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Why Aquinas Matters Now
Oliver Keenan brings the medieval philosophy of Thomas Aquinas to life.
Thomas Aquinas is more than a medieval curiosity. He was a reluctant revolutionary, a scholar, poet and saint whose work unleashed an epoch-defining explosion of philosophical creativity in the thirteenth century. Writing at a time of war, injustice, poverty and alienation, Aquinas' thought reaches across the ages and speaks to us today.
As Oliver Keenan argues, Aquinas matters now not because he was right about everything but because he can teach us a new way of looking at the world. A powerful voice for community, justice, friendship and peace, Aquinas' profoundly non-violent philosophy shows us how to be human in a deeply dehumanizing world. The era that he knew was defined by conflict and divisive politics, much like our own – his unfailing belief in the power of communication to overcome alienation and despair is an important lesson for us all.
This book brings Aquinas' challenging but deeply rewarding philosophy to life for readers new to his work, as well as those already familiar. Oliver Keenan has spent his working life researching and engaging with Thomas Aquinas, culminating in this moving and original account of why he matters now – perhaps more than ever.
Thomas Aquinas is more than a medieval curiosity. He was a reluctant revolutionary, a scholar, poet and saint whose work unleashed an epoch-defining explosion of philosophical creativity in the thirteenth century. Writing at a time of war, injustice, poverty and alienation, Aquinas' thought reaches across the ages and speaks to us today.
As Oliver Keenan argues, Aquinas matters now not because he was right about everything but because he can teach us a new way of looking at the world. A powerful voice for community, justice, friendship and peace, Aquinas' profoundly non-violent philosophy shows us how to be human in a deeply dehumanizing world. The era that he knew was defined by conflict and divisive politics, much like our own – his unfailing belief in the power of communication to overcome alienation and despair is an important lesson for us all.
This book brings Aquinas' challenging but deeply rewarding philosophy to life for readers new to his work, as well as those already familiar. Oliver Keenan has spent his working life researching and engaging with Thomas Aquinas, culminating in this moving and original account of why he matters now – perhaps more than ever.
- GenresPhilosophyTheology
240 pages, Hardcover
Published January 7, 2025
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December 18, 2024Let me be up front about this. Oliver Keenan's Why Aquinas Matters Now is aimed at a pretty specific set of people. You need to be both interested in philosophy and Christian. No, not the type of Christian where you went to mass that one time. You need to be all up in that Christian philosophy. It probably helps to be Catholic, but hey, I don't know any other way so who knows. Keenan wants to tell you why the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (or as I call him, Saint Tommy A.) are still applicable to today. (I would like to confirm I did not get hit by lightning for that horrible nickname I just made up.)
If you are part of the target audience, well, there is something else you need to know. I went to 13 years of Catholic school. We were taught Christian thought by (very scary) nuns, so I am not a novice at this. However, Keenan is a true scholar and I was very often lost. This could totally be chalked up to me being both dumb and unsophisticated. I won't argue with you! It should be said though that Keenan often does not identify and explain exactly what Aquinas wrote. He clearly assumes you know at least some portions of those writings by heart. Listen, I definitely paid attention in school (like I said, the nuns were very scary), but I could not recall a lot of this. (Do I need to go to confession for this? Not sure.)
In summary, I cannot in good conscience (thanks Catholic school!) give this a star rating because it is too far outside my nerd sweet spot. Oliver Keenan clearly knows his stuff. The rest I am totally unqualified to grade.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)
If you are part of the target audience, well, there is something else you need to know. I went to 13 years of Catholic school. We were taught Christian thought by (very scary) nuns, so I am not a novice at this. However, Keenan is a true scholar and I was very often lost. This could totally be chalked up to me being both dumb and unsophisticated. I won't argue with you! It should be said though that Keenan often does not identify and explain exactly what Aquinas wrote. He clearly assumes you know at least some portions of those writings by heart. Listen, I definitely paid attention in school (like I said, the nuns were very scary), but I could not recall a lot of this. (Do I need to go to confession for this? Not sure.)
In summary, I cannot in good conscience (thanks Catholic school!) give this a star rating because it is too far outside my nerd sweet spot. Oliver Keenan clearly knows his stuff. The rest I am totally unqualified to grade.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)
January 14, 2026
A slog-- for the first non-fiction of the year this may have been a mistake. But I am glad I read this. It was challenging for sure, and a lot went over my head, but it gave me a deeper appreciation and perspective on the Aquinas I've read (barely a thimbleful) back in school. His description of friendship and charity, his theories on the Summa as a pedagogical tool (one day I want to have my students write in this manner), his references to other thinkers were fascinating and spurred a lot of notes and research. The reminder of our body-ness was refreshing after some of the readings last term. I wish I could read this in a group, one member of which is a priest with extensive experience with Thomism
A heavy read, and I can't say I loved every minute, but I got some good stuff out of this. But boy, oh, boy am I ready for some smut or some fluff or some fun.
