Center for Thomistic Studies

Transfer Credit

MA students work with a thesis director to select a topic and write a thesis proving mastery of philosophical subject matter.

As the culmination of this trio of fundamental courses in Thomistic philosophy, this course in metaphysics, the highest of the philosophical sciences according to Aquinas, has as its first task the nature of metaphysical inquiry itself. This inquiry will involve a crucial set of distinctions, including the distinctions between natural philosophy and metaphysics, substance and accident, essence and existence, act and potency. The Thomistic texts for this course are chosen at the discretion of the instructor.

This course will introduce students to Aquinas’s ethics. Key issues discussed will include the ultimate end, the nature of the human act, the distinction between right and wrong actions, the nature of the virtues, the distinction of the virtues, and the role of law in ethics.

This course introduces Thomistic philosophical theology. After surveying sources influencing Aquinas—including figures such as Aristotle, Pseudo-Dionysius, Avicenna, Damascene, Anselm—the course engages in close reading of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa contra Gentiles.

This course covers a selection of topics in Thomistic cognitive theory and epistemology. Focusing on both primary literature and recent secondary literature, the course will treat St. Thomas’s theories of intellectual cognition, the inner senses (focusing on the cogitative power and memory), intellectual self-knowledge, and human knowledge concerning the divine.

This investigation of Aquinas’s philosophy of the human person will have as its primary focus Aquinas’s solution to the question of how the human soul can be identified both as the form in the human form-matter composite and as a subsistent entity capable of surviving the corruption of the body. Among other key issues to be discussed are the nature of the passions and the relationship between the intellect and will. Readings from the Prima pars of the Summa theologiae will play a central role in the discussion, with other readings from the Thomistic corpus chosen at the instructor’s discretion.

This course will introduce students to Aquinas’s philosophy of the human person. Key issues discussed will include Aquinas’s solution to the question of how the human soul can be identified both as the form in the human form-matter composite and as a subsistent entity capable of surviving the corruption of the body, the nature of the passions, and the relationship between the intellect and will.

This course will introduce students to Aquinas’s metaphysics. Key issues discussed will include the very nature of metaphysical inquiry, the distinction between natural philosophy and metaphysics, the distinction between substance and accidents, between essence and existence, and between act and potency.

This course will focus upon Aristotle's Posterior Analytics. It will involve a close reading of the Posterior Analytics, with comparison to works of Plato. Interpretation of Posterior Analytics will be guided by Aquinas's commentary as well as other sources, including 20th and 21st Century sources.

(Traditional Logic) A practical study of the rules of correct reasoning, both inductive and deductive, together with analysis of the concept, the proposition and fallacies.

Building on the achievements of the course in Thomistic anthropology, this course highlights the human person as agent, as moving toward ends or goods, and finally toward the ultimate end which Aquinas calls beatitudo: happiness. The nature of the ultimate end will thus be the centerpiece of the course discussion, with other key concepts and distinctions which contribute to Aquinas’s understanding of the ultimate end coming strongly into play, e.g., the nature of the human act, the distinction between right and wrong action, the nature of and the distinctions between the virtues, and the role of law in human happiness. Discussion will be focused on but need not be limited to questions in the Secunda pars of the Summa theologiae.

The MA Comprehensive Exam Course, and the MA Comprehensive Examination toward which it aims, is taken in the semester after all other courses have been finished, which will normally be the fourth semester of study. It is a directed readings course supervised by a Center faculty member, designed to help students prepare the readings for the MA Comprehensive Examination.

Bioethics

This course will focus upon Plato’s Phaedo and Aristotle’s De Anima. It will involve a close reading of the De Anima, with comparison to the Phaedo, guided by Aquinas’s commentary as well as by other sources, including contemporary.

This course will focus upon Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. It will involve a close reading of the Nicomachean Ethics, with comparison to other relevant works by Aristotle such as the Politics and Eudemian Ethics. Interpretation of the Nicomachean Ethics will be enriched by Aquinas's commentary as well as other more recent interpreters.

