Commentary
[in chronological order]
Thomas Aquinas: A Portrait
- Denys Turner. Thomas Aquinas: A Portrait. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.Leaving so few traces of himself behind, Thomas Aquinas seems to defy the efforts of the biographer. Highly visible as a public teacher, preacher, and theologian, he nevertheless has remained nearly invisible as man and saint. What can be discovered about… More
Aquinas and the Nicomachean Ethics
- T. Hoffmann, J. Müller, and M. Perkams. Aquinas and the Nicomachean Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.Discusses Aquinas’s reception of Aristotle’s work, exploring how Aquinas adopts, corrects or transforms key themes from Aristotle’s ethics
The Natural Law Theory of Thomas Aquinas
- Thomas D. D’Andrea, "The Natural Law Theory of Thomas Aquinas," Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism -- a project of the Witherspoon Institute.Thomas D. D’Andrea considers Aquinas’ theory of natural law at the Witherspoon Institute’s Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism site. Excerpt: Thomas Aquinas is generally regarded as the West’s pre-eminent theorist… More
The Creative Retrieval of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Essays in Thomistic Philosophy, New and Old
- W. Norris Clarke. The Creative Retrieval of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Essays in Thomistic Philosophy, New and Old. New York: Fordham University Press, 2009.W. Norris Clarke has chosen the fifteen essays in this collection, five of which appear here for the first time, as the most significant of the more than seventy he has written over the course of a long career. Clarke is known for his development of a… More
Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide
- Edward Feser. Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide. Oxford: Oneworld, 2009.One of the most influential philosophers and theologians in history, St Thomas Aquinas was the father of modern philosophy of religion, and is infamous for his “proofs” for God’s existence. In this cogent introduction to the great… More
Thomas Aquinas: A Very Short Introduction
- Fergus Kerr. Thomas Aquinas: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.Summary: Thomas Aquinas is one of the giants of medieval philosophy, a thinker who had – and who still has – a profound influence on Western thought. Aquinas was a controversial figure in his time who was often engaged in fierce theological… More
Medieval Philosophy: An Historical and Philosophical Introduction
- John Marenbon. Medieval Philosophy: An Historical and Philosophical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2007.Aquinas, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion: Metaphysics and Practice
- Thomas S. Hibbs. Aquinas, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion: Metaphysics and Practice. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007.“An Unequal Relationship between Equals: Thomas Aquinas on Marriage”
- C. McCluskey. (2007). "An Unequal Relationship between Equals: Thomas Aquinas on Marriage." History of Philosophy Quarterly 24, no. 1 (2007): 1-18.Aquinas on Friendship
- D. Schwartz. Aquinas on Friendship. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2007.Daniel Schwartz examines the views on friendship of the great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas. For Aquinas friendship is the ideal type of relationship that rational beings should cultivate. Schwartz argues that Aquinas fundamentally revises some of the… More
“The Fullness of Being” by Michael Zuckert
- Michael Zuckert. "The Fullness of Being: Thomas Aquinas and the Modern Critique of Natural Law." The Review of Politics 69, no. 1 (2007): 28-47.Abstract: Interest in natural law theory regularly revives but the question of whether Aquinas’ classic version is viable depends on whether his doctrine has the resources to respond to the classic early modern critiques that were made of it. It is… More
Aquinas, Aristotle and the Promise of the Common Good
- Mary M. Keys. Aquinas, Aristotle, and the Promise of the Common Good. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.Aquinas, Aristotle, and the Promise of the Common Good claims that contemporary theory and practice have much to gain from engaging Aquinas’s normative concept of the common good and his way of reconciling religion, philosophy, and politics. Examining… More
A Short History of Thomism
- Romanus Cessario. A Short History of Thomism. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2005.Aquinas
- Eleonore Stump. Aquinas. New York: Routledge, 2005.Few philosophers or theologians exerted as much influence on the shape of medieval thought as Thomas Aquinas. He ranks amongst the most famous of the Western philosophers and was responsible for almost single-handedly bringing the philosophy of Aristotle into… More
The Philosophy of Aquinas
- Robert Pasnau and Christopher Shields. The Philosophy of Aquinas. Boulder: Westview, 2004.The Metaphysics of Theism: Aquinas’s Natural Theology in Summa contra gentiles I
- Norman Kretzmann. The Metaphysics of Theism: Aquinas's Natural Theology in Summa contra gentiles I. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004.Aquinas by Ralph McInerny
- Ralph McInerny. Aquinas. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2004.Synopsis: In Aquinas, renowned scholar Ralph McInerny offers a comprehensive and accessible exploration of the life, thought, and enduring influence of Thomas Aquinas, one of the most significant figures in Western philosophy and theology. McInerny situates… More
