Summa Theologica
Summa Theologica is a book by Thomas Aquinas, written from 1265 through 1273. Among Catholics it is often considered to be the most perfect and complete summary of Christian theology. Aquinas applied Aristotelian philosophy to Catholic theology to outline a philosophical framework supporting Catholic belief.[1]
Written in the last dozen years of Thomas Aquinas's life, it fills about 3,000 pages of double-columned pages and is considered one of the most influential works in Western civilization. It is vast in length: 1.8 million words, comprised of 512 Questions, 2,669 Articles, and roughly 10,000 objections and replies.
The Summa Theologica led Thomas Aquinas to a spectacular personal revelation during a Mass, which caused him to stop writing altogether, and he died three months later without completing this masterpiece.
Contents
Thomas Aquinas' five proofs for the existence of God in Summa Theologica
Thomas Aquinas' five proofs for the existence of God in Summa Theologica are:
One of the most famous statements about the teleological argument using the watchmaker analogy was given by William Paley in his 1802 book Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity.[2]
1. Argument of motion: All bodies are either moving or have the potential to move
2. Argument of causation: Also known as the argument of efficient cause
3. Argument of contingency vs. necessity: Also known as the argument of possibility and necessity
4. Argument of perfection: Also known as the argument of gradation (Degrees of perfection in the world implies the existence of a supreme, perfect being (God) that is the ultimate standard for all perfection)
5. Argument of design: Also known as the teleological argument
Thomas Aquinas' five proofs for the existence of God in Summa Theologica
Articles:
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Text and audio of Summa Theologica
Text:
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No Man Can Judge Himself
- "One who exercises public authority may lawfully put to death an evildoer, since he can pass judgment on him. But no man is judge of himself." See St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, pt. II-II, Q. 64, art. 5, at 14 (1st ed., Benziger Brothers, Inc. 1947) (1266-1273) (quoted in Symposium: The Jurisprudential Legacy of John Paul II: Wrongful Life Tort and John Paul II, 45 J. Cath. Leg. Stud. 649, 656 (2006)).
See also
External links
- Summa Theologiae, New Advent website
- Summa Theologiae, Britannica
Video:
- The Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas - video playlist, Video playlist