A heavy read, and I can't say I loved every minute, but I got some good stuff out of this. But boy, oh, boy am I ready for some smut or some fluff or some fun.
March 21, 2025
I definitely wasn't a fan of this. Keenan is clearly very knowledgeable on theology, but I could not stand his writing style. It lacks a sense of purpose, and is full of bizarre diversions (I'm still astounded that he can claim that no one lives in the Mojave). Despite the title of the book, I feel like he didn't do a very good job at tying Aquinas's thinking to the modern world. Most of the book simply felt like him summarising the Summa Theologica, without properly explaining how it affected the modern world, which feels like it should be an easy task considering how influential a thinker Aquinas was. Finally, I find it somewhat academically dishonest to write an entire book about the role Aquinas played in shaping modern thinking and yet not bring up his options on homosexuality.
June 9, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Continuum for the digital arc.
The author had good intentions but with the many parts of the text rambling off in odd directions, I never came to feel that Aquinas was relevant in contemporary society. He may be, but to get to that conclusion a discussion group would work best to organize the thought process.
#WhyAquinasMattersNow
The author had good intentions but with the many parts of the text rambling off in odd directions, I never came to feel that Aquinas was relevant in contemporary society. He may be, but to get to that conclusion a discussion group would work best to organize the thought process.
#WhyAquinasMattersNow
October 16, 2025
This was a tough book for me to review, as it was difficult to read. I've been attempting to read more philosophy, including more difficult texts (although I still clear of some primary sources).
Oliver Keenan has a deep knowledge and understanding of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, a medieval theologian, but even he argues that Aquinas is difficult. I'm not sure if this is why he quotes Aquinas so infrequently - Keenan instead takes on the role of interpreter and guide.
After a worthy introduction arguing why "Aquinas Matters Now", Keenan presents seven detailed chapters and a short 'postlude'. The first four outline Aquinas' worldview, in which Keenan explores the remarkable intellectual work that allows Aquinas to derive a number of principles from his observations of God and the biblical texts.
"To live a human life is, as Aquinas sees it, to perform a role in the conversation of the universe" (p. 4). This conversational aspect to existence is essential to Aquinas' thinking, placing 'man' into conversation and even a form of 'friendship' with God himself.
Reality 'speaks' to us, and from this point of view Keenan explores how Aquinas is able to interpret the structure of reality, including an exploration of the 'transcendentals', "properties that are co-extensive with reality" such as being, identity, truth and goodness (p. 50).
The 'radical contingency' of human life leads Thomas to refuse "to locate absolute power of authority within one person, community, structure" (p. 61), but since Thomas sees man as more 'doing' than 'being', this simply reinforces his vision of life as a recurring dialogue between man and God.
I struggled with these four chapters and their metaphysical abstractions. A weakness of Keenan's work here seems to be his limiting his explanation of why "Aquinas Matters NOW" to his introduction. Exploring the challenging, abstract concepts of the first half of the book in so far as they relate to the NOW would have helped my process this better.
Chapters five and six redeemed this work for me, as we get involved in a more focused look on moral human behaviour, and in the Aristotelian sense, an exploration of the values that one can pursue in order to live a moral life.
My primary interest in philosophy is ethical, but I also feel that these chapters are best at arguing for the NOW of the title. To Aquinas, emotions are morally neutral, meaning "the question is what we ought to do with these experiences, how can we live them in ways that integrate rather than fragment our personhood" (p. 114)?
Even anger is identified as positive, as long as it is deployed prudently. We look at the 'cardinal' virtues in chapter six, the intellectual virtue 'prudence' and the moral virtues of 'justice', 'temperance' and 'fortitude'. These virtues are what enable us to build the capacity to act morally 'when tested' and to deploy our 'neutral' emotions to 'just' ends.
Aquinas' theological belief that mans' freedom necessitates participating in the universe in good faith reminds me of Sartre's secular argument that man is "condemned to be free".
Keenan is clearly a Chrisian, and this text reads as theological first and foremost, the philosophy deployed in the name of articulating of vision of God that I, an atheist, cannot believe in. But the vitality of ideas that allow me to compare the worldview of a medieval theologian with a 20th century bohemian existentialist shines through the sometimes-dense ideas of Aquinas and prose of Keenan.
Hope, an intrinsically future-facing quality, "is fundamentally movement. It is both gift and discipline, in that it involves a systematic refusal to give up moving towards the hoped-for future" (p. 176). Hope is in opposition to the vices of despair and presumption, two "refusals to move".
Our "Postlude" argues that "we can only become fully human - fully alive - by taking responsibility for how we communicate with and to the world around us" (p. 198).
I personally found a great deal of moral and philosophical value in these final chapters.
