Week 3 Course Material

Course Slides and Readings

Before the third session, please read:

• In class, we will cover Summa theologiae I, questions 3-13. We will read together: question three, article four; question four, article two; question seven, article one; and question nine, article one. A PDF of these readings is available here.

Further Reading

Optional reading:

• 4.2-4.5, 53-63, in Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary, by Brian Davies. Link here.

Assignment

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

1. What is apophatic (negative) theology? Why do we use it when speaking about God?

2. Summarise one of the ways by which Aquinas demonstrates God's simplicity by denying composition of him (see ST I, q. 3, aa. 1-4, 6).

3. How is Exodus 3:14 relevant to a form of composition which Aquinas denies of God?

4. Outline the connection between God's perfection and the notions of act and potency.

5. Is God good? Why?

6. Describe one or more of Aquinas's arguments that God is not finite (ST I, q. 7), and is, therefore, infinite.