Week 1 Course Material

Course Slides and Readings

Before the first session, please read:

• Chapter 3, "Knowing That God Exists (1a,2)," in Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary, by Brian Davies, 29-50. Link here.

• Questions 2 of the Prima Pars of the Summa theologiae. Link here.

Further Reading

Optional reading:

• "Reading the Summa Theologiae," by Frederick Bauerschmidt, 9-22, in The Cambridge Companion to the Summa Theologiae, ed. Philip McCosker and Denys Turner. Link here.

• "The Roman Years (1265-1268): The Beginning of the Summa Theologiae," in Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Person and His Work, by Jean-Pierre Torrell, 167-86. Link here.

• "Summa Theologiae: First Part," in Thomas Aquinas: A Very Short Introduction, by Fergus Kerr, 31-49. Link here.

• "The Summa: Structures and Content I," in Aquinas's Summa: Background, Structure, & Reception, by Jean-Pierre Torrell, 17-24. Link here.

• Chapters 1 ("Setting the Summa Theologiae") and 2 ("Sacred Teaching [1a, 1]"), in Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary, by Brian Davies, 3-28. Link here.

Assignment

After the first session, write 300-500 words in response to one of the following:

1. Using the example of the dodo, illustrate Aquinas's distinction between being (esse) and essence.

2. Briefly describe the distinction between being and essence in terms of act and potency.

3. Briefly describe the section of the Summa theologiae which treats the divine essence in relation to the whole Summa.

4. What does it mean for a statement to be known to be true per se, and how does this relate to the statement "God is"?