Thomas Aquinas on Human Nature: A Philosophical Study of Summa Theologiae, 1a 75-89 / Edition 1

by Robert Pasnau

Overview

This major new study of Thomas Aquinas, the most influential philosopher of the Middle Ages, offers a clear and accessible guide to the central project of Aquinas's philosophy—the understanding of human nature. Robert Pasnau sets the philosophy in the context of ancient and modern thought, and argues for groundbreaking proposals for understanding some of the most difficult areas of Aquinas's thought—the relationship of soul to body, the workings of sense and intellect, the will and the passions, and personal identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521001892
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/12/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	516
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.02(h) x 1.14(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Essential Features (QQ75-76); 1. Body and soul; 2. The immateriality of soul; 3. The unity of body and soul; 4. When human life begins; Excursus metaphysics: reality as actuality; Part II. Capacities (QQ77-83); 5. The soul and its capacities; 6. Sensation; 7. Desire and freedom; 8. Reason and temptation; Part III. Functions: (QQ84-89); 9. Mind and image; 10. Mind and reality; 11. Knowing the mind; 12. Life after death; Epilogue: Why did God make me?

Editorial Reviews

"...a welcome and rewarding book." Journal of Religion

"I found the book at once helpful, stimulating and provocative. ...a book like this is among the best homages a philosopher can receive, and the best aids a student can hope for." Carlo Leget, University Medical Centre Nijmegen

"The treatise on human nature in the Summa theologiae is one of the best known philosophical texts of St. Thomas Aquinas." Theology Digest

"Exceptionally effective." The Philosophical Review

From the Publisher