? (354)
� Describe the relation between God and creatures (354-‐355)
� What is the foundation of all analogy? (355)
A difficulty
� What is the essential problem with human concepts and language? (357)
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The divine ideas
� How did Aquinas view the doctrine of divine ideas? (358-‐359)
� Was Aquinas merely an Aristotelian? (360)
No real distinction between the divine attributes?
� Why are the attributes of God not truly distinct? (360)
� Is human knowledge of God false? Why or why not? (361)
God as existence itself
� What is the essence of God? (361-‐362)
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St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter 6: Creation
Creation out of nothing
� Explain the nature of creation (363)
� Describe the relation of God to His creation (363-‐364)
God alone can create
� Does God require intermediary beings to create? Why or why not? (364-‐365)
God created freely
� How does God create? (365)
The motive of creation
� What was the motive for which God acted in creation? (365-‐366)
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� What is represented in all creatures? (365-‐366)
Impossibility of creation from eternity has not been demonstrated
� How did Aquinas believe one could know whether creation took place in eternity or in time? (366-‐367)
Could God create an actually infinite multitude?
� What did Aquinas maintain concerning God’s power to create an infinite multitude? (367-‐368)
Divine omnipotence
� How does Aquinas define the divine attribute of omnipotence? (368-‐369)
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� Does this definition limit the power of God? (369)
� Explain the relationship between the principle of contradiction and God (369)
� Is it possible for God to create a better world? (370-‐371)
� Why did God create this particular world? (370-‐371)
The problem of evil
� Did God will evil? Why or why not? (371-‐372)
� Explain the nature of evil according to Aquinas. (371-‐372)
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� How Aquinas view God and physical evil? (372-‐373)
� How did Aquinas view God and moral evil? (373-‐374)
St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter 7: Psychology
One substantial form in man
� How did Aquinas view man, the body, and the soul? (375-‐376)
The powers of the soul
� How did Aquinas view the soul and its different faculties? (376-‐377)
� Explain the hierarchy of faculties. (377)
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The interior senses
� What are the four interior senses? (379)
� How are animals and men different? (379)
Free will
� Describe the nature of the will. (380)
� Why does man desire other objects besides God? (380-‐381)
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The noblest faculty
� Why did Aquinas view the intellect as the nobler faculty? (382-‐383)
� Why did Aquinas believe the will was nobler in some respects? (382-‐383)
Immortality
� How did Aquinas deal with the immortality of the soul? (383-‐384)
� Did Aquinas believe the soul was material or immaterial? (384)
� What did Aquinas mean by “persistence of being”? (384-‐385)
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The active and passive intellects are not numerically the same in all men
� Optional reading
St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter 8: Knowledge
“Theory of knowledge” in St. Thomas
� What was the problem Aquinas addressed with his theory of knowledge? (388)
The process of knowledge: knowledge of the universal and of the particular
� What do the senses apprehend? (388-‐389)
� What does human intellectual cognition apprehend? (389)
� How is the transition from sensory knowledge to intellectual cognition effected? (389-‐391)
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� What is the role of the abstract concept? (390-‐391)
The soul’s knowledge of itself
� What is the source of the mind’s knowledge? (392)
� What is the natural object of knowledge? (392)
� How does the rational soul know itself? (392)
The possibility of metaphysics
� How can the human intellect attain any knowledge of God? (392-‐394)
� Explain the role of the active intellect? (394)
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� How can there be any positive content to our idea of God? (394-‐395)
St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter 9: Moral Theory
Eudaemonism
� Describe the Aristotelian view of ethics and happiness. (398)
� What is the difference between the views of Aquinas and Aristotle? (398-‐400)
� What is the universal good in the concrete? (399)
The vision of God
� What is the “ultimate beatitude”? (401)
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� What can satisfy the intellect? (401-‐402)
� Is the moral theory of Aquinas theological or philosophical? (402)
� What is man’s final end according to Aquinas? (404)
Good and bad
� What makes human acts good or bad? (405)
� Can a human act be neither good nor bad? (405)
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The virtues
� How does Aquinas define the virtues? (405)
� What is the object of moral virtue? (406)
The natural law
� What is the rule and measure of human acts? (406)
� What is the basis of moral and natural law? (407)
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The eternal law and the foundation of morality in God
� How does Aquinas define obligation? (408)
� What is the eternal law and how does it relate to natural law? (409)
� What is the ultimate basis of moral law? (410)
Natural virtues recognized by St. Thomas which were not recognized by Aristotle; the virtue of religion
� Describe the virtue of religion. (410-‐411)
� According to Aquinas who is the virtuous man? (411)
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St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter 10: Political Theory
St. Thomas and Aristotle
� Compare and contrast the ethical and political theories of Aquinas and Aristotle. (412-‐413)
The natural origin of human society and government
� How does Aquinas view the State and society? (413)
� What is the purpose of government? (413-‐414)
Human society and political authority willed by God
� How does Aquinas justify the State? (414)
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Church and State
� How did Aquinas view the independence of the State? (415)
� What are the conditions necessary for the attainment of the common good? (415)
� Describe the relationship between the Church and the State. (415-‐416)
� What is the responsibility of the monarch? (416)
Individual and State
� What is the concern of the law? (417)
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� What is the relationship between the State and the individual? (417-‐418)
Law
� What are the four kinds of law? (418)
� What is the primary function of the legislator? (418)
� How do the laws relate to each other? (418-‐419)
Sovereignty
� How did Aquinas view sovereignty and authority? (419-‐420)
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� How did Aquinas view rebellion? (420)
Constitutions
� What are the good and bad types of government? (420)
� Which method of government does Aquinas favor and why? (420-‐421)
St. Thomas’s political theory an integral part of his total system
� Why is the political theory of Aquinas an integral part of his system? (421-‐422)
� When is disobedience to the State allowed? (421-‐422)
� What is the ultimate role of the state? (422)