It is humbling to have to go back again and again to a writer. The reason for the double shortening is pretty obvious. An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of thomas aquinas, professor and philosopher peter kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established aquinas as the foremost thinker of his time and as the most important philosopher for the. The summa is certainly the greatest, most ambitious, most rational book of theology ever written. I tried reading the summa theologicae and it gave me a headache. He is a master of metaphysics and technical terminology, yet so full of both theoretical and practical wisdom. Summa of the summa kreeft, peter kreeft, peter download. Piperno begged him to continue his work on the summa theologiae, but he. The essential philosophical passages of saint thomas aquinas summa theologica, by peter kreeft. Summa of the summa peter kreeft ave maria university store.
Kreeft uses thomas aquinas classic summa format for each of the ten questions in the eleven categories he explores. I recently stumbled upon peter kreeft online, got curious and discovered this book. Kreeft selected those passages from thomas that are intrinsically important, nontechnical enough to be intelligible to modern readers, and most likely to be used in a class or by independent readers who want to study the summa on their own. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and explanations by kreeft, a popular thomist. This four lesson course expounds key texts from aquinas summa. Take this free online course on aquinas with peter kreeft. Take this free online course on aquinas with peter kreeftaleteia. Kings releases free online course on aquinas by dr. Summa of the summa by peter kreeft is available in these. A shortened version of kreeft s much larger summa of the summa, which in turn was a shortened version of the summa theologica. Kreeft is one of the most popular of all modern philosophers and has written scores of books on philosophy that cover difficult topics such as moral relativism and immanuel kants philosophy in language that most adults can easily understand.
I ordered the book from amazon and it should be here shortly. Thomas is as practical and plain and reasonable in ethics as aristotle, or confucius, or your uncle. Til peter kreeft has a book titled summa on the summa. Kreeft has reduced the most important parts of the summa theologica into about pages in a shorter summa. So it occurs to me that ive never actually read this. Ive only seen brief excerpts online about some key topics. Summa of the summa by peter kreeft catholic free shipping. But summa theologiae is a 3,000page summary of the catholic faith. Peter john kreeft is a professor of philosophy at boston college and the kings college. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading summa of the summa.
His major work, the summa theologica, is timeless, but particularly important today because of his synthesis of faith and reason, revelation and philosophy, and the biblical and the classical grecoroman heritages. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and explanations by kreeft, a. This book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and and explanations by kreeft, a popular thomist teacher. But peter kreeft annotates and edits that work in his 500 page summa of the summa. A shortened version of kreefts much larger summa of the summa, which in turn was a shortened version of the summa theologica.
An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of thomas aquinas, professor and philosopher peter kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established aquinas as the foremost thinker of his timeand as the most important philosopher for the. And kreeft s a shorter summa has only 170 pages to introduce beginners to the st. Kreeft outlines the summa as a circle that begins and ends with god. Saint thomas aquinas is universally recognized as one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. In summary then, we have established the following teachings of thomas. Always wished you had a better grasp of summa theologica, the great philosopher and christian apologist thomas aquinass influential work on the existence of god. Kreeft s detailed footnotes explain difficult or technical passages and call attention to points of. On each topic he allows his opponents first crack at the issue. He is a master of metaphysics and technical terminology, yet so full of both. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from thomas summa with footnotes and explanations by kreeft.
Unlike kreeft s summa of the summa, it is not just a few selections from the raw summa with footnotes. Summa of the summa kindle edition by kreeft, peter. His writings combine the two fundamental ideals of philosophical writing. Tacelli, twenty arguments for the existence of god. Catholic philosopher and apologist peter kreeft s summa philosophica is a broad survey covering 110 of the most perennial questions in philosophy, be they in metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy or aesthetics.
Thomas aquinas was an italian dominican friar, philosopher, catholic priest, and doctor of the. With such a formidable length a summary of the summary is a watershed for those who merely want to understand st thomas classic theological opus. Its both interesting and instructive to reflect on article by article. His major work, the summa theologica, is timeless, but. Peter kreeft titled a sample of key concepts from thomas aquinas. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Kreeft gives a much better explanation of the style in which the summa theologica is written. Imagine carrying a library of peter kreeft books in your pocket. Kreeft s summa philosophica is a book like no other.
Thomas aquinas summa theologica by thomas aquinas, peter kreeft 2 editions first published in 1993. The original text in ancient language by aquinas needs the footnotes provided by kreeft to make it reasonably comprehensible. I should know i have read most of his 60 books and listened to every lecture available online. Not only are the questions themselves interesting, the style of argumentation is a good way to hone your logic skills. In this book, kreeft brings together 358 useful, everyday insights from aquinas masterpiece the summa theologiae.
Summa of the summa by peter kreeft overdrive rakuten. Thomas aquinas is universally recognized as one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. A convert to roman catholicism, he is the author of over eighty books on christian philosophy, theology and apologetics. This little book 162 pages is designed for beginners, either for classroom use or individually. Combines selected philosophical passages from thomas summa th. Kreefts book is actually a selection of passages from the summa theologica with an. Always wished you had a better grasp of summa theologica, the great philosopher and christian apologist thomas aquinass influential work. More generally, kreeft sees aquinas as more of an encyclopedia than a textbook. Summa of the summa kindle edition by kreeft, peter, peter kreeft. Unlike fesers aquinas which is also good if you want a mental workout deep diving into aquinass concepts, it is quite easy going. Summa philosophica peter kreeft next to the socratic method, the best method for organizing a logical debate over a controversial philosophical or theological issue is the method st. A summa of the summa of st thomas aquinas by peter kreeft peter kreeft provides with this work a readable summary of the extensive summa theologica. In orvieto thomas completed his summa contra gentiles, wrote the catena aurea. This unique book combines selected essential philosophical passages from aquinas summa with footnotes and explanations by peter kreeft.