He pairs these easily digestible quotes from the summa with his own delightfully written commentary in order to answer the kinds of questions real people ask their spiritual directors. Take this free online course on aquinas with peter kreeft. The summa is certainly the greatest, most ambitious, most rational book of theology ever written. A convert to roman catholicism, he is the author of over eighty books on christian philosophy, theology and apologetics.
His writings combine the two fundamental ideals of philosophical writing. Ive only seen brief excerpts online about some key topics. Saint thomas aquinas is universally recognized as one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. Kings releases free online course on aquinas by dr.
This book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and and explanations by kreeft, a popular thomist teacher. On each topic he allows his opponents first crack at the issue. His major work, the summa theologica, is timeless, but. Always wished you had a better grasp of summa theologica, the great philosopher and christian apologist thomas aquinass influential work on the existence of god. The original text in ancient language by aquinas needs the footnotes provided by kreeft to make it reasonably comprehensible. Thomas is as practical and plain and reasonable in ethics as aristotle, or confucius, or your uncle. In summary then, we have established the following teachings of thomas. Thomas aquinas summa theologica by thomas aquinas, peter kreeft 2 editions first published in 1993. In this book, kreeft brings together 358 useful, everyday insights from aquinas masterpiece the summa theologiae. Thomas aquinas is universally recognized as one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived.
Kreeft selected those passages from thomas that are intrinsically important, nontechnical enough to be intelligible to modern readers, and most likely to be used in a class or by independent readers who want to study the summa on their own. Imagine carrying a library of peter kreeft books in your pocket. Summa of the summa by peter kreeft is available in these. He is a master of metaphysics and technical terminology, yet so full of both theoretical and practical wisdom. The essential philosophical passages of saint thomas aquinas summa theologica, by peter kreeft. The reason for the double shortening is pretty obvious. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from aquinas summa with footnotes and explanations by peter kreeft. Always wished you had a better grasp of summa theologica, the great philosopher and christian apologist thomas aquinass influential work. Summa philosophica peter kreeft next to the socratic method, the best method for organizing a logical debate over a controversial philosophical or theological issue is the method st. Tacelli, twenty arguments for the existence of god.
An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of thomas aquinas, professor and philosopher peter kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established aquinas as the foremost thinker of his time and as the most important philosopher for the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Peter john kreeft is a professor of philosophy at boston college and the kings college. Summa of the summa peter kreeft ave maria university store. He is a master of metaphysics and technical terminology, yet so full of both. I recently stumbled upon peter kreeft online, got curious and discovered this book. Take this free online course on aquinas with peter kreeftaleteia. Kreeft selected those passages from aquinas that are intrinsically important, nontechnical enough to be intelligible to modern readers, and most likely to be used in a class or by an independent reader. Havent read it, but recommender said it was great with annotations of the summa. Summa of the summa kindle edition by kreeft, peter, peter kreeft. Summa of the summa kreeft, peter kreeft, peter download.
I appreciated the glossary in the introductory pages that provided the philosophical definitions of words like accident, essence, and nominal, which thomas aquinas uses. Piperno begged him to continue his work on the summa theologiae, but he. Kreeft s summa philosophica is a book like no other. I should know i have read most of his 60 books and listened to every lecture available online. Translated by fathers of the english dominican province. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and explanations by kreeft, a.
Til peter kreeft has a book titled summa on the summa. A shortened version of kreeft s much larger summa of the summa, which in turn was a shortened version of the summa theologica. Kreeft is one of the most popular of all modern philosophers and has written scores of books on philosophy that cover difficult topics such as moral relativism and immanuel kants philosophy in language that most adults can easily understand. Kreefts book is actually a selection of passages from the summa theologica with an. Summa of the summa by peter kreeft overdrive rakuten. Summa of the summa kindle edition by kreeft, peter. He is a master of metaphysics and technical termin. Catholic philosopher and apologist peter kreeft s summa philosophica is a broad survey covering 110 of the most perennial questions in philosophy, be they in metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy or aesthetics. Peter kreeft titled a sample of key concepts from thomas aquinas. But peter kreeft annotates and edits that work in his 500 page summa of the summa. Traditional moral wisdom for modern moral confusion by peter kreeft. I tried reading the summa theologicae and it gave me a headache.
Kreeft outlines the summa as a circle that begins and ends with god. But summa theologiae is a 3,000page summary of the catholic faith. Combines selected philosophical passages from thomas summa th. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading summa of the summa. Like is part of the infinite goodness of god, that he. And kreeft s a shorter summa has only 170 pages to introduce beginners to the st. Peter kreeft s summa of the summa has 500 pages of excerpts from the st. A shortened version of kreefts much larger summa of the summa, which in turn was a shortened version of the summa theologica. Summa of the summa by peter kreeft catholic free shipping. A summa of the summa of st thomas aquinas by peter kreeft peter kreeft provides with this work a readable summary of the extensive summa theologica. This little book 162 pages is designed for beginners, either for classroom use or individually. Thomas aquinas was an italian dominican friar, philosopher, catholic priest, and doctor of the. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and explanations by kreeft, a popular thomist. This four lesson course expounds key texts from aquinas summa.
Its both interesting and instructive to reflect on article by article. Unlike fesers aquinas which is also good if you want a mental workout deep diving into aquinass concepts, it is quite easy going. Kreeft gives a much better explanation of the style in which the summa theologica is written. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and explanations by kreeft. Kreeft s detailed footnotes explain difficult or technical passages and call attention to points of. Shorter summa 1993 shorter version of kreefts summa of the summa. An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of thomas aquinas, professor and philosopher peter kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established aquinas as the foremost thinker of his timeand as the most important philosopher for the. So it occurs to me that ive never actually read this. Unlike kreeft s summa of the summa, it is not just a few selections from the raw summa with footnotes. In orvieto thomas completed his summa contra gentiles, wrote the catena aurea.
And paul kreeft s a summa of the summa provides a great reading relief, not to mention its excellent handling of the. It is humbling to have to go back again and again to a writer. His major work, the summa theologica, is timeless, but particularly important today because of his synthesis of faith and reason, revelation and philosophy, and the biblical and the classical grecoroman heritages. With such a formidable length a summary of the summary is a watershed for those who merely want to understand st thomas classic theological opus. Not only are the questions themselves interesting, the style of argumentation is a good way to hone your logic skills. More generally, kreeft sees aquinas as more of an encyclopedia than a textbook. I ordered the book from amazon and it should be here shortly. Kreeft has reduced the most important parts of the summa theologica into about pages in a shorter summa.