Rating: 
Summary: UNDERSTANDING ATTAINED IN THE SUMMA
Review: WORD HAS IT THAT AN ANGEL HELPED THOMAS WRITE THIS EXTENSIVE WORK WHICH ANSWERS QUESTIONS YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO BUT DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD HAVE EVER PUT IT IN PRINT. CATHOLICS WILL FIND IT INVALUABLE IF THEY ARE SEEKING REASONS WHY AND WHY NOT, AND IF YOU SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T (HAVE SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE FOR INSTANCE OR SLEEP WITH YOUR WIFE WHEN SHE'S GOT HER FRIEND.) I MEAN ALL SUCH PRACTICAL OCCURENCES ARE CONSIDERED IN THE CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE THAT WILL ENLIGHTEN AND PROBABLY RETURN YOU TO THE FAITH. SUPPORTIVE SCRIPTURE IS FREQUENTLY, UNITINGLY REFERENCED IN THIS MOST THOROUGH WORK OF ART-THIS IS THE HEALING DOCTOR YOU NEED TO READ AND BECOME FAMILIAR WITH.
Rating:
Summary: Profitable Even For Non-Catholics
Review: You might get the idea from some of these postings that only Catholics could care about Thomas, especially hearing about how he manages to theologically justify some, ah, rather untheological matters (if you have read some of these reviews, you will know what I mean). This is quite false. Most of the Summa is quite interesting to anyone interested in philosophy, especially the two traditions that Thomas inherited and synthesized, the Aristotelian and the Augustinian. I've found his work on the will is especially insightful, and I think that a return to the kind of concreteness that characterizes Thomas' treatment of this matter would be helpful in modern philosophy. His division of the formal features of God from the attributes proper is also a very fruitful notion.I've never read the Summa from cover to cover - indeed, I doubt that too many of the reviewers here have - but there is much here to feast upon for philosophers and theologians of all traditions, especially those interested in Virtue Ethics (a movement I confess I have great sympathy for). Don't be frightened off from it simply because some Catholics act as if the Summa IS Catholicism itself. I think that is a rather naive view, since (1) there are modern Catholic practices and beliefs that seem incompatible with some parts of the Summa and (2) there are elements of Thomas that no one will wish to bring back into contemporary theology or philosophy. Some of his speculative work is, by my lights, too speculative, but this does not detract from the many arguments that are rich, deep, and grounded. Read Thomas for what he does in fact argue, and judge for yourself where he is successful.
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