Saint Thomas Aquinas
- Jean-Pierre Torrell. Saint Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Robert Royal. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1996-2003.“Thomas Aquinas and the Politics of Moses”
- Douglas Kries. "Thomas Aquinas and the Politics of Moses." The Review of Politics 52, no. 1 (2003): 84-104.In an oft-neglected section of the “Summa Theologiae”, Thomas Aquinas undertakes a detailed, point-by-point comparison of the political regime prescribed by the Mosaic law with the teachings of the then recently translated “Politics”… More
The Ethics of Aquinas
- S. J. Pope. The Ethics of Aquinas. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press, 2002 [1955].In this comprehensive anthology, twenty-seven outstanding scholars from North America and Europe address every major aspect of Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of morality and comment on his remarkable legacy. While there has been a revival of interest in… More
The Essential Aquinas: Writings on Philosophy, Religion, and Society
- A. S. Thomas and J. Y. B. Hood. The Essential Aquinas: Writings on Philosophy, Religion, and Society. Westport: Praeger, 2002.Widely recognized as one of the dominant figures in Western intellectual tradition, Thomas Aquinas has influenced a variety of fields of thought for centuries. This new anthology of his writings, translated from the original Latin by Hood, contains selections… More
Liberty, Wisdom, and Grace: Thomism and Democratic Political Theory
- John Hittinger. Liberty, Wisdom, and Grace: Thomism and Democratic Political Theory. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2002.Twentieth-century French philosophers Jacques Maritain and Yves R. Simon pioneered new approaches to understanding and defending political democracy in the wake of two world wars. Rather than break from a religious tradition that seemed to struggle against… More
Aquinas on Being
- Anthony Kenny. Aquinas on Being. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000.Anthony Kenny offers a critical examination of a central metaphysical doctrine of Thomas Aquinas, the greatest of the medieval philosophers. Aquinas’s account of being is famous and influential: but Kenny argues that it in fact suffers from systematic… More
Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues
- Alasdair C. MacIntyre. Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues. Chicago: Open Court, 1999.The Common Good in Late Medieval Political Thought
- M. S. Kempshall. The Common Good in Late Medieval Political Thought: Moral Goodness and Material Benefit. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999.“Thomas Aquinas on Virtuous Warfare”
- D. Cole. "Thomas Aquinas on Virtuous Warfare." The Journal of Religious Ethics 27, no. 1 (1999): 57-80.Thomas Aquinas, one of the “founding fathers” of just war theory, offers an account of virtuous warfare in practice. The author argues that Aquinas’s approach to warfare, with its emphasis on justice and charity, is helpful in providing a… More
“Marriage, Slavery, and Natural Rights in the Political Thought of Aquinas”
- P. J. Cornish. "Marriage, Slavery, and Natural Rights in the Political Thought of Aquinas." The Review of Politics 60, no. 3 (1998): 545-62.Recent scholarship has demonstrated that the language of subjective natural rights can be found in a wide variety of medieval juristic and scholastic texts. This is part of a general trend in the study of political ideas that stresses the continuity between… More
Aquinas: Moral, Political, and Legal Theory by John Finnis
- John Finnis. Aquinas: Moral, Political, and Legal Theory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.From the publisher: “This launch volume in the Founders of Modern Political and Social Thought series presents a critical examination of Aquinas’s thought, combining an accessible, historically-informed account of his work with an assessment of… More
Thomas Aquinas, Theologian
- Thomas F. O'Meara. Thomas Aquinas, Theologian. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997.Medieval Aristotelianism and Its Limits
- Cary J. Nederman. Medieval Aristotelianism and Its Limits: Classical Traditions in Moral and Political Philosophy. Aldershot, England: Variorum, 1997.Ethica Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas
- Ralph McInerny. Ethica Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1997.The Ethics of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Two Courses
- I. T. Eschmann. The Ethics of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Two Courses. Edited by Edward A. Synan. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1997.“On Leo Strauss’s Understanding of the Natural Law Theory of Thomas Aquinas”
- Douglas Kries. "On Leo Strauss's Understanding of the Natural Law Theory of Thomas Aquinas." Thomist 57, no. 2 (1993): 215-32.The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas
- Norman Kretzmann and Eleonore Stump. The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.Among the great philosophers of the Middle Ages Aquinas is unique in pursuing two apparently disparate projects. On the one hand he developed a philosophical understanding of Christian doctrine in a fully integrated system encompassing all natural and… More
Aquinas on Human Action: A Theory of Practice.