Keenan argues that his book, and others like it, marks a good starting point for Aquinas. I can only imagine how difficult his primary sources might be, given my struggles reading this 'starting point'.
I recommend this book on that principle, as a starting point for a philosophical or Christian reader looking for an introduction to this wildly influential philosopher. I am glad I read it, but the ten days it took me to clear 200 pages is telling - this was challenging, rather than enjoyable.
Not recommended for 'casual' philosophers.
Oliver Keenan has a deep knowledge and understanding of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, a medieval theologian, but even he argues that Aquinas is difficult. I'm not sure if this is why he quotes Aquinas so infrequently - Keenan instead takes on the role of interpreter and guide.
After a worthy introduction arguing why "Aquinas Matters Now", Keenan presents seven detailed chapters and a short 'postlude'. The first four outline Aquinas' worldview, in which Keenan explores the remarkable intellectual work that allows Aquinas to derive a number of principles from his observations of God and the biblical texts.
"To live a human life is, as Aquinas sees it, to perform a role in the conversation of the universe" (p. 4). This conversational aspect to existence is essential to Aquinas' thinking, placing 'man' into conversation and even a form of 'friendship' with God himself.
Reality 'speaks' to us, and from this point of view Keenan explores how Aquinas is able to interpret the structure of reality, including an exploration of the 'transcendentals', "properties that are co-extensive with reality" such as being, identity, truth and goodness (p. 50).
The 'radical contingency' of human life leads Thomas to refuse "to locate absolute power of authority within one person, community, structure" (p. 61), but since Thomas sees man as more 'doing' than 'being', this simply reinforces his vision of life as a recurring dialogue between man and God.
I struggled with these four chapters and their metaphysical abstractions. A weakness of Keenan's work here seems to be his limiting his explanation of why "Aquinas Matters NOW" to his introduction. Exploring the challenging, abstract concepts of the first half of the book in so far as they relate to the NOW would have helped my process this better.
Chapters five and six redeemed this work for me, as we get involved in a more focused look on moral human behaviour, and in the Aristotelian sense, an exploration of the values that one can pursue in order to live a moral life.
My primary interest in philosophy is ethical, but I also feel that these chapters are best at arguing for the NOW of the title. To Aquinas, emotions are morally neutral, meaning "the question is what we ought to do with these experiences, how can we live them in ways that integrate rather than fragment our personhood" (p. 114)?
Even anger is identified as positive, as long as it is deployed prudently. We look at the 'cardinal' virtues in chapter six, the intellectual virtue 'prudence' and the moral virtues of 'justice', 'temperance' and 'fortitude'. These virtues are what enable us to build the capacity to act morally 'when tested' and to deploy our 'neutral' emotions to 'just' ends.
Aquinas' theological belief that mans' freedom necessitates participating in the universe in good faith reminds me of Sartre's secular argument that man is "condemned to be free".
Keenan is clearly a Chrisian, and this text reads as theological first and foremost, the philosophy deployed in the name of articulating of vision of God that I, an atheist, cannot believe in. But the vitality of ideas that allow me to compare the worldview of a medieval theologian with a 20th century bohemian existentialist shines through the sometimes-dense ideas of Aquinas and prose of Keenan.
Hope, an intrinsically future-facing quality, "is fundamentally movement. It is both gift and discipline, in that it involves a systematic refusal to give up moving towards the hoped-for future" (p. 176). Hope is in opposition to the vices of despair and presumption, two "refusals to move".
Our "Postlude" argues that "we can only become fully human - fully alive - by taking responsibility for how we communicate with and to the world around us" (p. 198).
I personally found a great deal of moral and philosophical value in these final chapters.
Keenan argues that his book, and others like it, marks a good starting point for Aquinas. I can only imagine how difficult his primary sources might be, given my struggles reading this 'starting point'.
I recommend this book on that principle, as a starting point for a philosophical or Christian reader looking for an introduction to this wildly influential philosopher. I am glad I read it, but the ten days it took me to clear 200 pages is telling - this was challenging, rather than enjoyable.
Not recommended for 'casual' philosophers.
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November 24, 2025More than seven-hundred years have elapsed since Dominican friar St. Thomas Aquinas passed away. With all the changes in the world since the medieval period, it is tempting to suggest Aquinas no longer has a home in modern society. However, Oliver Keenan, Academic Dean of Cuddesdon College, argues otherwise. Given the recent growth of such organizations as the Thomistic Institute, which seeks to cultivate interest in Aquinas at the college level, and a resurgence of interest in St. Thomas amongst both Catholics and evangelicals, it appears Keenan is not alone. St. Thomas, Keenan writes, “speaks directly to a widespread feeling of alienation that haunts our world.” In his book, Keenan carefully articulates how the Angelic Doctor’s thought pushes us to more deeply connect with ourselves, others, the world, and God.
This review continues on: https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/connec...
This review continues on: https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/connec...
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