The objective of this course is to produce facility in reading medieval, philosophical Latin, and in particular the Latin of Thomas Aquinas. Every student in the Center must take this course unless granted a waiver by the Director of the Center for Thomistic Studies. The course must be taken in one semester during the first year of graduate study. The format and content of the course will be set by the faculty member who is responsible for teaching the course that year. It will be taught as part of the regular course load by a member of the Center faculty or another person competent to teach the course. The grade in the course will be determined by the outcome of the Latin test, with grades determined in the following way: Pass at the MA level = “A-”. Pass at the PhD level = “A”. No grade will be given for the course until the Latin test is passed at one of these two levels. For an entering student who passes the Latin exam at the PhD level this course is waived.

Aquinas’s Commentary on the Metaphysics stands out as perhaps the clearest commentary ever written on the metaphysical treatise(s) of Aristotle. This course will offer a guided reading of the Commentary, exploring several questions, including: To what extent do Aquinas’s own distinctive metaphysical views appear in his Commentary? How does Aquinas understand the structure of metaphysical science? What are some of the influences on Aquinas’s interpretation of the Metaphysics? Some previous familiarity with Aristotle’s Metaphysics is encouraged but not required.

This course explores the nature of evil, especially as understood in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. Evil in general is subdivided into suffering and sin. Most questions surrounding the nature of evil concern sin. What is the distinctive nature of sin? What are the diverse causes of sin? What is the very first cause of sin? Do human beings have free will? These are some of the many questions that may be addressed in this course.

This course discusses the genuinely twentieth-century philosophical phenomenon of Thomistic Revival. In almost quixotic manner, literally thousands of Catholic authors worldwide, in monographs, periodicals, and in the entire standard teaching venues, offered Thomistic cures for modern ills. Who were these authors? What motivated them? Why did the Neo-Thomist revival die at Vatican II? Do any hopes exist for a Neo-Thomist revival today? We will address these questions from the perspective of the history of philosophy and from the perspective of philosophy itself.

This course will consider the work of John Finnis, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Servais Pinckaers, who are arguably the three most significant Thomists of the past twenty-five years. Each represents a different background and scholarly community. John Finnis has a background in analytical jurisprudence and has been influential in the revival of natural law in political philosophy and philosophy of law. Alasdair Macintyre’s background is in Anglo-American philosophy, sociology and the New Left. His book After Virtue was enormously influential in philosophical circles and he has since developed a more Thomist position. He has had great influence in moral philosophy, both Protestant and Catholic theology, and political philosophy. Servais Pinckaers is a francophone Dominican and his theological formation was at LaSartre and Rome. He was a professor at the University of Fribourg. His attempt to revive Thomist moral theology is the best known. Although the content of his work is closer to that of MacIntyre than that of Finnis, his Dominican background and theological concerns set him off sharply from MacIntyre. The course will focus on these figures’ various approaches to such themes as moral goodness, practical reasoning, the common good and justice.

MA students would register for this 6 hour, non-tuition bearing course in the 4th semester of their MA program along with PHIL 5340: MA Comprehensive Exam Course ( a regular tuition bearing course, part of 30 hour MA) in order to maintain a full-time enrollment status.

A six-credit course to be taken by Ph.D. candidates who have completed course work and are either studying for Ph.D. Comprehensive Exams or preparing for their Dissertation Proposal Defense.

A six-credit course to be taken by Ph.D. candidates who have completed course work and are either studying for Ph.D. Comprehensive Exams or preparing for their Dissertation Proposal Defense.

This dissertation guidance course is taken after the dissertation proposal has been approved. It is repeatable up to six total times.

Thomists distinctively hold the position that in creatures essence and existence are related to each other as potency to act. Since act is really distinct from potency, essence and existence are really distinct. This course will look at Thomas’ views on essence and existence in the context of later developments of the Thomistic position and criticisms.

Candidates for a BA/MA degree in the Center for Thomistic Studies must take either PHIL 6390, MA Thesis Direction or 5340 MA Comprehensive Exam Course. Students choosing PHIL 6390,in consultation with a faculty adviser, will select an MA paper submitted for a previous CTS course to be devel;oped into a thesis according to a plan agreed upon by both. The courseI is aimed at helping the student develop skills in research and writing. The acceptability of the paper is not essentially tied to length, and the faculty will accept quality papers in the 30 to 40 page range. The M.A. thesis must be approved by two readers, one of whom is the faculty adviser who approved and supervised the project.

Student research on a selected problem in the field pursued under the guidance of an assigned member of the faculty.

Selected topic of mutual interest to the faculty member and students.

This dissertation guidance course is taken after the dissertation proposal has been approved. It is repeated until the student completes the dissertation defense.