Major Texts in Philosophy (PHIL*6320x4410) | College of Arts

Major Texts in Philosophy (PHIL*6320x4410)

Term: Fall 2014

Details

The best known thinker of the high Middle Ages is undoubtedly Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1224-1274), and his best known work the Summa theologiae. In this course we will focus on the sections of the Summa devoted to Aquinas's philosophical anthropology, chiefly as contained in the Treatise on Human Nature. We will examine such issues as the relationship of the human soul to the body, the nature of cognition, and the nature of desire, both sensory and rational. Through weekly lectures and presentations, the course will concentrate not only on understanding the content of Aquinas's views on human nature in their own right, but on contrasting them, where appropriate, with ancient sources such as Aristotle, and even with modern and contemporary views on the nature of the human person.

Syllabus

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