$6.46
Details
St. Thomas Aquinas
Author: Kenneth L. Schmitz
Series: The Giants of Philosophy Series
Narrator: Charlton Heston
Unabridged: 1 hr
Format: Digital Audiobook
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: 03/05/2006
Genre: Philosophy - Religious
Synopsis
In the late 13th century, this quiet reflective Dominican scholar concentrated his work on philosophical concerns that today would be considered to be partly theological. He combined the work of Aristotle with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and pagan thought to reconcile reason and faith; he believed we can know that God exists, but not what god is like. Thomas's masterpiece, the Summa Theologiae (Summa Theologica), contains over 10,000 objections and replies to fundamental questions about God and the world. It enumerates virtues and vices, and it includes Thomas's famous "five ways" to prove God's existence, which are (1) the unmoved mover, (2) the uncaused cause, (3) the necessary being, (4) the perfect Goodness, and (5) the guiding intelligence. Thomas believed that God is absolutely simple, perfect, good, infinite, omnipresent, changeless, eternal, and unique. God is "Pure Subsistent Act of Being," continuously communicating the possibility of existence to all worldly creatures and objects. For Thomas, intellectual knowledge is a sign of the spirituality that energizes the human center. He saw the Bible as a substitute for the wisdom of a lifetime's study and learning. All in all, Thomas concluded that mortal happiness (felicity) is uncertain, but immortal happiness (beatitude) is the ultimate end of life; beatitude is to pass beyond death to "see the face of God."
by Professor Nicholas Capaldi
David Hume sought to create a comprehensive "science of man" in order to understand human nature and human actions. He saw a constant social and political tension between liberty and authority, and he developed extensive political and economic theor...
Published: 01/05/2006
by Professor Thomas Cook
A Portuguese Jew living in Holland, Spinoza sought a life of "supreme and unending happiness". Unable to find deep satisfaction in the usual pleasures of social life, politics or business (or in riches, fame, or sensual pleasure), Spinoza sought a m...
Published: 04/24/2006
by Professor Richard Schacht
Nietzsche condemned nearly all of the religious and philosophical thought of his day to blunt terms (e.g., God is dead). He says the only reality is this world of life and death, conflict and change, creation and destruction. For centuries, religiou...
Published: 01/16/2006
by Professor Robert O'Connell
Aurelius Augustinus was a key figure in the transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. He lived at a time when no distinction was made between philosophy and theology, and the purpose of both was to show the way to wisdom, happiness, an...
Published: 03/04/2006
by Professor A.J. Mandt
Before Kant, philosophers had debated for centuries whether knowledge is derived from experience or reason. Kant says that both views are partly right and partly wrong, that they share the same error; both believe that the mind and the world, reason...
Published: 01/23/2006
by Professor John J. Stuhr
John Dewey wants philosophy to rise above old tired disputes to address new, more vital questions and problems. His views are known as "pragmatism," which emphasizes action and results. Here philosophy isn't a system of beliefs but a practical, empi...
Published: 01/31/2006
by Professor John E. Smith
Hegel created a vast speculative and idealistic philosophy, where truth is found not in the part but in the whole. Nature is an organic whole shot through with rationality akin to the reason in ourselves. Hegel's famous "dialectic" is an organic pr...
Published: 01/18/2006
by Paul Strathern
Kierkegaard wasnt really a philosopher in the academic sense. Yet he produced what many people expect of philosophy. He didnt write about the world, he wrote about life, about how we live and how we choose to live. His subject was the individual and...
Published: 06/25/2005
by Professor George Connell
For Kierkegaard, truth is a subjective reality which we must live, not simply something to consider and discuss. His selfconsciousness and selfexamination highlight the practical demands of existence, and he opposes the speculative thinking of philo...
Published: 03/02/2006