1 Chapter 1 Life Influence of St. Albert on Aquinas (302303) 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? (306307) The spirit of St. Thomas’s philosophy What did Aquinas attempt to explain? (308) Does Aquinas pursue objectivity of subjectivity? (309311) What is the whole of philosophy directed towards? (309311) Did Aquinas believe philosophical knowledge was final or sufficient? (309311)
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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)