- Ralph McInerny. Aquinas on Human Action: A Theory of Practice. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1992.Rezeption und Interpretation der aristotelischen Politica im späten Mittelalter
- Christoph Flüeler. Rezeption und Interpretation der aristotelischen Politica im späten Mittelalter. 2 vols. Amsterdam: B. R. Grüner, 1992.The Thought of Thomas Aquinas
- Brian Davies. The Thought of Thomas Aquinas. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.A Summa of the Summa
- Peter Kreeft. A Summa of the Summa. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990.Saint Thomas Aquinas is universally recognized as one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. His writings combine the two fundamental ideals of philosophical writing: clarity and profundity. He is a master of metaphysics and technical terminology, yet… More
The Evolution of Medieval Thought
- David Knowles. The Evolution of Medieval Thought. 2nd ed. London: New York, 1988.Nature and Creature: Thomas Aquinas’s Way of Thought
- Jan Aertsen. Nature and Creature: Thomas Aquinas's Way of Thought. Translated by Herbert Donald Morton. Leiden: Brill, 1988.“St. Thomas Aquinas”
- Ernest Fortin. "St. Thomas Aquinas." In History of Political Philosophy, 248-75. Edited by Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.“Thomistic Natural Right”
- E. A. Goerner. "Thomistic Natural Right." Political Theory 11, no. 3 (1983): 393-418.Thomas Aquinas and Radical Aristotelianism
- Fernand van Steenberghen. Thomas Aquinas and Radical Aristotelianism. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1980.Aquinas
- Anthony Kenny. Aquinas. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.“Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and the Problem of the Natural Law”
- Ernest Fortin. "Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and the Problem of Natural Law." Mediaevalia 4 (1978): 179-208.Index Thomisticus
- Roberto Busa. Index Thomisticus. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog, 1974-.Aquinas and Natural Law
- D. J. O'Connor. Aquinas and Natural Law. London: Macmillan, 1967.The Just War in Aquinas and Grotius
- Joan D. Tooke. The Just War in Aquinas and Grotius. London: S. P. C. K., 1965.Aquinas by Frederick Copleston
- Frederick C. Copleston. Aquinas. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1965.Frederick Copleston’s Aquinas offers a concise yet profound exploration of the life, thought, and enduring influence of Thomas Aquinas, one of the most significant figures in Western philosophy and Christian theology. Written with clarity and depth,… More
Toward Understanding Saint Thomas by Marie-Dominique Chenu
- Marie-Dominique Chenu. Toward Understanding Saint Thomas. Translated by A. M. Landry and D. Hughes. Chicago: Regnery, 1964.Marie-Dominique Chenu’s Toward Understanding Saint Thomas provides a dynamic approach to the thought of Thomas Aquinas, emphasizing the historical, cultural, and theological context that shaped his work. Chenu presents Aquinas not as a static scholastic… More